This Game Plan Has a Few Flaws

Paul Hackett has a hard enough job as it is, pursuing lofty expectations with unexceptional talent and trying to keep an impossible-to-please following happy.

So what does the new USC football coach do? He makes a tough situation even tougher in his very first game, a 27-17 victory over Purdue. By sticking with his previously unannounced plan to use freshman quarterback Carson Palmer for two series in the third quarter, Hackett opened himself up to a torrent of second-guessing that otherwise wouldn’t have started for, oh, at least three weeks.

Hackett’s version of the West Coast offense--”one of the most complicated offenses in football,” in his words--requires accurate passing. And starting quarterback Mike Van Raaphorst wasn’t providing it through 2 1/2 quarters. He threw too high, he threw behind receivers, he guessed wrong on a pass route and threw an interception.

Palmer came in, zipped a tight nine-yard pass to Mike Bastianelli, threw a 42-yard pass to Larry Parker to set up a touchdown and all of a sudden there was a quarterback controversy.

Van Raaphorst returned after the next series and the offense went dormant again. Palmer came back, threw a 28-yard pass to Billy Miller on third down to set up another touchdown--and yet Hackett wasted no time proclaiming Van Raaphorst the starter for the Sept. 12 game against San Diego State.

“This is Mike’s team and this is Mike’s turn,” Hackett said.

We’ll see.

Hackett showed a strong commitment to principle when he benched star receiver R. Jay Soward for this game because of academic shortcomings. That was a good call, putting classwork ahead of his own job performance.

On Saturday Hackett wavered, straying from his plan to limit Palmer to two series because he felt Palmer’s play merited more time. That turned out to be a good decision too.

But Hackett can’t keep going back and forth on this issue. He shouldn’t commit to Van Raaphorst just because it’s his turn. He shouldn’t use Palmer for a set amount of time just because that’s what he planned.

Choose a guy and stick with him until he plays himself into or out of a job. Don’t tantalize the way he did Sunday.

The more Palmer plays, the more likely he is to make the mistakes that any freshman would make. But if he gets his time now and acclimates himself to the college level, maybe he won’t make those mistakes during Pacific 10 Conference play when the games count most.

If Hackett really feels Palmer is a year away and Van Raaphorst represents his best chance at winning now, he shouldn’t plant doubts in Van Raaphorst’s mind--and gift-wrap entire show segments to sports radio hosts--by giving Palmer a few moments of playing time. If no one had seen how well Palmer played Sunday, no one would suggest he start the next game.

Until he yanked Palmer for the first time (his decision to send the more experienced Van Raaphorst back in to milk the clock with 1:49 to play made perfect sense), Hackett’s debut looked better and better as the game progressed.

He got off to a rough start.

USC players committed a couple of bad penalties in the first half--one for too many men on the field--that allowed Purdue to turn failed third downs into touchdowns. That’s usually the sign of an undisciplined team.

And the offense didn’t do a thing. Some of that was Van Raaphorst’s fault. And some was due to the unfortunate circumstance of taking the first snap of Hackett’s tenure at the USC two-yard line after a great Purdue punt.

The Trojans were so far away from the Western end zone they could have used an East Coast offense. And it didn’t help that a botched exchange from the center led to a busted play.

“I thought that was great,” Hackett said, knowing full well what the observers had to be thinking. “Hackett’s first play as an offensive guru, we fumble the snap. That was interesting.”

But Palmer showed that when the offense is executed properly it can put up points.

And the defense, after giving up 208 yards and 17 points before halftime, made the necessary adjustments to shut down and shut out the Boilermakers in the second half--a testament to the coaching staff.

The well-conditioned Trojans didn’t wither despite temperatures in the Coliseum higher than 100 degrees. That was especially impressive for the defense, which spent more than 20 minutes on the field in the first half.

The Trojans were physically and mentally resilient, and if that’s going to be their trademark it will reflect well on Hackett.

Let’s face it, Hackett will never be a commanding presence on the sideline. His slouchy posture won’t remind anyone of Bear Bryant’s stern countenance and houndstooth hat.

But he can look authoritative by taking a firm stance on the quarterback situation--and based on this game, Palmer should be the one. “Whatever happens, happens,” Palmer said.

Whatever Hackett says should happen will happen. That’s the power that comes with running a major college program. And the problem.

No one told him this would be easy.