5 Thoughts for November 29, 2015 (mostly about football)

1. Netflix: I finished watching the four available seasons of Hell on Wheels and moved on to Marco Polo, which was short enough to finish in roughly a day or so. I definitely love Marco Polo, in particular for its spectacular use of color and landscapes, the narrative, and the beautiful women. There is so much excellent content these days, it feels like a golden age of video.
2. Ageism: If you don't know what ageism is, please look it up, so that you can laugh at the next sentence. Earlier this week I got carded, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
3. USC Football: Gee, if you hadn't watched the entire season, you would have thought that the USC team we saw on Saturday was surely headed to the playoffs, what with its great secondary man coverage and blitzing pressure, combined with solid special teams play, and an offense that willed its way to hold onto the ball in the fourth quarter for all but 1 minute and 15 seconds. I also couldn't believe that it was Su'a Cravens who looked like he was playing as a corner-safety, knocking the ball down and staying tight to his receiver -- he led the team with 3 passes defensed. Nor could I believe that the USC defense had ditched the 3-4 for parts of the game, opting to go straight up with two defensive ends and two defensive tackles. Someone (or people) must have really laid into the coaching staff after that Oregon debacle, huh?
4. USC Football, part II: It's not yet over for Clay Helton. He gets to do what few people ever get to do, and that is to prove to everyone that the USC team under his direction, would have done things differently against Stanford. If the team pulls off the incredible upset against Stanford at the PAC-12 Championship game next weekend, I think that could seal the deal for him and set the stage for the Clay Helton era. Of course, I'm still skeptical of the defensive side, particularly the secondary coach and the defensive coordinator; on the offensive line however, it's very clear that everyone four-deep can play -- the fourth center this season, and the offense didn't skip a beat. 
5. Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football: Hawaii decided to go with former Bows QB Nick Rolovich, as their new head coach, passing over former UH coach June Jones, one-time UH defensive coordinator Rich Ellerson, and former UH players Rich Miano and Brian Norwood. Obviously they wanted to hire someone who had previously been associated with the program, but that seems tragic, because it severely limits potential hires who could have had a much stronger resume. In particular, I don't see why they'd hire Rolovich. In four seasons as the Nevada Wolfpack's offensive coordinator, Nevada's offense has gotten progressively worse, averaging 515 ypg in 2012, 429 in 2013, 398 in 2014, and 378 this year. Maybe a switch will flip and suddenly he's a really good offensive coordinator head coach -- you get my point, don't you?