The Ugly Game

Let’s make one thing clear. That was ugly. USC was outworked, outcoached, and ultimately outscored by the Crimson Tide. Much credit is due to the defending champs who played well and behind an excellent second half, handed the Trojans their worst season opening result in program history. The thing that makes me most frustrated is that for a brief moment, we were in the fight. We led and made stops on defense early in the game but quickly the hope was extinguished as the Saban machine gained momentum and it became a long evening for the Trojans.

Before the game, I noted four key points to making this a contest. Let’s review:

– Protect the football and don’t commit penalties: USC threw a pick 6, and committed 6 penalties for 46 yards. I’d be remiss to not mention the unacceptable behavior of Jabari Ruffin who represented the University in an extremely poor manner and will sit out for the first half vs. Utah State.

– “We cannot trail by two touchdowns or more at the half”: Halftime score… 17-3

– Don’t get beat deep: Alabama’s average reception went for 18 yards, with 3 receptions of 40,45,71 yards. A highlight to note here is Adoree Jackson’s coverage of Calvin Ridley who only tallied 2 catches for 9 yards. A bright spot in the depths of a bad loss.

– Score TD’s: USC failed to score and their only points came on two field goals.

Let’s not overreact and for the love of Troy let’s not write off Helton and his staff please. You could put together a robust list of coaches who would probably have endured a similar outcome on Saturday. Instead, we should find solace, hope, and confidence in the short list of things we did well against Alabama and know that it is fuel for the fire. Heck, even JuJu got so fired up at practice Tuesday that a scrum broke out after a ball thrown his way was batted away. Do you think he’s ready to make a statement this weekend? In closing, the Trojans were beat on both sides of the ball by a very good program and should be eager to bounce back in a huge way this weekend vs. Utah State in their home opener at the Coliseum. Look out for a preview of the matchup later this week right here on The Late Game.

Until then,

FIGHT ON