USC Spring Game

“What’s new pussycat?”

If you asked anyone on the USC football team that famous line from Tom Jones, they’d say nearly everything. New head coach. New defensive scheme. New starting running back. A whole new vibe.

Considering the turmoil the athletic department, particularly the football team, has gone through in the last several months, it seems change was inevitable.

After Pete Carroll's decade-long reign came to an end in January, Lane Kiffin, a coordinator under Carroll from 2001-2006, left Tennessee after just one season to become the captain of USC’s prized fleet. It didn’t take long to see the difference on the field as Kiffin made several questionable calls against Hawai'i.

For starters, Kiffin decided to go for a two-point conversion on the first touchdown of the game. They ran a play using the swinging-gate formation and failed miserably. Then he decided that it would be a good idea to try it three more times (although they did convert twice).

Even more peculiar was when Kiffin inserted his backups into the game up 19 points with more than a quarter left to play. Hawaii subsequently scored, and he was forced to put his starters back in.

But Kiffin wasn’t the only new coach to struggle in his debut with the Cardinal and Gold.

When Kiffin came to USC, he brought with him his dad, legendary defensive coordinator, Monte Kiffin, and all-star recruiter and defensive line coach Ed Orgeron.

The addition of Papa Kiffin to the staff meant a new scheme on defense. The new scheme is not Monte's traditional Tampa-2, but it does resemble it quite a bit. Needless to say, USC's defense didn’t have the same success on Thursday that Monte Kiffin-led defenses of the past have had.

As a matter of fact, the defense was downright awful, allowing the Hawai'i offense 588 total yards, 459 of which came through the air.

Don’t get me wrong, Hawai'i is notorious for having a high-powered passing attack. But when your secondary gets lit up like a Christmas tree by a former seventh string quarterback and his two backups, there have to be some concerns.

The Tampa-2 scheme is particularly demanding on its linebackers -- just ask Chris Galippo and Devon Kennard, who missed numerous tackles and assignments in the secondary. Those mistakes led to a number of third down conversions and big plays by the Warrior offense.

The linebackers weren't the only ones who had a tough game. There was plenty more blame to go around as Orgeron’s boys also struggled. They were offsides more than Carter has pills, racking up five offsides penalties.

The defensive line also failed to put sustained pressure on a throw-first offense that has surrendered 128 sacks in the last three seasons, allowing quarterbacks Bryant Moniz and Shane Austin to rack up 36 points.

But there was one coaching decision that stood out above the rest.

Kiffin named junior Marc Tyler the starter at running back over incumbent Allen Bradford, who had nearly 800 yards and 8 touchdowns in 12 games in 2009. That looked to be the right move as Tyler, making his first ever start, broke out with a career game. The Oaks Christian alum ran for 154 yards and a touchdown on just 17 carries, all career highs.

In the end, the offense looked as good as the defense did bad. But with change comes adjustments. And at the end of the day, a win is a win.

Just keep one thing in mind, Trojan fans, as you look at the new regime: Just because a car smells new, it doesn’t mean it runs like new.

To reach reporter Chris Pisar, click here.