Don't try to emulate the Ducks. Don't try to figure them out. USC messed with their offense, trying to play the up-tempo pace and they only confused their offense. Barkley is a good QB. He didn't make a lot of mistakes. I think Kiffin only succeeded in tiring out his guys prior to the game, and confusing his offense against the best team in the country.
Good post but that is like throwing in the towel before kickoff. Teams NEED to prepare for Oregon. Who knows what the results of the game would have been had USC not - remember, they are not an elite team, they had two losses previous to Oregon, yet gave Oregon a struggle a test for a while. I believe Kiffin is just not that good of a coach...
Disagree and you didn't recognize the battle USC presented for three quarters. When you play the #1 or #2 team in the nation - you let it all out and do whatever you can - including trickery and implementing new approach to offense and defense. What do you have to lose? So far, USC has been the most competitive (despite the closer score at ASU) game. Their approach worked for three quarters. In fact, they outscored Oregon in two quarters and only had one more turnover.
“We thought we had the game in the bag,” Trojans defensive tackle Jurrell Casey acknowledged. “Then the defense fell apart.” Kelly likes to talk about “faceless opponents” and how Oregon’s fate depends on how Oregon functions, not the other team. This was just another game he claimed. “With SC, we still feel like they’re living in the glory days of when [Reggie] Bush was here,” Cliff Harris said. “That their five-star [recruits] are going to beat our hard work. But talent doesn’t beat hard work.” http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news;_ylt=ApIFweHiM7sjB5MTLVbZERIcvrYF?slug=dw-oregon103110
Agree with this point. It feels weird to say, but Oregon has way more talent than USC at this point. They can't just "man up" and hope they can match them blow for blow. They have to try to get some big plays somehow.
I hate college football, but I have been enjoying the crap out of the Ducks games. I feel like I'm playing a game of Madden when I watch them.
I "recognized" it. I thought USC played very well. They made the Ducks defense work hard for three quarters, and kept the offense off the field. But like I said, Kiffin tried to change things up and was calling plays from the sideline based on what HE was seeing of the Ducks defense. This is what led to a fumble by Barkley, and probably a few other errors as well.
A well coached and disciplined team adjusts and evolves throughout the entire game. Oregon does. The mistakes you're referring to point more to lack of discipline, experience and execution than a coaches decision to make adjustments.
The announcers were talking about it. It wasn't a regular occurrence. Kiffin was trying to work it from the sideline and he was getting punished. But like I said, he was doing something that the team wasn't used to.
