Off the Record: Talking USC-Minnesota

After the debacle that was the USC-Minnesota matchup this past Saturday, Shiloh Winder and I decided to exchange some emails regarding our thoughts. Here’s what went down:

Shiloh Winder: So after Saturday, where do you think USC will finish? Did the offense look better from tunnel 12 than tunnel 23?

Michael Castillo: After the first half, I’d tell you top of the South and 3rd overall. After the game? Middle of the pack. As for the offense, I just didn’t get it. Aren’t short passes and screens supposed to open up the deep ball, running game and the middle of the field? They only went deep once (TD to woods), went over the middle a couple of times, and couldnt run. I thought Kiffin was greatly outcoached and Jerry Kill was a genius for holding his players at the end of the first half, and getting them motivated at half. They stopped the dinks and dunks and therefore stopped the Trojan offense. So…I say THROW THE BALL DOWN FIELD AND USE MORE THAN THREE PLAYS ON OFFENSE! Inside slant, bubble screen, and student body left/right was it. Barkley had protection all game long, so I don’t understand not exploiting the gaps in the defense.

Shiloh Winder: I agree.  I have always thought that Barkley locks on to Woods waaaaay too much and it was comical on Saturday. He is the only WR in the rotation with dependable hands, but I have to ask, why are Butler and Carswell the other WRs in the rotation?  Where are Prater and Flournoy? I thought DJ Morgan looked good, but it seemed the O-line played much worse in the 2nd half.  Maybe they wore out a bit.

Michael Castillo: Completely agree. And when he started to look elsewhere, Telfort had something like three straight drops. Prater never hit the field, and I think Flournoy is way down the depth chart, which is almost as unfair as the benching of Baxter. It’s clear Kiffin is just screwing with him. I get that he wants to keep Baxter “motivated”, but he has way different standards for him, which is completely unfair. Give the guy some carries, or work him in with the screen passes. Morgan and McNeal were decent, but the run blocks just weren’t there and I think that was evident in the blocking from Grimble and Telfort at tight-end too. So many of the student body left/rights got nowhere as Morgan couldn’t reach the edge. Again, I understand the moving around of Rhett Ellison in the backfield, but he can still play TE, so why not give him reps there when you need him? Plus, my feelings for Kiffin are really dwindling. I know it’s one game and there were moments of brilliance, but in the end his play calling and inability to mix in substitutes was the reason it was so close. He never mixed up his linebackers or O-line, which were two places of emphasis during camp, ripe with competition. So why forgo getting a little bit of game action for the players who nearly won their spots? Kiffin is too set on classifying players as “first team” and “second team” and what not, when sometimes you need a little bit of fluidity there. Sarkisian would have called a way better game on offense(Can you tell I feel like we got the wrong assistant?). Sigh. So have I mentioned that the Utes scare me yet?

Shiloh Winder: The Utes shouldn’t scare you.  I’d love for them to beat SC but their game left me feeling the same way the SC game did.  The offense was just totally inconsistent. And back to SC, it’s crazy that Kiffin didn’t rotate the O-line more.  They were clearly tired in the 2nd half. It’s funny we’ve had four emails about this and we haven’t even mentioned the way Kiffin TRIED to give the game away with the 2-point attempts for no reason, and calling all those timeouts while Minnesota was moving the ball at the end of the first half. If UM hadn’t had the worst kicker I’ve seen in a FBS game, we’d have lost. What a joke.  And I heard after the game he said, “we only have two good offensive players”.  What a dick.  We’ve got plenty on the bench, jackass.  This is the kind of stuff that made me root against the Broncos when they hired Josh McDaniels.  Just because a guy is a good playcaller doesn’t mean he has what it takes to be the top man running these huge operations.  Kiffin’s ego is way bigger than his ability. I’m rooting for a new coach.

Michael Castillo: Don’t get me started on the PATs. That gimmick has annoyed me for YEARS, long before John Baxter brought it from Fresno State last season. It’s pointess, and it like you said, it nearly cost us the game. And don’t get me wrong, I’ve never been an anti-Lane Kiffin person, but I’m suddenly turning into one. I liked him last year, thought he told it like it is, etc. But his handling of things as of late is just getting ridiculous. I think he thinks he’s a reincarnation of Woody Hayes or something, and it’s definitely the ego that gets in the way. He runs the team like you or I would run a team on a video game, and we all know that stuff just doesn’t work in real life. I’m not quite to the point of rooting for another coach, but I think Haden has him in his crosshairs. Kiffin belongs as an assistant, where he can recruit and tinker minute details. I wouldn’t even have him as an OC if I had the choice. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Jack Del Rio or Jeff Fisher next season.

Shiloh Winder: I always assumed that the Kiffin hire was one of the top reasons Garrett was fired (because Kiffin’s history of apathy for the NCAA looked like a middle finger to Indianapolis), and that Hayden would want to find his own man for the job. However, I heard an interview with him last season on ESPN 710 where he was effusive in his praise of Kiffin (more generous than he needed to be) and said “I hope Lane Kiffin is our coach for a long time to come.” He didn’t use vague positive words that a man would use if he was thinking of giving Kiffin the Axe.  I’m afraid we might be stuck with him for a while.