Dumpster Fires of the Week: Tough week for the Trojans

 The Dumpster Fire list took last week off (like most of college football with a slate of awful games). But we are back with a list that does not start with Texas.

 1. USC Athletic Department

The week started in Troy with Pat Haden going hat in hand to beg the NCAA for some scholarship relief despite the fact that nothing has really changed at USC.

The NCAA says, "Sure, bring new info and we will review it."

Ten minutes later, the NCAA says no changes in sanctions. Good PR move, Pat.

Then, we move to the Desert on Saturday night. With USC trailing by a touchdown at halftime, Lane Kiffin apparently borrowed Bo Pelini's halftime speech. The Trojans were outscored 28-7 in the third quarter and ended up losing 62-41.

Haden reportedly talks to his president in the third quarter and decides on the spot to fire Kiffin. Depending upon what report you believe, the coach is fired either on the plane ride home or is pulled off the team bus at LAX for a meeting in which he is fired. Either way, by 8 a.m. Central, Twitter is alive with the news.

USC's season is pretty much in the tank, but getting rid of Kiffin puts the Trojans out front in the hiring process.

 2. Purdue

It's one thing to lose on a last-second play to a non-BCS team. But being crushed 55-24 by Northern Illinois at home?

Purdue has a huge lead on being the worst BCS conference team this year. The Boilermakers' poor first-year coach Darrell Hazell has no talent and might get run out of town in year one.

3. Oklahoma State's red zone offense and special teams

OSU went to Morgantown and lost to a reeling WVU team starting its third different quarterback.

Trailing by three, OSU somehow turned 1st-and-goal at the 1 into 4th-and-goal from the 6. The Pokes promptly missed a field goal.

Another easy FG missed in the first half, and OSU's struggling with the kicking game after having great kicker after great kicker. Just a shocking loss by OSU, which now must win out to have any chance at a Big 12 titlle

4. SEC Defenses

Sorry, but 44-41 is not a battle of two great defenses. Nor is 45-33. Same for 49-42 and 41-30.

Those are the scores of the games between the best teams in the SEC so far this season. Now, I'm not saying that there are not talented teams in the SEC or that the best team in the country is not from the conference. Just don't pitch this fiction that every week SEC teams are playing great defenses in conference play. It's just not true.

5. Georgia Tech's final drive on offense

Despite playing an awful offensive game against Virginia Tech, the Yellowjackets were only trailing by a TD with little more than 3 minutes left on Thursday night. So, time is at a premium.

Ga Tech continued to huddle, continued to run plays with the QB under center and acted like there were eight minutes left to play - no sense of urgency. It was like Ga Tech was running an offense from the 1950s, unaware of the basic two-minute drill that everyone in college football knows how to run.

If the Jackets make a coaching change, this drive will be held up as a reason why. It would be so easy for Paul Johnson to integrate some real spread offense looks into his scheme, but he continues to grind it out as if he's still at Navy.

-Atlantasooner