I got bored and watched every snap of USCe's season. Now I'm even more bored.
Offense
They actually have a pretty good scheme despite the lack of points to show for it. Kurt Roper is no slouch (Duke's OC in the 2013 Comeback Bowl vs A&M) and eventually they will get it going. Right now they just don't seem to have the right players on that side of the ball to be consistent in what they want to do, but make no mistake...they are well-coached and will have a good game plan this week.
Schematically they will go shotgun the vast majority of the time but have gone under center in short yardage situations. They utilize an H-back quite a bit in their run game and will mix up their line blocking schemes from zone to pulling guards and tackles around the other way, etc...and then run play action off of the same schemes. They put mental pressure on a defensive front with what they do and force you to play with discipline.
They like to take shots down the field with vertical routes, and will likely max protect this week a few times to see if they can get one over the top on us. They will utilize designed runs for the QB, and will run some option. The primary QB has 40 carries on the year but his longest run has been 11 yards. This probably means he will have a 70 yard run for good measure (he'll be tackled at the 2 and they'll kick a FG).
Defense
They are well-coached. They mix up zone and man, I saw mostly zone but the TV cameras don't ever show the entirety of what goes on in the passing routes/coverage. They like to bring a DB off the short edge to create pressure and will blitz on 3rd down. Saw some robber coverage. Have struggled a bit getting pressure with four.
Their corners are legit. I don't care who the competition has been. They run well, play the ball well in the air, and tackle well. Be mindful of the DBs going for strips in the run game. They seek turnovers on every play. Their secondary plays with confidence. They are only giving up about 200 yards per game in the air, which is pretty good this day in age even with not-so-great competition. They've held every offense to below their passing averages this year. Run defense...a bit different.
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tl/dr
Offense
They actually have a pretty good scheme despite the lack of points to show for it. Kurt Roper is no slouch (Duke's OC in the 2013 Comeback Bowl vs A&M) and eventually they will get it going. Right now they just don't seem to have the right players on that side of the ball to be consistent in what they want to do, but make no mistake...they are well-coached and will have a good game plan this week.
Schematically they will go shotgun the vast majority of the time but have gone under center in short yardage situations. They utilize an H-back quite a bit in their run game and will mix up their line blocking schemes from zone to pulling guards and tackles around the other way, etc...and then run play action off of the same schemes. They put mental pressure on a defensive front with what they do and force you to play with discipline.
They like to take shots down the field with vertical routes, and will likely max protect this week a few times to see if they can get one over the top on us. They will utilize designed runs for the QB, and will run some option. The primary QB has 40 carries on the year but his longest run has been 11 yards. This probably means he will have a 70 yard run for good measure (he'll be tackled at the 2 and they'll kick a FG).
Defense
They are well-coached. They mix up zone and man, I saw mostly zone but the TV cameras don't ever show the entirety of what goes on in the passing routes/coverage. They like to bring a DB off the short edge to create pressure and will blitz on 3rd down. Saw some robber coverage. Have struggled a bit getting pressure with four.
Their corners are legit. I don't care who the competition has been. They run well, play the ball well in the air, and tackle well. Be mindful of the DBs going for strips in the run game. They seek turnovers on every play. Their secondary plays with confidence. They are only giving up about 200 yards per game in the air, which is pretty good this day in age even with not-so-great competition. They've held every offense to below their passing averages this year. Run defense...a bit different.
blah blah blah blah blah
tl/dr