Womp. Womp. Womp.
USC went on the road in the always-intriguing early season top 25 conference matchup against Stanford and laid an egg. While it wasn't quite the giant goose egg, the Trojans only managed three little quail eggs for points, falling 17-3 to the Cardinal.
The blame was plentiful and easily spread among a number of Trojan units and the coaching staff, in particular.
Keely Eure and Shotgun Spratling return to the USCfootball.com studio for a rare Wednesday episode of the Family Feud Podcast to discuss who USC fans should be really upset with and where there should be concern as the Trojans take to the road for a second week in a row. The Trojans head out of state for the first time this season, traveling to Austin, Texas to take on the burnt orange Longhorns on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. PST on FOX.
In this week's Stock Up/Stock Down segment, Keely and Shotgun have to work diligently to find many Stock Up candidates following the lackluster showing the Trojans produced on the Farm. They do both agree on the positive work USC's backup safeties, C.J. Pollard and Talanoa Hufanga, did once they were thrown into the fix following an injury to starter Isaiah Pola-Mao on the first defensive drive of the game. A couple of defensive linemen also make the Stock Up cut to stay out of the Stock Idle pileup that collected many of the defensive Trojans.
It was much less difficult to find Stock Down candidates after a woeful offensive output. USC was not consistent enough to sustain drives, which bogged down repeatedly between the 30- and 50-yard line. It got to midfield seven times and finished with just a single field goal. A lot of the concern falls on the offensive line, who never seemed to be able to put together five stellar block on the same play and struggled with some long, looping stunts that Stanford combined with zone pressures to create disruption up front for USC.
Keely and Shotgun both agree that the tight end position had a poor showing in Palo Alto as well, but there could be possible good news soon as Josh Falo has practiced the last two days, Austin Applebee could be be back next week and Daniel Imatorbhebhe did some light work for the first time in more than a week.
In the 'Heard it on the Sidelines' segment, Keely tries once more to display to Shotgun that Stock Neutral is a thing...and something all the youths are partaking in. She also takes a look at the vibe on the USC sideline, particularly in the second half of a game where the Trojans were only down by two scores but had the look of a team that had no chance. Shotgun talks about the different punctuation of a quick talk Clay Helton gave to the team right after stretching finished on Tuesday as compared to what Helton said last week about Stanford being the Trojans' toughest game all yea.
The USCfootball.com duo talk about coaching and offensive line play in the 'Agree/Disagree' section of the podcast, wondering aloud the impact the offensive line has and will have on the team this year, with Shotgun believing it is the most crucial element to the season -- one that will determine where the Trojans go after their first loss of the season.
The Family Feud Podcast ends this week with the questions you emailed us (familyfeudpod@gmail.com), including what Dr. Shotgun would prescribe for the USC team to fix their ailments and whether the Trojans are prepared for a focused Tom Herman and a trip to Austin.
The Family Feud Podcast is looking to feature your question on an upcoming episode. Send your Stock Up/Stock Down contenders for us debate or provide us with an Agree/Disagree statement you want us to answer. To potentially be featured on the show, email us at familyfeudpod@gmail.com.
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