This was also posted on the Trojan Forum....
The game: Yes! Now the sun seems brighter, and the air seems cleaner. It was a close game played well and finished off in a blowout fashion. Much like the average margin of 27 points in the last 7 home wins vs. UCLA, before the 2013 loss. Despite the UC-LA times (predicting a 14 point UCLA win) and Jim Mora both naming LA as "Bruin Town", they will have to live with the title "Trojan City" for at least a year.
Most of the large crowd of 83K plus, USC fanatics and USC cynics alike chanted "We are SC" , alternating from both sides of the Old Grey Lady, Some rushed the field where the goal posts were unhinged at the base by maintenance, and already laying flat on the field. This was a tough year for the players and for us fans alike. But this is a resilient team , mostly coming off tough losses each time with a rebounding win : Stanford 31-41 to ASU 42-14, Notre Dame 31-41 to Utah 42-24 and now Oregon 28-48 to UCLA 40-19. The key ingredients of the win: a 3-0 edge in Turnover margin (13 points off turnovers). A defense where the USC talent outshone UCLA's offensive talents. And a better 3rd and 4th down conversion for drive continuance- USC 10-21 (48%) vs. UCLA 5-1 (33%).
But let's remember the Trojans that played their last game at the Coliseum (*= yesterdays starters, #=no. of starts for the 2015 season). *P Kris Albarado (12), ILB Lamar Dawson (1), CB Ryan Dillard, TE Cyrus Hobbi, OG Erick Jepsen, WR George Katrib, * QB Cody Kessler (12), WR Robby Kolanz, *TB Tre Madden (7), WR David Mellstrom, DE Claude Pelon (1), *FB Jahleel Pinner (4), *ILB Anthony Sarao (12), SNP Nick Schlossberg, CB Kevon Seymour (3), *DT Delvon Simmons (12), QB Conner Sullivan, WR Christian Tober, DT Cody Temple, *DE Greg Townsend Jr. (12), C Max Tuerk (5), FB Soma Vainuku, PK* Alex Wood (11), and *DT Antwaun Woods (11).
Offense: It was clear that USC wanted to run (20 rushes to 10 passes over the first 4 drives) to get at the front seven "weakness" of the Bruins. It seemed to work sporadically for the first half , but from mid third quarter onward the run battering took its toll on UCLA Dline, who were "hugging their hips" in a tired pose, as the Trojans finished it off with 19 runs in 20 plays in the 4th quarter . The sole pass was the TD to TE McNamara. The time of possession stat, though often misleading, wasn't that, in this game; USC had 40 minutes and UCLA 20 minutes. USC had 13 drives: 7 ended in punts, 2 in FGs made, 4 in TDs, 1 in clock run out.
QB: Cody Kessler is warrior. And, as is his legacy, he had another underrated game (58 %-11.7 ypc- 2 TD and no interceptions) and ran for a both a first down and a TD. He threw 15 receptions to 7 different receivers: 10 to WRs (7 other incompletes) , 2 to the TE (2 other incompletes) and 3 to running backs (2 other incompletes) . Cody also had one throwaway and 3 drops by receivers (one a would be TD). He closed the last regular season of a fine career, toiled under 4 different head coaches , with a big win over rival UCLA. Not bad for a Bakersfield Boy. And there is more to come over the next two games. Grade: A-.
Receiving Game: If this were a war then USC would occupy 2 M.A.S.H. units. But another warrior stood out: Juju Smith-Shuster ( 6 catches, 3 FDs, 14.2 yards per catch). The guy is held together by only grit and duct tape. Lots of guys to spotlight but two others that scored TDs were Rogers (2 catches, 2 FDs, 1 TD, 16 ypc), the TD, a sensational catch where he skied between two defenders; and McNamara (2 catches, 1 FDs, 1 TD, 7 ypc), who found himself so alone on one blown coverage that he might have thought he was playing for Oregon. Overall Grade: A-.
Running Game: OK the stars of the game to me were the 3 "Bust-it-teers": Justin Davis (25 carries-5.2 yp carry, 7 First downs), Tre Madden (7 carries-4.6 ypc, 2 FDs), and Ronald Jones II (17 carries-3.7 ypc, 2 FDs). Tre the senior starter got a great 18 yard burst on 4th and 1 in the first quarter, leading to the 2nd FG. Justin Davis basically became the designated rock carrier (15 of the last 20 runs) and was a throwback to those days of USC runners saying here I come. RJ2 was being shadowed and not as successful but had positive yardage on all but 2 of his carries. If you wanted to preview next week versus Stanford ...this might have been it. Overall Grade: A.
Oline: Another banged up unit . USC was down to their 4th string center (a good job by Falah) and Kessler spent more time taking the snap directly than out of the shotgun. The "dancing elephants" as Bill Parcells called his O Line responded and this was not your 3 yards and a cloud of dust, but sprinkled with gains of 16, 9, 8, 7, 8, 6, 11, 12, and 9 in those last 2 drives covering 20 plays-94 yards and 12:24 of clock time. Overall Grade: A-.
Defense- UCLA wanted to setup the pass to attack USCs "weakness" in the secondary . UCLA had 14 drives: 7 ended in punts, 3 in TDs 1 in a fumble and 2in interceptions, The Bruins came in with an average score of 33.5 ppg and total yards of and ended up with a score of 21 points and total yards of 321. They had given up only 9 interceptions in 11 games and gave up 2 (it could have been up to 3 more). UCLA protected the chosen one by giving up only 12 sacks in 11 games and gave up 3 in this one. Credit Wilcox for attacking and rattling the young QB with 4-6 blitzers using a safety blitz a lot. And credit to the Secondary who were on an island of man to man. They had 9 breakup of passes...a lot. That's 9 less pass completions. And IMO they should have had 2 less Pass Interference calls. I'll take that performance any day. Overall Grades: Total Defense- B+.
Special Teams: UCLA had the Place Kicking advantage but lost that one 2-0. They held a Punt return advantage and lost that to Adoree Jackson and his slaloming TD. And USC punter , Senior Albarado finished his career with a very good game. Overall Grade: B+.
Coaching: Jim Mora came into this game winning the last 3 games versus USC. Many lauded his turning UCLA around while demeaning the mess that was USC's coaching carousel. But one major difference was the 3 year sanctions and the remnants of that this year. During that time in conference Mora's teams were 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 and now 5-4. The total is 23 wins and 14 losses or 62 %. USC's turmoil netted 5-4, 6-3, 6-3 and now 6-3 The total is the same 23 wins and 14 losses. Hmmm...food for thought. . Helton's is 6-2 or 75%. Do I think Helton is the right man for HC? I think it was right to give Clay a two year contract to prove himself without the hysterics surrounding this year. So, yes I did. Overall Grade this game: A-
Miscellaneous: The refs stayed out of the way (mostly) in this game but still called a PI on USC for grabbing a shirt of UCLA receiver when the ball was uncatchable . And did not call a arm holding on UCLA in the end zone on a catchable ball, but not with one hand . And the brain freeze on the chain gang not moving up on a UCLA first down, created a senior moment. Refs-C+
Bottom line/Next game Forecast - Ultimately those who believed that a "child shall lead them" were only partly right on true Freshman, Rosen. Many of us cautioned that, using Matt Barkley, also a true freshman in 2009 as an example. Rosen though talented ended up for the year at 59.5% completions, 7.5 yards per pass attempt, and 133 QB rating on an 8-4 team, 5-4 in conference. Barkley was 59.9% completions, 7.7 yards per pass attempt, and 131 QB rating on an 8-4 team, 5-4 in conference. The records are Separated from Birth. Matt and his team then went to the second tier Emerald bowl and beat BC. So now we have officially won a PAC12 South title and have a second chance to meet Stanford, who likely would rather have faced a UCLA team who they beat eight in a row. Bring them on. Tough Smash mouth game for both. My Forecast..USC 35 Stanford 33.
The game: Yes! Now the sun seems brighter, and the air seems cleaner. It was a close game played well and finished off in a blowout fashion. Much like the average margin of 27 points in the last 7 home wins vs. UCLA, before the 2013 loss. Despite the UC-LA times (predicting a 14 point UCLA win) and Jim Mora both naming LA as "Bruin Town", they will have to live with the title "Trojan City" for at least a year.
Most of the large crowd of 83K plus, USC fanatics and USC cynics alike chanted "We are SC" , alternating from both sides of the Old Grey Lady, Some rushed the field where the goal posts were unhinged at the base by maintenance, and already laying flat on the field. This was a tough year for the players and for us fans alike. But this is a resilient team , mostly coming off tough losses each time with a rebounding win : Stanford 31-41 to ASU 42-14, Notre Dame 31-41 to Utah 42-24 and now Oregon 28-48 to UCLA 40-19. The key ingredients of the win: a 3-0 edge in Turnover margin (13 points off turnovers). A defense where the USC talent outshone UCLA's offensive talents. And a better 3rd and 4th down conversion for drive continuance- USC 10-21 (48%) vs. UCLA 5-1 (33%).
But let's remember the Trojans that played their last game at the Coliseum (*= yesterdays starters, #=no. of starts for the 2015 season). *P Kris Albarado (12), ILB Lamar Dawson (1), CB Ryan Dillard, TE Cyrus Hobbi, OG Erick Jepsen, WR George Katrib, * QB Cody Kessler (12), WR Robby Kolanz, *TB Tre Madden (7), WR David Mellstrom, DE Claude Pelon (1), *FB Jahleel Pinner (4), *ILB Anthony Sarao (12), SNP Nick Schlossberg, CB Kevon Seymour (3), *DT Delvon Simmons (12), QB Conner Sullivan, WR Christian Tober, DT Cody Temple, *DE Greg Townsend Jr. (12), C Max Tuerk (5), FB Soma Vainuku, PK* Alex Wood (11), and *DT Antwaun Woods (11).
Offense: It was clear that USC wanted to run (20 rushes to 10 passes over the first 4 drives) to get at the front seven "weakness" of the Bruins. It seemed to work sporadically for the first half , but from mid third quarter onward the run battering took its toll on UCLA Dline, who were "hugging their hips" in a tired pose, as the Trojans finished it off with 19 runs in 20 plays in the 4th quarter . The sole pass was the TD to TE McNamara. The time of possession stat, though often misleading, wasn't that, in this game; USC had 40 minutes and UCLA 20 minutes. USC had 13 drives: 7 ended in punts, 2 in FGs made, 4 in TDs, 1 in clock run out.
QB: Cody Kessler is warrior. And, as is his legacy, he had another underrated game (58 %-11.7 ypc- 2 TD and no interceptions) and ran for a both a first down and a TD. He threw 15 receptions to 7 different receivers: 10 to WRs (7 other incompletes) , 2 to the TE (2 other incompletes) and 3 to running backs (2 other incompletes) . Cody also had one throwaway and 3 drops by receivers (one a would be TD). He closed the last regular season of a fine career, toiled under 4 different head coaches , with a big win over rival UCLA. Not bad for a Bakersfield Boy. And there is more to come over the next two games. Grade: A-.
Receiving Game: If this were a war then USC would occupy 2 M.A.S.H. units. But another warrior stood out: Juju Smith-Shuster ( 6 catches, 3 FDs, 14.2 yards per catch). The guy is held together by only grit and duct tape. Lots of guys to spotlight but two others that scored TDs were Rogers (2 catches, 2 FDs, 1 TD, 16 ypc), the TD, a sensational catch where he skied between two defenders; and McNamara (2 catches, 1 FDs, 1 TD, 7 ypc), who found himself so alone on one blown coverage that he might have thought he was playing for Oregon. Overall Grade: A-.
Running Game: OK the stars of the game to me were the 3 "Bust-it-teers": Justin Davis (25 carries-5.2 yp carry, 7 First downs), Tre Madden (7 carries-4.6 ypc, 2 FDs), and Ronald Jones II (17 carries-3.7 ypc, 2 FDs). Tre the senior starter got a great 18 yard burst on 4th and 1 in the first quarter, leading to the 2nd FG. Justin Davis basically became the designated rock carrier (15 of the last 20 runs) and was a throwback to those days of USC runners saying here I come. RJ2 was being shadowed and not as successful but had positive yardage on all but 2 of his carries. If you wanted to preview next week versus Stanford ...this might have been it. Overall Grade: A.
Oline: Another banged up unit . USC was down to their 4th string center (a good job by Falah) and Kessler spent more time taking the snap directly than out of the shotgun. The "dancing elephants" as Bill Parcells called his O Line responded and this was not your 3 yards and a cloud of dust, but sprinkled with gains of 16, 9, 8, 7, 8, 6, 11, 12, and 9 in those last 2 drives covering 20 plays-94 yards and 12:24 of clock time. Overall Grade: A-.
Defense- UCLA wanted to setup the pass to attack USCs "weakness" in the secondary . UCLA had 14 drives: 7 ended in punts, 3 in TDs 1 in a fumble and 2in interceptions, The Bruins came in with an average score of 33.5 ppg and total yards of and ended up with a score of 21 points and total yards of 321. They had given up only 9 interceptions in 11 games and gave up 2 (it could have been up to 3 more). UCLA protected the chosen one by giving up only 12 sacks in 11 games and gave up 3 in this one. Credit Wilcox for attacking and rattling the young QB with 4-6 blitzers using a safety blitz a lot. And credit to the Secondary who were on an island of man to man. They had 9 breakup of passes...a lot. That's 9 less pass completions. And IMO they should have had 2 less Pass Interference calls. I'll take that performance any day. Overall Grades: Total Defense- B+.
Special Teams: UCLA had the Place Kicking advantage but lost that one 2-0. They held a Punt return advantage and lost that to Adoree Jackson and his slaloming TD. And USC punter , Senior Albarado finished his career with a very good game. Overall Grade: B+.
Coaching: Jim Mora came into this game winning the last 3 games versus USC. Many lauded his turning UCLA around while demeaning the mess that was USC's coaching carousel. But one major difference was the 3 year sanctions and the remnants of that this year. During that time in conference Mora's teams were 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 and now 5-4. The total is 23 wins and 14 losses or 62 %. USC's turmoil netted 5-4, 6-3, 6-3 and now 6-3 The total is the same 23 wins and 14 losses. Hmmm...food for thought. . Helton's is 6-2 or 75%. Do I think Helton is the right man for HC? I think it was right to give Clay a two year contract to prove himself without the hysterics surrounding this year. So, yes I did. Overall Grade this game: A-
Miscellaneous: The refs stayed out of the way (mostly) in this game but still called a PI on USC for grabbing a shirt of UCLA receiver when the ball was uncatchable . And did not call a arm holding on UCLA in the end zone on a catchable ball, but not with one hand . And the brain freeze on the chain gang not moving up on a UCLA first down, created a senior moment. Refs-C+
Bottom line/Next game Forecast - Ultimately those who believed that a "child shall lead them" were only partly right on true Freshman, Rosen. Many of us cautioned that, using Matt Barkley, also a true freshman in 2009 as an example. Rosen though talented ended up for the year at 59.5% completions, 7.5 yards per pass attempt, and 133 QB rating on an 8-4 team, 5-4 in conference. Barkley was 59.9% completions, 7.7 yards per pass attempt, and 131 QB rating on an 8-4 team, 5-4 in conference. The records are Separated from Birth. Matt and his team then went to the second tier Emerald bowl and beat BC. So now we have officially won a PAC12 South title and have a second chance to meet Stanford, who likely would rather have faced a UCLA team who they beat eight in a row. Bring them on. Tough Smash mouth game for both. My Forecast..USC 35 Stanford 33.
