The Redemption Game

It was ugly, and then it was beautiful. It appeared as though USC and the sold out Coliseum of faithful fans would have to wait another year before settling the score with Texas. The Longhorns scored a touchdown to pull ahead with less than a minute remaining. Moments later, Darnold and the offense took the field and executed one of the most beautiful final drives I have seen in recent memory. His accuracy and intuition were displayed and he made one miraculous jump pass to Stephen Carr to keep the drive moving. Darnold then turned it over to walk on kicker Chase McGrath who put a 31-yard attempt through the uprights and away we went into overtime.

In both overtime periods, there were highlights on offense and defense. Deontay Burnett looked as smooth as ever catching a TD pass and celebrating by shaking Matt Leinart’s hand. The biggest play of the night came when Christian Rector forced a fumble as Texas tried to score and put the ball back in our hands to set up a game winning kick. This time from 43-yards, McGrath stepped in with confidence and got the job done. What a moment for the young man who is a freshman and has very little game experience. Let’s rewind to the ugly part now though and see how we can pick ourselves up for a meeting with the Cal Bears in Berkeley.

The ground game was thwarted for the entire game. It was a surprise to see the same guys who ran for 300 on Stanford, only muster 71 yards on 37 carries. Hats off to Texas as they clearly dominated up front and shut down our tailbacks.

A byproduct of the lack of running back production was that Sam threw 51 times completing only 28 of those attempts. Fortunately, he completed them when it counted but it’s fair to say our offense really struggled throughout. We also failed to convert multiple fourth down plays.

Defensively, we actually played very well. Our guys had two interceptions and did not allow a touchdown until the very end. We had our hands full with the big Texas receiver Collin Johnson who had nearly 200 yards, but we made some big stops as well.

Injury wise, we took a beating. Below is a complete injury report. Source: ReignofTroy.com see more on this here: https://reignoftroy.com/2017/09/21/usc-vs-cal-injury-report-trojan-bear-starters-doube/

USC Injury Report:

• Out for season: K Michael Brown (knee), LB Tayler Katoa (knee), CB Jonathan Lockett (hip), S Isaiah Pola-Mao (shoulder)
• Out: OLB Hunter Echols (hip), OLB Porter Gustin (toe/bicep), TE Daniel Imatorbhebhe (hip), WR Steven Mitchell (groin) OT Nathan Smith (knee)
• Questionable: OLB Juliano Falaniko (knee), DL Rasheem Green (ankle), DB Ajene Harris (knee), LB John Houston (neck), DL Liam Jimmons (ankle), RB Ronald Jones II (quad/ankle), WR Joseph Lewis (abdominal), DL Jacob Lichtenstein (back), WR Keyshawn “Pie” Young (hamstring)
• Probable: OL Chuma Edoga (wrist), OLB Uchenna Nwosu (elbow/MCL), WR Michael Pittman (ankle), DL Marlon Tuipulotu (knee)

Players who will see increased snaps in place of these starters are Ykili Ross in for Ajene Harris, Christian Rector for Rasheem Green, Stephen Carr for Ronald Jones. Porter Gustin was ruled out after Thursday practice and no timetable is set for his or Daniel Imatorbhebhe’s return.

So, what does this all mean and how to we find a way to win against a 3-0 confident Cal team? USC needs to keep it simple and be efficient with the football. We need to get our defense off the field early in drives and not exhaust our backups or injured guys who are playing through. Cal will be ready to make a statement and it’s up to us to find some grit and determination to leave the East bay with a good win. A short week looms ahead so here’s to hoping we can get it done and start resting for Washington State.

FIGHT ON