USC football finds itself at a new bottom with no immediate answers

LOS ANGELES — As stunning arsenic the proportions of USC’s 62-33 nonaccomplishment to UCLA connected Saturday were, the particulars were acquainted to anyone who’s followed the Trojans this season.

A defence that got trampled successful the tally game. An discourtesy that couldn’t person red-zone opportunities into touchdowns. Turnovers, penalties, tackles for loss, the lot.

USC hasn’t been immune to atrocious performances successful caller years. But the repetition issues, the nonaccomplishment to close mistakes, they measurement heavy connected the upperclassmen connected the roster.

“Just guys not being accountable to 1 another, not playing with pridefulness for this team,” antiaircraft extremity Nick Figueroa said. “It’s conscionable not the marque of shot that we privation to play, it’s not the marque of shot that’s played here. So decidedly a large disappointment.”

If these comments dependable familiar, it’s due to the fact that USC made akin remarks aft Oregon State won astatine the Coliseum for the archetypal clip successful 60 years. And erstwhile Utah won astatine the Coliseum for the archetypal clip successful ever.

It’s conscionable that 12 weeks into the season, and 10 weeks since Clay Helton was fired arsenic caput coach, USC inactive has nary answers.

“If I was hired arsenic the adjacent caput coach, possibly I’d person the reply but I person nary clue,” halfway Brett Neilon said “This team’s been done a lot, tons of ups and downs and a batch of worldly down the scenes. But yeah, it conscionable seems similar the lone clip each 3 phases came unneurotic was Washington State successful the 2nd half.”

More troubling, Neilon raised the anticipation that this is simply the civilization that’s been built astatine the program.

Changing the civilization was a large portion of interim caput manager Donte Williams’ connection erstwhile helium took implicit the programme successful September. He talked of making players instrumentality their hats disconnected indoors, and picking up trash successful the locker room.

But these off-field habits person had nary interaction connected crippled performance, and Williams admitted connected Sunday that implementing a taste displacement mid-season was nary casual task.

“You’d similar to person a change, but you marque a alteration close successful the mediate of the season, things are an obstacle,” Williams said. “You ne'er got the accidental to turn successful the outpouring oregon the summertime oregon autumn campy successful things successful the mode you privation them to beryllium done. All we tin bash is proceed to effort and propulsion guardant and alteration the civilization successful the close direction.”

It’s hard to blasted the Trojans if their eyes starting peeking up to the future. Technically, USC tin triumph the adjacent 2 games and gain vessel eligibility. But that would necessitate defeating No. 13 BYU, a peculiarly atrocious matchup for USC fixed its beardown tally game.

Even playing astatine the Coliseum is nary comfortableness aft surrendering 225 points successful 5 games to Pac-12 opponents astatine location this season.

“I don’t cognize different mode to enactment it, but that’s disgusting,” Williams said, practically spitting retired the last word.

After the UCLA game, antiaircraft enactment manager Vic So’oto told his radical to instrumentality these bitter memories into the off-season, to not hide this disappointment arsenic they hole for 2022.

“Knowing that these games are captious to what this program’s going to beryllium successful the neat aboriginal is similar a large portion of what’s going to thrust me,” Figueroa said. “And I anticipation it’s what’s going to thrust different radical successful our locker room.”