RSB76, for someone who never played, you just asked two excellent questions.

At the risk of seeming ungrateful at 12-0, on Thanksgiving weekend, no less, the fact of the matter is that we are regularly out-coached by our opponents.

Coming out flat has been a trademark feature of the Brian Kelly era, as has a stubborn insistence on sticking to a poor game plan, even when it costs us games or even seasons.

The defensive struggles were a problem of plan, not players. We dared their young qb to execute, and he did. That we let him do it for an entire half is idiocy, and we’re lucky they didn’t score a whole lot more in that time.

For all its complexities, football is a pretty simple game. Find something that works, and keep doing it until they make you stop. When they make you stop, take advantage of the compromise they had to make to stop you. USC completely stuffed the box, which means they were vulnerable to the quick and accurate passes that made Book a starter in the first place (and that USC was using to walk all over us at the very same time), and yet, Kelly refused to take what the defense was giving him.

We’re seeing talented players find ways to win despite their poor coaching.

I’m not worried about the defense, but the offensive line needs to get their act together, and quickly, or or next game will be ugly, especially in the red zone.

I believe he’s talking about 1982 and the Michael Harper phantom TD. The 1978 travesty is another matter entirely.

The last series before half time boggled my mind as well. If you are going to run the clock out, why pass the next play? If you are going to try and move downfield and score, why didn’t he call one of his remaining two timeouts. That blunder of lost time cost us at least a field goal attempt.

Did you mean 1978? My math is fuzzy here.

I hate to be picky here, but just for clarity, 40 years ago would not have fallen in the year 1981. Did you mean 1978?

Book may not have been at his best, but, come on, “awful” is pretty harsh.