Take Two: How hot is Clay Helton's seat at USC?
MORE: Five weird things from Week 8 in college football
Take Two returns with a daily offering tackling a handful of issues in the college football landscape. Rivals.com National Recruiting Analyst Adam Gorney lays out the situation and then receives takes from Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell and a local expert from the Rivals.com network of team sites.
THE STORYLINE
Despite having five-stars and high four-stars littered throughout the offense, USC is averaging just 26 points per game this season and the Trojans are coming off another disappointing performance, this time a 41-28 loss at Utah where the Utes scored 34 unanswered points.
USC scored three points in a loss to Stanford. Fourteen in a blowout loss at Texas. Only one time this season the Trojans eclipsed the 40-point mark – in the season opener against UNLV.
It’s another underwhelming season at USC and the fan base is getting antsy about coach Clay Helton, who was not an overwhelmingly popular selection when he took over in 2016.
But does that mean Helton is clearly on the hot seat and USC is looking at replacements? Not quite. Athletics director Lynn Swann, who did not hire Helton, gave his support after the Utah loss on Saturday night. TrojanSports.com’s Adam Maya talked to two other sources who said changes were not imminent.
There is a buyout to consider and other complicated financial possibilities that USC might not want to address at the moment. But if the season continues to be a disappointment, will Helton be at risk of losing his job?
FIRST TAKE: RYAN YOUNG, TROJANSPORTS.COM
“Athletic director Lynn Swann publicly supported Clay Helton when asked about his status after the game Saturday night. But this one dealt a damaging blow to Helton’s already weakened perception within the fan base. It’s not just that USC has lost all three of its biggest games this season – it’s how the Trojans have lost.
“They’ve now been run off the field by Texas and Utah and were thoroughly outplayed by Stanford as well. It’s hard to sell progress when it’s not tangible, especially after the offense plays its worst game in over two years while giving away a 14-point head start at Utah. Every one of those 34-straight Utah points Saturday night gave more weight to Helton’s doubters.
"Of course, some were never on board with his hiring in the first place and have looked at everything in his tenure through a skewed prism. If looked at objectively, Helton accomplished a lot in his first two full seasons. He should have earned some leash from that, but he’s quickly using it up. The very legitimate frustration for fans is there is nothing to point to that inspires real belief the program will be any closer to its national title aspirations next year. And that’s what Swann has to think hard about the rest of this season. At the least, it seems fair to expect that Helton will need to make staff changes if he’s given the opportunity to try to steer the Trojans out of this rut.”
SECOND TAKE: MIKE FARRELL, RIVALS.COM
“Helton will have to get rid of some coordinators and USC will probably give him one more year. The defense doesn’t look good, either. The whole team is underperforming. He’s definitely on the hot seat. There’s no doubt about that. Helton was a guy that a lot of people didn’t like as the hire in the first place. That’s always a problem. I think USC will make him get rid of some coordinators, change some things up and then give him one more year to figure it out. If he doesn’t pull off a Pac-12 championship then he’s gone.”
