What’s wrong with No. 8 USC?

After going down in another early-season upset against a Pac-10 team, we asked former USC coach John Robinson what he thought USC could do to improve going forward in the season. Former Washington head coach Don James chimed in to provide some insight as well.

What can USC do to improve?

Robinson: “I think, first of all, they’re not a very focused football team. Don’t even talk about the quarterback position, you need to look at all the other positions as well. No one on that team is playing to their capabilities. And that’s where I think they have to improve.”

Are they out of the national championship hunt?

Robinson: “Certainly they’re not out of the BCS hunt because, you know, either Alabama or Florida is going to go to that game. Not both of them, probably. So, they’re still in it, but they have a lot of work to do just to become a really good football team. They’re not playing at the level they should, and they lost that game Saturday (against Washington), because of all the other guys, not because of the quarterback.”

James: “I was at the game, and I don’t think it hurt as much not having (safety) Taylor Mays playing as it did not having (freshman QB) Matt Barkley. Aaron Corp really struggled for half the game. At one point, he only had 43 yards passing.”

What could USC have done differently?

James: “They do have running backs, but in the first half, it looked like they were running against the wind. The line opened up some of the biggest holes you’ve ever seen in your life. But for some unknown reason, they stopped running the ball. And everybody was shaking their head up here.”

Robinson: “Yeah, they are so determined to maintain that quarterback-oriented offense. In the years that (Pete Carroll’s) been there, and they’ve been great, I’ve never seen them say, ‘OK, we’re going to run the ball down your throat, and we’re going to beat you with the running game.’ They would’ve won that game Saturday if they would’ve just made that statement.“

How much does losing part of their coaching staff hurt them?

Robinson: “I think it hurts them. And particularly the new offensive coordinator (Jeremy Bates) is from outside the system. He’s a good coach, but it’s not the same rhythm. It’s hard to tell exactly what it is, but something is a little off.”

James: “Plus, two of those coaches they lost are on the other side of the field, which really helped the Huskies.”

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