kessler heading to nfl?

[axel foley]

Let's be honest Kessler put up big numbers and improved head and shoulders from his Soph to his Jr. season. The numbers rivaled Mariotta's #'s. The only difference is Mariotta has a much better team and coach around him. If Cody's improvement from his jr. to sr. seasons go like his soph to jr. he will be in the heisman talk. That's honest legit talk. And USC's offense is good enough with everyone coming back to be talked about as elite offensively. It's the defense that gave up 2 losses to teams like Arizona State on a hail Mary and Utah because of not kicking a field goal and going for it and missing the 1st by inches because Adoree stepped out. Adoree, JuJu, and Nelson Agholar are the 3 best receiver combo in the nation with Buck Allen and a returning line.  Like I said they focus on improving the D, the players they have will improve but they are right there. They beat the team that they matched them up against. I'd like to have seen this USC or UCLA teams play TCU and Baylor and I'd take Pac 12 on both those games, #5 and #6 teams in the nation.

nelson agholar is the one who stepped out prior to the first down.  and nobody will be winning a crystal ball as they no longer use it.  usc will be in the running for the dr. pepper playoff title championship for sure though! 
buck allen and nelson will probably be gone also.  George farmer who was teammates of Robert woods and marquise lee in high school and faster than all will have to step up big

[GoldenHawksFootball]

nelson agholar is the one who stepped out prior to the first down.  and nobody will be winning a crystal ball as they no longer use it.  usc will be in the running for the dr. pepper playoff title championship for sure though! 
buck allen and nelson will probably be gone also.  George farmer who was teammates of Robert woods and marquise lee in high school and faster than all will have to step up big

Even if Nelson leaves, they'll be fine with Adoree, Juju, and another kid named Bryce who plays the slot like Nelson. Farmer drops too much. Perhaps the bigger loss is not Nelson, it's Buck. Do they have another RB in the stable? Can Tre Madden pick up where he started 2 seasons ago? Or is injuries piling up on him.

Cody is getting better and better, no doubt about that....however you make my points with your comments.  First, most Heisman winners are the result of the team around them....SC is no slouch team but they are not elite YET and due to their thin depth probably won't be next season.  Their best receiver, Agholar, is probably going to declare for the draft, hope not but probably, so there goes Cody's favorite target (and room mate) and that alone is a huge dynamics change for SC.  Not to say Cody doesn't have other talented targets but look at how preferred QB-Receiver pairs affect the numbers when they change.  Now if Agholar doesn't declare for the draft, maybe you are on to something but he's a first rounder this year so don't hold your breath on the outside chance he decides to stay at SC.  Lastly you mention better coaching, agree with you on that one but don't think that is going to change between now and next year either, so how does that BIG factor figure into the equation?  Start screaming at the TV every time SC gets a lead and starts going conservative trying to milk it to the end, only to not get the first downs and then hand the ball over to the other team for a chance to win...Oregon, Alabama, Florida State, and Ohio State go for the throat every down until the clock runs out...that's one of the reasons they are in the final four.

Perhaps they play so conservatively at the end of ball games because they have to... I hate it as well. But when you are thin, like you say, you try to protect your defense from seeing too much of the field because of the depth issues. But what ends up happening is the "run the clock out offense" becomes a good prevent defense for the other team so the other team knows what is trying to be done and the clock doesn't tick fast enough.

[Just_A_Fan]

Even if Nelson leaves, they'll be fine with Adoree, Juju, and another kid named Bryce who plays the slot like Nelson. Farmer drops too much. Perhaps the bigger loss is not Nelson, it's Buck. Do they have another RB in the stable? Can Tre Madden pick up where he started 2 seasons ago? Or is injuries piling up on him.



Perhaps they play so conservatively at the end of ball games because they have to... I hate it as well. But when you are thin, like you say, you try to protect your defense from seeing too much of the field because of the depth issues. But what ends up happening is the "run the clock out offense" becomes a good prevent defense for the other team so the other team knows what is trying to be done and the clock doesn't tick fast enough.

Bingo!!  Depth is SC's issue, not talent....four quarters with little substitution at the level they play at is bad mojo.....they will get back to full form and be a contender, don't think that is in doubt, just don't see it next year but being college football you never can really tell until next season starts....

[GoldenHawksFootball]

Bingo!!  Depth is SC's issue, not talent....four quarters with little substitution at the level they play at is bad mojo.....they will get back to full form and be a contender, don't think that is in doubt, just don't see it next year but being college football you never can really tell until next season starts....

I get you JAF. But I differ in that even without depth on defense, a year like this year they could be in the final 4. You take away the 2 gimmick losses to ASU and Utah. And you go down to Boston College and play the normal game of productivity and BC doesn't play out of their minds. The only loss where they were completely out coached and played was UCLA. Mora is no slouch of a coach. So even if you have only 2 losses, you still win the P12 South and you're playing Oregon for the conference championship which elevates them in the discussion against Ohio State who in my opinion has a weaker conference than the Pac 12. The loss to UCLA was mostly due to not being able to handle UCLA's exotic blitz packages and superior quick D lineman and the turn over bug. And with 1 or 2 losses you're in the conversation for a National Championship. I know I know.... Woulda, coulda, shoulda! Monday morning quarterbacking but even with the lack of depth next year I still think they could make a run. They shouldn't need depth if their players are conditioned to play 4 quarters like they should. If you are a stud, you why do you need to come off the field? What happened to the players that never go out, that are durable, that produce when they are a bit banged up and tired. Has the game changed that much?

[Just_A_Fan]

I get you JAF. But I differ in that even without depth on defense, a year like this year they could be in the final 4. You take away the 2 gimmick losses to ASU and Utah. And you go down to Boston College and play the normal game of productivity and BC doesn't play out of their minds. The only loss where they were completely out coached and played was UCLA. Mora is no slouch of a coach. So even if you have only 2 losses, you still win the P12 South and you're playing Oregon for the conference championship which elevates them in the discussion against Ohio State who in my opinion has a weaker conference than the Pac 12. The loss to UCLA was mostly due to not being able to handle UCLA's exotic blitz packages and superior quick D lineman and the turn over bug. And with 1 or 2 losses you're in the conversation for a National Championship. I know I know.... Woulda, coulda, shoulda! Monday morning quarterbacking but even with the lack of depth next year I still think they could make a run. They shouldn't need depth if their players are conditioned to play 4 quarters like they should. If you are a stud, you why do you need to come off the field? What happened to the players that never go out, that are durable, that produce when they are a bit banged up and tired. Has the game changed that much?

Being an SC fan I hope you're right and I'm wrong....only time will tell.

A few years ago I had the privilege to be invited by a local coach to go with him to the SC training facility and meet with their strength and conditioning coach .... what a mecca of football that place is, Taylor Mays was doing lunges behind us, pretty cool .... any way, don't think conditioning, or lack there of, is an issue at SC.  Superbly conditioned athletes from one end of that facility to the other ....  but even with all that we have to remember that those guys are going against guys of their caliber, every down at 110% and without a break every so often they are going to slow down as the game progresses .... the coach was telling us their goal is to have two equally capable players at each position always pushing each other, three if they can at certain spots, so they collectively have the legs through the fourth quarter ...  this is back when Pete was the head coach and they were seriously in the national title hunt in those days ....  they will be again now that the restrictions have been lifted but it's going to take time to get their new recruits up to speed so they can get back to where they were at ...  would love to see that be next season but my logic side is telling my wishful side not to get too excited  :D :D

[Just_A_Fan]