For a USC fan living in the heart of Penn State country, the game you want to see the Trojans lose the least is the Penn State game. Unfortunately, USC managed to snatch defeat out of the grasp of victory. For the third time in four weeks, the Trojans held a fourth quarter lead only to squander it away and lose the game. And when I got to my day job I was greeted with this.

PSU

Ugh. I hate Lincoln Riley.

There are many things to take away from this game for both teams, some of which have two sides. Add this game to a long list that indicate this is shaping up to be the wildest season of college football in a long time.

Penn State

Penn State celebrated as if they won the national title. Someone should tell them USC wasn’t even ranked and Vegas had Penn State favored by five points. Coming into the game I thought this was James Franklin’s best, most well rounded team. I leave with some questions about that thought.

USC has many flaws, little depth, and is now 3-3. Yet, Penn State got down by two touchdowns and needed a scared Lincoln Riley to win in overtime. I think the Nittany Lions are a good team. I think the Nittany Lions have as good a chance as anyone else —thank you parity— but I can’t wait to see how they fair against Ohio State. When you look at Penn State’s schedule, that is the only really good team they play. That will say a lot about how Penn State may fair in the playoffs.

I thought Penn State would jam the ball down USC’s throat with their two headed running back attack. They did not. That should be concerning.

Drew Allar was able to throw for nearly 400 yards, which should delight fans. On the flip side, he threw three interceptions, two of which were very poor throws.

Ty Warren should be in the top five for Heisman Trophy voting just on his performance Saturday alone. 17 catches for 224 yards, one touchdown, and one snap from center is quite the day —more on USC’s defensive, er, strategy. Warren is the best tight end in the country, and he continues the tradition of Penn State NFL caliber tight ends. On the flip side, I have no idea who Penn State’s best receiver is. There were drops and only occasional openings for Allar to hit a receiver with a throw.

James Franklin finally found a head coach he could outmaneuver. In the 2017 Rose Bowl, Franklin got conservative and ended up losing to —gulp— Clay Helton, who would subsequently destroy the USC football program. This time around, it was Lincoln Riley who lived in his fears. Franklin actually was quite bold in the fourth quarter. Twice he went for it on fourth and long-ish. Once it was in his own territory with plenty of time to punt and get the ball back. The old James Franklin would have punted. Penn State made both fourth downs and went on to tie the game with just over two minutes left. Franklin’s rare aggression ultimately won the game.

USC

At the end of the day, I am not quite sure just how good USC is. The Trojans are 3-3 and as they say you are what your record says you are.

My head has been spinning since USC frittered away yet another game. I have gone from fire Lincoln Riley to hoping the Trojans win out and pray for carnage around the country so that a three loss team could still sneak into the playoffs.

Reality has set in since, and I realize neither is going to happen. A season that started with such promise in Las Vegas with a win over LSU has unraveled and revealed many of the same issues that plagued USC a year ago. Being the new kid on the block in the Big Ten has uncovered other issues.

Certainly it appears Lincoln Riley is one of the most overrated coaches in the country. He is far removed now from the three playoff appearances he made while coaching at Oklahoma with a program that Bob Stoops built into a power and turned over to Riley. At USC Riley is 0-2 against top ten teams and a mere 4-8 against ranked teams. He promised a championship level team. Riley also stated in his introductory press conference that you can build a championship roster quickly in this era of college football.

Riley has been able to bring in really good skill players. Unfortunately, Riley has whiffed on the top offensive and defensive linemen. Until he fixes that, USC will not be able to get to that championship level. Riley talks a big game, but has failed to give a winning sales pitch to the big boys in the trenches.

Give Riley and his staff credit on Saturday for devising a competitive game plan to mask USC’s weaknesses in the trenches. Defensively, Penn State was not able to sustain a consistent run game. Warren killed them, but one would figure if USC’s best linebacker, Eric Gentry, would have been available he would have limited Warren to being a mere mortal at least. On offense, Riley had running backs and tight ends help the tackles by chipping on blocks or flat out double teaming Penn State’s rush ends. It didn’t work perfectly, but did somewhat limit the pressure on Miller Moss.

The reason many Trojans fans are calling for Riley’s head on a platter is his play calling, time management, and general game management.

USC ran the ball extremely well in the first half, with Woody Marks leading the way. Not to mention the fake double reverse that went for an 80 yard touchdown. Then in the second half it simply took one negative run and Riley nearly abandoned the running game for the entire second half. Odd behavior for an “offensive genius”. 

Riley’s most egregious error was his clock management at the end of regulation. USC got the ball back with 2:53 left to play. The Trojans confidently moved the ball just over midfield with 1:47 left on the clock. A negative run occurred and at that point Riley started draining the clock. By the time the third down play rolled around there was only 14 seconds left on the clock and Riley still had all three timeouts available. Miller Moss threw a killer interception that ended USC’s last best hope of winning. Riley’s explanation was that he didn’t want to give Penn State the ball back. That is good strategy if you are in a position to, at least, kick a field goal. But you have to get to that position on the field before you start draining the clock. It was egregious and inexcusable.

Miller Moss sat for three years before getting his chance to start at quarterback. Moss has been under duress most of the year, but he has progressively played worse. The interception at the end of this game was inexcusable. His intended receiver was Duce Robinson, a receiver that stands 6’6”. Throwing too high to Robinson is tough to do, but Moss managed to accomplish the feat. Riley has been reluctant to put in packages for dual threat backup quarterback Jayden Maivea. Odd behavior for an “offensive genius” like Lincoln Riley.

Some are suggesting a full blown change is needed. I think Moss is plenty good enough when the blocking gives him time. I would like to see a package for Maivea to give defenses one more thing to think about.

If you know anything about football, you can see the USC defense is light years better than the previous two seasons under Alex Grinch. They still miss tackles, but far fewer than before. Players are aggressive to the ball and normally in the correct position to make a play. Having said all of that, the defense showed two sides to the coin Saturday as well.

The Trojans defense held down a vaunted running game and didn’t get destroyed with long runs. But giving up 17 catches for 224 yards to a tight end, any tight end, is an abomination. It is the first time I have questioned the defensive coaches all year. Warren was running free on at least half of those catches. Riley claimed they put an emphasis on stopping Warren. It took until the fourth quarter for the staff to finally lock up Kamari Ramsey, USC’s best DB, on Warren. By then it was too late.

The other issue with USC’s defense was on full display again Saturday. The Trojans get absolutely no pressure on the quarterback. They have 6 sacks for the entire season and none by the defensive line. By comparison, Penn State had 7 sacks in one game this year. USC pressured Drew Allar one time per the official stats. That one time was when Jalen Mohammed ran past Allar, missing the sack, and allowing Allar to convert one of those precious fourth downs.

Last but certainly not least on the list of why USC lost yet another close game: the men in the striped shirts. This is not me being a crybaby. This is not me being a homer. This is fact. Once again, I will show video evidence of one ridiculous call after another. Look, refs miss calls both ways in almost every game. It is part of the sport. But this is three games in a row that USC got hosed by officiating.

Let’s start with the fact that the Big Ten thought it was appropriate to assign referee Jerry McGinn to a Penn State game. McGinn lives and Malvern, PA, and runs a consulting firm that does much business with Penn Staters. That aside, let’s start with Penn State’s first play from scrimmage.

 

 

First, that is a cheap shot. Anthony Lucas had a knee injury in last week’s game and was questionable for the Penn State game. Penn State chose to take a shot at his knee on the first play. Now, if that is not a penalty, tell me how this is called a penalty.

 

 

That was a game changer. USC would have almost certainly gone up by three scores. Earlier there was another low block called while USC was on defense. The problem there was the USC defender was blocked into the Penn State player. That was another big 15 yards that led to a field goal for PSU.

My favorite egregious call Saturday was this “roughing” the passer call. 

 

 

Give Drew Allar credit for making it look like he was hit by a cannon ball. Once again, this call extended a scoring drive by Penn State.

Then in overtime the officials missed an obvious pass interference on second down, then follow up with this miss on third down.

 

 

At least one of these calls needed to be made. Both were obvious. Neither call was made, USC missed a field goal and that was the end.

It really has gotten ridiculous. USC has not received a favorable whistle in a Big Ten game yet. Again, it is not crying or homerism to say the refs have cost USC three games.

Conclusion

All that said, USC and Lincoln Riley are at a crossroads. It is absolutely true that they are 3 plays away from being 6-0 and ranked in the top 5. With two better offensive tackles that would be the case. On the flip side, Riley is 5-8 in his last 13 games. This after promising a quick rebuild on day one. Recruiting in the trenches must improve quickly and significantly. Additionally, if Riley wants to get his name on the list of best coaches he needs to find ways to win close games and not turtle in fear.

The offensive line is improving, and if Riley wants to silent the critics he needs to win out and finish 9-3.

On the other sideline, Pen State has positioned themselves for their first playoff appearance under James Franklin. Franklin found one coach he can outsmart, but can he finally outsmart Ryan Day.

Franklin becomes more unlikable by the day. Saturday he dropped an “F” bomb on national TV while being interviewed. He likes to put on a show, and it is depressing to watch Lincoln Riley lose to Franklin. He does recruit well and has built a formidable roster. Yet USC was on level ground with Franklin’s team.

Two teams that went head to head and stood toe to toe with each other battled for 60 minutes. It took overtime to settle it. Yet for two teams who are seemingly even, couldn’t be going in more opposite directions.

Two Cent Takes

College Football

~The committee could have their hands full picking and seeding teams for the 12 team playoff. Here’s why:

  • Alabama has a loss, almost lost at home to South Carolina, and still have trips to Tennessee and LSU. Two or more losses is certainly possible.
  • Tennessee has a loss, needed overtime at home to take out woeful Florida, and still have Alabama and Georgia on the schedule.
  • Georgia has a loss, nearly lost to Kentucky, and still has Texas, Tennessee, and Mississippi.
  • Miami should have two losses but is still undefeated.

That is just to name a few. It is going to be a wild ride from now until December.

~Army and Navy both ranked and undefeated. That is pretty cool.

NFL

~Nick Sirianni is nuts. Sunday he decided to yell at fans along the sideline. No way he survives the season in Philly.

~Speaking of not surviving the season, Mike McCarthy in Dallas should probably hire a realtor. 

 

 

~The Lions toyed with Dallas, absolutely rubbing it in. Unfortunately the loss of DE Aidan Hutchinson hurts.

~If I need a Hail Mary, I want Aaron Rodgers throwing it.

 



MLB

~The Guardians finally got to Tarik Skubal, and it was enough to send Cinderella packing.

~The Phillies had some of the worst at bats I have ever seen. No patience. Just flailing at anything. Consequently, the Two Cent jinx reigns supreme as the Phillies hit the golf course.

~The Dodgers got the last laugh, beating the Padres to advance. The Padres generally acted like total jackasses, then promptly going scoreless for their final 24 innings.

~The two championship series are a bit anticlimactic for me. The top three payrolls are alive along with Cleveland. Rooting for Cleveland is a given, but it does accentuate how stupid baseball is. Why is the NFL so much more popular?

 

 

The Weekly Shiny Penny

I love that Francisco Lindor is a professional. A grand slam to put your team in front in a winner take all game, and Lindor just drops the bat and circles the bases. Like it used to be.

 

 

A Penny For My Final Thought…

The Pittsburgh Steelers should change quarterbacks.

Justin Fields best attribute is his running ability. I wouldn’t want my running back’s best attribute to be his throwing ability. I wouldn’t want my wide receiver’s best attribute to be his kicking ability.

Russell Wilson would clearly be a better passer. He would see the field better. He would not be able to elude the rush like Fields does. It is time to start making throws down the field. Use George Pickens more. Throw down the middle to the tight ends.

Fields only has five touchdown passes. He has plenty of missed throws.

The offense will need more production going into the second half of the schedule. Being able to throw more competently should open up the running game and play action passes will be taken more seriously by defenses.

Fields has done as well as could be expected. He is who he is. He has a skill set good enough to beat mediocre to poor teams. In my wildest imagination I can’t see Fields beating the Ravens, Bengals, Chiefs, etc.

Getting Wilson in now would allow him to get game action and get into rhythm before the tough stretch of the schedule.

Neither quarterback is leading the Steelers to the Super Bowl, but the AFC is wide open for playoff spots. Therefore, it is time for the Steelers to play the guy they brought in to be the starter. He is healthy and would easily be a better passer. If Wilson doesn’t produce, you can always go back to Fields.

The Steelers are 4-2 despite the quarterback. The schedule gets more difficult in a few weeks. It is time for Mike Tomlin to quit being stubborn and give his team the best chance to win.

The best chance involves making a quarterback change.

Just my two cents…