USC Plays It Safe, Plays For Loss
Pete Carroll says the play calling has been fine. Results would suggest otherwise.
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What happened to the aggressive Pete Carroll?
In one sense, Saturday looked familiar. In 2007 USC beat Nebraska big then lost at home to Stanford the next week. In 2008 they knocked off Ohio State then lost to Oregon State the next week.
This year was going to be different, the team and coaching staff all said they had learned their lesson. Apparently not. USC beat Ohio State two weeks ago on the road then looked flat last Saturday in a loss at Washington — a team they beat 56-0 last season.
One reason USC looked bad — their coaching staff looked scared. So afraid of the turnover, so afraid of the first-time starting quarterback losing the game that they never let him win it. USC certainly had injury issues to deal with, but the coaching staff has let those make them almost passive.
The game plan for USC was pretty simple — run the ball down Washington’s throat. And they did, USC racked up 111 yards and had a 10-0 lead with four minutes left in the game.
But then Washington’s Steve Sarkisian made some adjustments — and you knew he would at least throw a couple wrinkles in that would make things hard for the Trojans.
USC’s run game was spotty from then on — there were flashes but it wasn’t consistent. What would have made it consistent was loosening up the offense, attacking the defense and letting Aaron Corp try to win the game. However, he completed just 3 of 8 in the second quarter where he looked overwhelmed at moments, the USC coaching staff decided to tighten the reins.
Corp, the mobile quarterback, was not asked to roll out much, not asked to run, not asked to use his strengths. The result was a team afraid of making a mistake and playing like it.
The bigger issue is this was not just this week — USC did not really open up the playbook for Matt Barkley either. That is why the team has scored two offensive touchdowns in the past two games.
Pete Carroll said Sunday that he backs Jeremy Bates, the guy calling the plays for USC, that he’s done it right. With young quarterbacks, this is what you have to do, Carroll said.
But that is not how Pete Carroll returned USC to prominence. He did it with guts — players want to come to USC because they want to make plays. They want the chance to shine on the big stage.
USC needs to get back to that. They have a series of games coming up — Cal, Notre Dame, Oregon State then Oregon — where playing it safe will mean more losses. And a lower ranking than 12th. But if they get aggressive, a return to the biggest stage is still within reach.
