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Welcome to an emergency edition of the Hotline podcast. I had something else planned, then Texas and Fresno State happened and here we are … crashing and burning in SoCal.
UCLA has been this bad this early, although not in more than 40 years, and USC has been this bad this early (hello, 2016).
But not in the combined history of the two programs have they been this bad this early in the same season.
They’ve never combined for five losses in the first six games. Ever.
The issues undermining success for each program are so different that separate discussions are required.
Fortunately, Petros Papadakis was willing to join me and combine two discussions into one 40-minute podcast.
Papadakis played for the Trojans, hosts a radio show in Los Angeles (Petros And Money on 570-AM) and follows his alma mater closely. But as an analyst for Fox Sports, he’s well versed in all Pac-12 developments.
In fact, he’s ideal for a conversation about the Bruins’ dysfunction after calling the UCLA-Fresno State game last weekend.
He chatted with Bruins coach Chip Kelly and the staff and is familiar with the roster.
We spent the first portion of the podcast on the state of affairs in Westwood, with Papadakis admitting at the outset that he misjudged Kelly’s impact:
“I thought Chip would hit the ground running, literally and figuratively.”
He walked me through some of the issues — the Bruins are using too many players but, at the same time, don’t have enough players — and was pointed in his remarks about the psychology:
“It doesn’t look like an inspired team, and that’s the part that’s a little concerning.”
The remaining two-thirds of the podcast were spent on USC, with Papadakis offering an unfiltered takedown of coach Clay Helton, offensive coordinator Tee Martin and the program’s approach to offense.
It’s almost a mini-history — Papadakis’ father played for John McKay — as we discussed what USC used to be, what it is and what it needs to become.
Bottom line:
A blue-blood program that should be playing like, and competing with, the Alabamas and Ohio States is instead running a C-USA offense with an overmatched staff and freshman quarterback given too much responsibility.
The only reason the Trojans thrived in 2016-17, Papadakis believes, is because Sam Darnold “put makeup on the zits.”
We also discussed whether USC should be more like San Diego State, the legacy of Pat Haden — or as Papadakis calls it: “Haden’s stain” — and the leadership void at the top of the university’s chain of command.
And yes: We addressed the impact struggling teams in Los Angeles could have on the perception of the conference as a whole.
Coming off the miserable bowl season, and with Washington losing that high-profile duel with Auburn, a double bottom in L.A. is the last thing the Pac-12 needs.
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