Clippers crank up the energy, blow past Blazers in season opener

• October 26, 2023

LOS ANGELES — Kawhi Leonard and Paul George took the court together in a season opener for the first time in three years on Wednesday night. The last time the superstar duo was fully healthy at the start of the season was 2020, a long time and many injuries ago.

It was a sight Coach Tyronn Lue had been waiting to see. And he liked what he saw.

Leonard and George – in the lineup together for just 38 games last season, when both were derailed by injuries – took charge of the game from the start and with help from Russell Westbrook, Bones Hyland and Ivica Zubac, they ran over the Portland Trail Blazers, 123-111, at Crypto.com Arena.

“I know it’s a long season but having Kawhi and PG both in the starting lineup, being able to play tonight with no restrictions, it’s good to see,” Lue said before tipoff.

The Blazers were starting their own revised era – their first season without perennial All-Star Damian Lillard, who demanded a trade and eventually landed with the Milwaukee Bucks. The young players, including highly touted rookie Scoot Henderson, were no match for George, Leonard and Westbrook once they got moving.

“(I liked that we were) just playing hard, competing, like I said, having a defensive mindset, being physical, getting into the ball, getting the bodies and Zu protecting the rim,” Lue said after the wire-to-wire win. “That’s what we got to be every night.”

Lue said he thought their offense would take time to gel as they get to know each other. That might have accounted for the 17 turnovers against Portland, which struggled to control its own mistakes (17 turnovers) against the Clippers’ focused defense.

Scoring, however, wasn’t a problem for the Clippers. George led all scorers with 27 points on 11-of-17 shooting, while Leonard added 23 points – hitting all five of his 3-point attempts – and Zubac finished with 20 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots.

Westbrook also had a double-double with 11 points and 13 assists, the most by a Clippers player in a season opener since Andre Miller in 2002, as the Clippers finished with 36 assists on their 47 field goals.

Hyland finished with 17 points.

“I was very happy about our offense because we haven’t been shooting the ball well, so to make 16 threes, go 16 for 34 for 47%, that’s unusual after the way we’ve been shooting the ball this preseason,” Lue said.

The trio of Leonard, George and Westbrook played just 10 games together after Westbrook joined the team in February as injuries cut short their time. Leonard said Wednesday’s game was a good example of what the Clippers could accomplish.

“I think we just have to step out on the floor and like he said, just show an example that we’re engaged and locked in from the beginning,” Leonard said.

“It could just translate over to everybody else and they could carry over.”

Malcolm Brogdon, who was tentatively headed to the Clippers in a three-team trade in June before it fell apart, led the Blazers with 20 points. Anfernee Simons added 18 points and Deandre Ayton added four points and 12 rebounds. Henderson finished with 11 points, four assists and four turnovers in 36 minutes in his debut.

The biggest blemish on the high-energy night was the absence of Terance Mann. Mann, sporting a knee-high walking boot on his sprained left ankle, was forced to watch the season opener sitting down, missing his initial start at power forward.

Robert Covington filled in for Mann and capped the first half by blocking a shot by Jabari Walker. Covington had five points in his first start in two years.

Related Articles

The start of the game might not have been what Lue had planned on with Mann out and the Clippers getting off to a bit of a slow start, but the middle and certainly the finish made him happy.

The Clippers ramped up their intensity, evident by Westbrook’s trademark hustle. After beating Portland’s Henderson for a layup in the first quarter, he stood in the corner of the court, waving his arms and yelling to the crowd to get pumped up.

The crowd responded enthusiastically with nearly every fast-break, deflected pass and rebound as the Clippers took a 20-point lead by halftime and led 99-73 after three quarters.

The Clippers allowed Portland to make some headway in the fourth as Toumani Camara and Brogdon buried back-to-back 3-pointers to trim the lead to 102-79 with 9:40 left. With their lead shaved to 20 points, Lue put the starters back in and the Clippers closed out a 12-point victory.

“It feels good,” Leonard said of his healthy start. “I’m happy that I had a good offseason, able to get back healthy. Like I said, I felt good in training camp going into this season and came out (of) the game feeling good as well. So just going to keep it going from here.”

PG-13 sounds off on the W! @LAClippers | #ClipperNation | @Kristina_Pink pic.twitter.com/RJQkNEoQNi

— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) October 26, 2023

PG PUNCH

He’s up to 27 points on the night.

POR/LAC – Live on the NBA App: https://t.co/wjSd7HW3Ja pic.twitter.com/BHJzUrceKa

— NBA (@NBA) October 26, 2023

Klaw Russ @LAClippers | #ClipperNation pic.twitter.com/ozlPWCgxl6

— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) October 26, 2023

@LAClippers | #ClipperNation pic.twitter.com/1FB7rQKzn4

— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) October 26, 2023

BONES TO BRODIE @LAClippers | #ClipperNation pic.twitter.com/RHOtJscvI8

— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) October 26, 2023

COUNT IT @LAClippers | #ClipperNation pic.twitter.com/fyju9MzcNg

— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) October 26, 2023

Coach Lue addressed the media following the W in the season opener @LAClippers | #ClipperNation pic.twitter.com/4WaSrXlPQE

— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) October 26, 2023

THE KLAWWW@LAClippers | #ClipperNation pic.twitter.com/tS2eKMeE21

— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) October 26, 2023

Red Hot @LAClippers | #ClipperNation pic.twitter.com/RH1BNX2dxT

— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) October 26, 2023

​ Orange County Register 

1 person critically injured, 2 men arrested after shooting at hotel in Crestline

• October 26, 2023

An employee of a Crestline hotel was in critical condition after being shot early Wednesday, Oct. 25, and two suspects were arrested — including a man who also was injured, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said.

The shooting was reported at 2:30 a.m. at the Sleepy Hollow Hotel at 24033 Lake Drive in the community in the San Bernardino Mountains.

A news release sent Wednesday night said Brian Serrano and Jaime Rojas were stopped as they were leaving the area in a car. Serrano, 43, of Sun City, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. Rojas, 46, of Santa Ana, was treated at a hospital and was awaiting being booked on suspicion of conspiracy to commit attempted murder.

The release did not say how Rojas was injured.

A person who answered the phone at the hotel declined to comment to a reporter.

Related Articles

​ Orange County Register 

Guardians or gangsters?: The dark side of civil asset forfeiture

• October 26, 2023

There are fundamental laws, deeply entrenched not just in culture and society but also in religious tenets, that are universally repudiated. Crimes such as murder, adultery and theft top this list. Yet, as countless unsuspecting citizens have discovered, there’s a sinister form of theft lurking in the shadows, sanctified by the very government that’s supposed to protect us: civil asset forfeiture.

Strip this term of art and the grim reality stands exposed: Law enforcement, when corrupted, becomes a band of robbers in uniform. If you naively believe, “This won’t happen to me. After all, I’ve done no wrong,” brace yourself. More often than not, it’s the innocents who find themselves trapped, with no trial or conviction — just barefaced, brazen theft.

To give a semblance of fairness to this discussion, yes, there might be scenarios where confiscating assets without trial is warranted, say to prevent criminals from using their ill-gotten gains. Such actions would be somewhat palatable if the assets were returned once innocence was proven, or the prosecutors didn’t indict. But alas, that’s rarely the case.

Between 2000 and 2019, a staggering $68.8 billion was taken away through civil forfeiture. Civil forfeiture might be tolerable with stringent checks and balances. However, in its current grotesque form, it indiscriminately swallows the assets of both the innocent and the guilty. A horrifying 80% of these forfeitures are executed against individuals never even charged with crimes. The Washington Post’s 2014 investigation laid bare nearly 62,000 forfeitures executed without indictments. State law enforcement brazenly set up veritable cash-grab traps disguised as legitimate checkpoints, to raid and pillage people’s assets within their vehicles with impunity. The rationale is to discover criminal activity by looking for various “indicators,” which, as The Washington Post article reports, may be as trivial as trash found on the floor of a car, or a nervous driver.

Take the recent case of an FBI raid on a safety deposit box facility. Under the pretense of investigating the laundering of drug money, they ransacked boxes, one of which belonged to a 79-year-old retiree who had thousands of dollars of cash saved and hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of gold coins. Despite being neither charged with nor accused of a crime, this man became yet another victim of the FBI’s legal piracy. He got his cash, but he had to sue the FBI to get it back, ultimately spending $40,000 on attorneys fees to do so. And his gold coins? Vanished into thin air. The FBI had no idea where they went.

Consider the heart-wrenching saga of a Colorado couple whose only crime was owning a home that happened to be broken into by an armed shoplifting suspect. Their home became collateral damage after the police destroyed the interior with armored vehicles, explosives and bullets, and then they were slapped in the face by a judicial system that denied them compensation.

These aren’t rare aberrations but recurring nightmares. A cursory online search paints a harrowing picture of law-abiding citizens robbed of their homes, businesses, cash, assets and vehicles by those sworn to protect them.

Related Articles

Thieves are thieves no matter whether they wear a badge or uniform. The job of law enforcement is to protect the public, not rob them blind nor use them as piggy banks to fill the coffers of their departments and agencies. How can you legitimately say that you are protecting the public when you take their assets, refuse to charge them with a crime and then make them go through a painful, expensive process to get their assets back? I urge any government official who takes a person’s money with no intent of charging them with a crime to rip their badge off their chest and seek employment elsewhere; you are not needed, you are worthless and should be ashamed to wear your badge.

I am a staunch defender of law enforcement, but I will never defend any officer who abuses the privilege of their badge and shields themselves behind unjust civil forfeiture laws. Theft is theft, regardless of the legal jargon or post-9/11 policy contortions used to justify the laws that make it legal.

People’s very livelihoods, their life’s work, are being ransacked and stolen. The fundamental principle of “innocent until proven guilty” is trampled by unjust laws. In the twisted world of these law enforcement officers, your assets are free game even if you’re never formally accused. We need accountability and oversight, and more certainty that innocent civilians who are never accused of crimes can get their assets back without having to ask. Innocent people shouldn’t be dragged through hell to reclaim what’s rightfully theirs.

Armstrong Williams is a syndicated columnist

​ Orange County Register 

Imprisoned Mexico-based megachurch leader indicted in L.A. on child porn charges

• October 26, 2023

LOS ANGELES — The imprisoned leader of a Mexico-based evangelical megachurch was indicted by a federal grand jury Wednesday on child pornography charges involving a 16-year-old victim.

Naasón Joaquín García — the leader of La Luz del Mundo (Light of the World) — was indicted on one count each of production of child pornography and possession of child pornography, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. It was unclear when García, 54, would appear in court for arraignment on the charges.

García pleaded guilty last year in state court to two counts of forcible oral copulation involving minors and one count of a lewd act upon a child who was 15 years old. Each of the counts involved a separate female minor, according to the California Attorney General’s Office, which handled the prosecution. He was sentenced to 16 years and eight months in prison and ordered to register as a sex offender for life.

Federal prosecutors said he is currently imprisoned at the California Institution for Men in Chino.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, García in May 2019 allegedly coerced a 16-year-old victim to engage in sexually explicit conduct “for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of such conduct.” In June 2019, he allegedly possessed an iPad that had five videos of the victim engaged in sexual activity.

Prosecutors said García was in possession of the iPad when he was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport in June 2019.

According to prosecutors, García could face up to 30 years in federal prison for the charge of production of child pornography, and up to 10 years in federal prison for the charge of possession of child pornography.

The Guadalajara-based Pentecostal sect La Luz del Mundo has branches in 50 nations and claims more than a million members worldwide.

Related Articles

​ Orange County Register 

UCLA’s Colson Yankoff does it all, and with a smile

• October 26, 2023

Coeur d’Alene High football coach Shawn Amos has lunch with UCLA’s Colson Yankoff whenever he’s back in his Idaho hometown. The two catch up on each other’s lives and Amos picks Yankoff’s brain about no-huddle offense.

Yankoff has played three different positions for the Bruins in his four seasons and counting – all with a smile and an optimistic attitude. One thought has remained constant in Amos’ mind since high school and it still holds true:

“Colson was going to crush it no matter what,” he said.

Yankoff is part of a deep running back corps this season and also is a PFF All-American Second Team honoree on special teams. He’s returned seven kicks for 142 yards through the first seven games and has been credited with nine total tackles.

The redshirt senior was a quarterback when he first came to UCLA.

“Getting a taste for all aspects of the game is something I’ve enjoyed,” Yankoff said. “I’ve just really enjoyed helping this team however I can. So if screaming down on kickoff for whatever special teams is the best way to do that, and then I’m all in.”

Coeur d’Alene, Yankoff’s hometown, is a rapidly growing city in northern Idaho that’s roughly a 3-hour drive from the Canadian border. Football is a big deal there, but Amos, who has been coaching the team since 1997, says the sport still has a small-town feel to it.

“Once a Viking, always a Viking,” the team’s dutifully updated Facebook page declares.

The coach estimates 18 of his former players are playing college football right now, but Yankoff, who was a four-star recruit in high school, is one of his most successful ones. The Coeur d’Alene community has its share of UCLA followers now – the high school wrestling coach, in particular, is a big fan.

Yankoff threw for 2,396 yards and 21 touchdowns during his senior season at Coeur d’Alene and rushed for an additional 1,027 yards and 12 touchdowns. He played some receiver early in high school, but he made a name for himself as a dual-threat quarterback.

Yankoff has never thrown a single pass at UCLA. He was moved to receiver in 2020 and picked up additional duties on special teams and remained there for the 2021 season, as well, until he was moved to yet another position.

“I have to admit, we were surprised with running back,” Amos said.

His trust in the coaching staff and willingness to help them has allowed Yankoff to move throughout the offense without friction.

“Candidly, that wasn’t a role I thought I would end up filling on this team,” Yankoff said. “But I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: It’s been really enjoyable.”

Related Articles

Overall athleticism (he also competed in track and field and basketball in high school) has also simplified the process of Yankoff’s position changes in addition to his mentality.

“Colson’s size, his strength, he’s one of the fastest guys on the team,” Coach Chip Kelly said in late August. “He’s 6-foot-4, he’s 230 pounds. He’s really come into his own as a special teams player and as a running back for us, so we’re really impressed with what Colson has put in during the course of his career here.”

The No. 23 Bruins (5-2 overall, 2-2 Pac-12), who host Colorado (4-3, 1-3) on Saturday, average 215.6 rushing yards per game, but Yankoff’s talents extend beyond the football field. He plays the piano, sings, goes hiking and camping and has an undergrad degree in economics. He’s made the Athletic Director’s honor roll 10 times.

“We had a lot of kids come through our program that they need us. We’re a very important part of their journey,” Amos said. “He’s one of those kids we’re just fortunate to be able to coach him.”

​ Orange County Register 

Police sources: At least 16 dead in Maine mass shooting incident

• October 26, 2023

By David Sharp | Associated Press

LEWISTON, Maine — CNN is reporting at least 16 people are dead in multiple shootings in Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday night, according to multiple law enforcement sources.

Fifty to 60 people are injured in the incidents, though it’s unclear how many are injured due to gunfire, the sources told CNN.

A suspect remains at large, the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office said in a post on Facebook.

“We are encouraging all businesses to lock down and or close while we investigate,” the sheriff’s office said earlier Wednesday evening.

Maine State Police ordered residents in the state’s second-largest city to shelter in place Wednesday night because of an active shooter situation in multiple locations.

Lewiston Police said in a Facebook post that they were dealing with an active shooter incident at Schemengees Bar and Grille and Sparetime Recreation, a bowling alley.

“Please stay off the roads to allow emergency responders access to the hospitals,” police said.

On its website, Central Maine Medical Center said staff were “reacting to a mass casualty, mass shooter event” and were coordinating with area hospitals to take in patients.

The alert for Lewiston was made shortly after 8 p.m. as the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office reported that law enforcement agencies were investigating “two active shooter events.” The sheriff’s office said the suspect was still at large.

“We are encouraging all businesses to lock down and or close while we investigate,” the sheriff’s office reported.

A spokesperson for Maine Department of Public Safety urged residents to stay in their homes with their doors locked.

“Law enforcement is currently investigating at two locations right now,” Shannon Moss said. “Again please stay off the streets and allow law enforcement to diffuse the situation.”

The Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office released two photos of the suspect on its Facebook page that showed a gunman walking into an establishment with a weapon raised to his shoulder.

Gov. Janet Mills released a statement echoing those instructions. She said she has been briefed on the situation and will remain in close contact with public safety officials.

Ange Amores, a spokesperson for the city of Lewiston, said city officials are not commenting on the shooting. Amores said Maine State Police were planning to hold a news conference, likely at city hall, to update the public on Wednesday night.

Maine Sen. Angus King, an independent, said he was “deeply sad for the city of Lewiston and all those worried about their family, friends and neighbors” and was monitoring the situation. King’s office said the senator would be headed directly home to Maine once the Senate’s final vote is held Thursday afternoon.

CNN contributed to this report.

​ Orange County Register 

Hoornstra: A 2023 World Series preview, through the eyes of major league scouts

• October 26, 2023

The author and statistician Nate Silver summed up the cynic’s view of a Texas Rangers-Arizona Diamondbacks World Series matchup on Tuesday night, writing on his Twitter/X account: “This is the least compelling World Series matchup in a long time, maybe ever. MLB made a lot of great and overdue changes this season but it’s time to contract the playoffs and give the regular season more meaning.”

Definitions of “compelling” might vary. MLB’s postseason structure is imperfect. Texas and Arizona combined for 174 regular-season wins, the fewest ever in a World Series matchup (excluding seasons shortened by wars or pandemics). The Diamondbacks’ 2001 championship is the only one in the history of either franchise.

None of this means the series can’t be an all-time classic.

While the shock of seeing the sixth-seeded team in the AL and NL reach the World Series is perhaps too much for traditionalists, the view on the ground is more nuanced. I spoke to scouts who have been observing both teams since the beginning of the season. The picture they paint is that of a pair of clubs whose talent might be imperfect on paper, but feature an ideal blend of youth and experience, managerial savvy, and have oodles of that all-important October ingredient: momentum.

Throw it all together and the matchup is – dare I say – compelling?

Here are four things to look for in the World Series, from the scouts’ view:

1. Powder keg bullpens

If the Rangers and Diamondbacks looked underwhelming on paper when the postseason began, you had to begin with the bullpens.

Arizona converted saves at a 62% rate in the regular season, smack-dab on par with the MLB average. General Manager Mike Hazen tried to resolve his closer-by-committee arrangement by acquiring Paul Sewald from the Seattle Mariners, but the veteran right-hander was suddenly walk-prone. He posted a 5.07 FIP (3.57 ERA) in 20 games.

Less than a month later, the D-backs can count the back end of their bullpen as a strength. Sewald, Kevin Ginkel and Ryan Thompson have looked unhittable at times. Playoff magic, good luck, or … a little of both?

“I think it points more toward the unpredictability of bullpens than anything else,” one National League scout said. “Everybody in the bullpen has a good arm. Right now, Ginkel can’t be touched. Sewald comes in and he’s going to get three outs before he gets in trouble. They’re blessed right now. God knows a series could turn around and go the other way. That’s the nature of bullpens: you can’t trust ’em, can’t live without ’em.”

If the D-backs’ bullpen was merely shaky in September, the Rangers could lay claim to having the worst bullpen of any postseason participant ever. They converted saves at a league-low 48% rate. No playoff team has ever blown more saves (33) than it converted (30) in a regular season since 1969, when saves became an official stat.

“And (Rangers manager Bruce) Bochy knows how to run a bullpen,” the NL scout remarked. “What if they had someone who didn’t!”

In October, Texas’ bullpen has converted all three of its save opportunities and won enough lopsided games to make many late-game situations moot. The heightened possibility of a late-game implosion arguably makes the World Series matchup more compelling. At the very least, it leaves two fan bases praying no game goes to extra innings.

2. Youth and experience

One National League scout was so blown away by both teams’ makeup, that he said he could not have predicted a better World Series matchup.

“I think the two best teams are still playing,” he said. “Well-rounded, balanced in all facets of the game, and in addition to being not just a balanced team on the field, the best clubhouses in the playoffs.”

Start with the blend of youth and experience, he said. The Rangers have playoff veterans (Corey Seager, Max Scherzer) and newcomers (Adolis Garcia, Evan Carter, Josh Jung) in key roles. So do the Diamondbacks (Evan Longoria, Tommy Pham; Corbin Carroll, Gabriel Moreno, Alek Thomas). That’s not a coincidence.

“Just enough youth to light a fire under the (butts) of the veteran guys, and just enough wisdom to rein in and focus the younger guys,” the NL scout said.

While many of the young players on both sides had prospect pedigrees long before the season began, that doesn’t mean they were destined to be able to carry a team to the World Series this early in their careers.

“Gabby Moreno is the difference-maker” for the Diamondbacks, said an AL scout. “I don’t think I had a lot of confidence in Moreno as a rookie to take over (at catcher).”

“The maturity of Carter’s at-bats have also probably surpassed expectations,” said another AL scout, “but that’s been true since his debut, so not really new postseason info.”

3. Surprise No. 3 starters

Brandon Pfaadt and Jordan Montgomery are not household names. Fans did not herald their midseason arrivals in Phoenix and Arlington, respectively, with expectations that they would complete a championship-caliber rotation. Yet here they are, complementing both teams’ expected aces, filling out the rotations each side needs to support their relatively weak bullpens.

Montgomery came to Texas in a deadline deal with the St. Louis Cardinals, then went 4-2 with a 2.79 ERA in 11 starts down the stretch. The left-hander was the winning pitcher in two of the four ALCS games (Nathan Eovaldi won the Rangers’ other two) and could be the toughest left-hander the Diamondbacks will face this month.

“Without Montgomery, they would not be where they are right now,” an NL scout said of the Rangers.

Pfaadt, a fifth-round pick in the five-round 2020 draft, had a 9.82 ERA when he was sent to Triple-A Reno in June. He returned a month later, appeared in 13 regular-season games, and posted a respectable 4.22 ERA – enough to earn a Game 1 start in the Wild Card Series. Now, through four postseason starts, the right-hander has a 2.70 ERA across 16⅔ innings. He struck out seven of the 18 Philadelphia batters he faced in Game 7 in the NLCS.

Related Articles

“He trusts his stuff in the zone,” an AL scout said of Pfaadt. “I don’t think the demotion midyear was ‘he’s going to be starting for us in the playoffs and being a big part of it.’ You’re seeing it right in front of you, Pfaadt being a big-game type guy.”

4. Leadership

Scouts described Bochy and Arizona’s Torey Lovullo as “player’s managers.” Bochy’s three World Series championships with the San Francisco Giants, and his undefeated record in elimination games, are well-documented. Lovullo has had fewer chances to sink or swim on the October stage, but he’s the public face of the “family organization” the Diamondbacks have become under General Manager Mike Hazen.

Scouts believe both managers have used an “us-against-the-world” mentality to their teams’ advantage. That might sound cliché, but if it works, why not?

“I don’t think they are where they are if (Chris) Woodward’s still in that dugout,” an NL scout said of the Rangers.

“They believe they can beat any team right now,” an AL scout said of the Diamondbacks.

​ Orange County Register 

For season to stabilize, USC needs to unlock its defensive line

• October 26, 2023

LOS ANGELES — It was impossible to argue with Lincoln Riley’s preseason assessment of the changes in his defense, a locker room suddenly filled with heavyweights and transfer-portal talent, USC’s head coach delivering a late-August line eloquent in its simplicity.

“More good players. Less bad players.”

No disrespect intended. But on paper, it was the truth: filling the middle came the destructive Bear Alexander from Georgia and steady Kyon Barrs from Arizona, and the edges brought Jamil Muhammad from Georgia State and Anthony Lucas from Texas A&M, and USC seemed to have considerably more pieces for defensive coordinator Alex Grinch to maneuver on a turnover-predicated defensive chessboard.

“Our defense is more complicated than last year, which is good,” returning end Solomon Byrd said preseason, “because I don’t think teams will be, like, able to get a beat on us.”

They had their moment in the desert in a “Twilight-Zone”-esque night overall against Arizona State in September, running poor Sun Devils quarterback Drew Pyne ragged on an eight-sack night. Byrd, Muhammad, and returner Romello Height wreaked havoc from the outside. Alexander continued a torrid start rampaging through forests of interior offensive linemen.

Opening the second half in Boulder the following week, as USC amassed a 41-14 lead, Muhammad brought down Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders to end a Buffs drive. Then Height tracked him down on a third-and-15 on the following drive, bouncing up into a “Karate-Kid”-style crane pose in celebration.

Then teams, well, got a beat on them. And USC’s season collapsed.

Since Height went Daniel LaRusso in that third quarter, 24th-ranked USC (6-2 overall, 4-1 Pac-12) has amassed just three sacks and a handful of pressures, a far cry from the front’s dominant early-season games against Nevada and Arizona State.

Returning tackle De’Jon Benton brought down Sanders once more in that Colorado game, but Sanders largely avoided pockets collapsing through a variety of play-action and quick-hit fourth-quarter looks to dice up USC’s secondary. Then Arizona’s offensive line ground down the Trojans’ front. Notre Dame neutralized them completely, with just three pressures and no hits generated in a harsh loss. And Utah’s Bryson Barnes ran circles around them, exacerbating glaring issues with containing mobile quarterbacks.

“Maybe just, guys are just out of position,” linebacker Mason Cobb said Tuesday, after Barnes ran for 52 yards and a game-sealing scramble with seconds left in the fourth quarter. “They kept running that lead and trying to chase it from the backside and play the read from the quarterback. And I feel like guys are just hesitant a little bit.”

No player appeared more out of position against Utah – through little fault of his own – than freshman Braylan Shelby, a 6-foot-5, 245-pound tornado of a pass-rusher who Grinch deployed on the third play of the game Saturday to “put some bigger bodies on the field,” as Grinch said Tuesday.

Shelby was torched, unceremoniously, on a wheel route by safety Sione Vaki for a 53-yard gain.

It happened again, on a similar play in the fourth quarter, Shelby forced into coverage on Vaki as the Utah two-way dynamo took another catch for 36 yards.

“There’s no justification for doing it, other than it’s a play that hasn’t shown up on video,” Grinch said Tuesday as the team prepares to play at Cal (3-4, 1-3) on Saturday.

Related Articles

And then the Twitter account The Trojan Blade dropped the smoking gun, clear and indisputable proof that there had, in fact, been readily available video of such a play in Utah’s previous game against Cal.

Naturally, the development drew a fresh and unrelenting wave of ire against Grinch, the embattled coordinator who gamely shrugged off pressure when asked about it Tuesday. But beyond schematic choices, USC also had clear trouble getting simple production out of its new-look defensive front.

Muhammad (six sacks), Height (four) and Byrd (five) have taken noticeable and consistent leaps as pass-rushers. But Alexander, after a dominant start, was benched for returner Benton after penalties against Colorado and was visibly emotional on the sidelines after being ejected for targeting against Utah. Lucas and Barr have seen inconsistent and largely unproductive snaps. Purdue transfer Jack Sullivan was dropped from the rotation entirely against Utah.

“Probably, I can do a better job of – keep feeding all of them,” defensive line coach Shaun Nua said this week of his line on an appearance on the “Trojans Live” radio show.

That line needs more mouths to eat, for this defense to play a role in salvaging the season.

​ Orange County Register