From the Press Box: IMHO Sunday – “No. 5” Trojans hand Stanford a painful 56-10 going away present.
In my humble opinion, cardinal and gold views from the Coliseum in Los Angeles on what I saw, what I heard, and what I thought after No. 6 USC’s 56-10 trouncing of the Stanford Cardinal to open Pac-12 play on Saturday night...
Nobody asked me, but…
That 56-10 absolute shellacking by USC (3-0, 1-0 Pac-12) over Stanford (1-1, 0-1 Pac-12) on Saturday night before an enthusiastic Coliseum turnout of 67,213 was certainly a gloriously rude going away present from the Big Ten-bound Trojans to the ACC-bound Cardinal. John McKay would have loved it, Pete Carroll would have loved it, and Trojans fans everywhere loved it…
So the Men of Troy are newly ranked No. 5 in Sunday’s AP and Coaches Top 25, 3-0 on the season, and headed into a Bye Week. It’s the same age old question: With the Cardinal and Gold gaining steam, does this Bye Week come at a good time or a bad time? I’d say you can make a good argument either way. Pick your poison…
While you’re pondering your Bye Week decision, it’s probably informative to know that coming up after the Bye Week and a quick trip to ASU on Sept 23, the Trojans begin to face their gauntlet in No. 18 Colorado, No. 9 Notre Dame, No. 12 Utah, No. 8 Washington, No. 13 Oregon, and No. 24 UCLA. Off schedule are No. 16 Oregon State and No. 23 Washington State…
The Pac-12 Conference sure picked an absolutely horrendous time to fold up shop. No words can describe the incompetence by the Pac-12 administration and many of its university presidents. Disgusting and a disgrace…
The timing of the Pac-12 to go under after over 100 years is a total disgrace and an exhibition of complete incompetence.
(Photo above by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Despite Saturday’s win, the No. 5 Trojans will continue to have their critics. Most will point out that Troy’s first half of their schedule is a deafening whoopee cushion. And did we mention that whenever USC football is brought up, it’s the Trojans’ defense that gets the national media attention over the high-powered offense?…
Offensively speaking, all you need to know is that in the first half when it counted, the Trojans were firing on all cylinders. Caleb Williams was unreal as he racked up 281 yards on 19 of 22 passing attempts – ALL IN THE FIRST HAL – to go along with his (ho hum) three TDs passes and one amazing scoring jaunt from 21 yards out. Aiding Caleb in the rout was running back MarShawn Lloyd, who in the first half had 77 yards rushing and a nifty 5-yard scoring burst. If that wasn’t enough, receivers Brenden Rice (75 yards) and Dorian Singer (19 yards) also hit paydirt, while Tahj Washington led the Trojans in receptions (4 for 73 yards), and even tight end Lake McRee – yes a tight end – got into the onslaught with 34 yards on five receptions and a 1-yard TD grab.
Make no mistake, the offensive line played its most complete game of the season by providing 153 rushing yards and allowing zero sacks. Forget about the second half, it was a snoozer after the first half score-a-thon, and Lincoln Riley admitted he was not pleased with his second offensive unit. The Trojans didn’t score in the second half until 00:58 left in the game when QB Miller Moss scampered in from the 15 yards out. Yeah, the second half was, well, boring…
Caleb Williams waves to the his fans following the Trojans destruction of Stanford on Saturday night in the Coliseum.
(Photo above by Kirby Lee – USA Today)
Defensively speaking, this was also the most complete first half of the season. Of course, it helps when you knock out Stanford starting QB Austin Daniels early. What was impressive, IMHO ,was the communications amongst the defenders on the field. They looked together and improved. No doubt Stanford was haunted by defensive tackle Bear Alexander, who controlled the line of scrimmage along with fellow tackle Kyon Barrs. They are forming a very good tandem, which will be needed when the approaching difficult part of the schedule comes calling. Having a good game, as well, was safety Jaylin Smith, who was all around the ball during his time on the field. And let’s not forget the big interception by Max Williams in the first quarter to ignite the Coli fans.
There were still some missed tackles that need to again be addressed and the rush game remains a work in progress, but against a young and inexperienced Stanford offense, it was apparent the Cardinal offense was going to have a very long day – if not a long first half. That being said, I also thought the Trojans did a good job of contain on the edges, and you can thank Jamil Muhammad and Solomon Byrd for showing the way in that department…
Trojans safety Max Williams (#4) makes a huge interception in the first quarter against Stanford on Saturday night in the Coliseum.
(Photo above by Kirby Lee – USA Today Sports)
Special teams speaking, there were some penalty mistakes, but let’s face it, don’t go to the kitchen when Zachariah Branch is back in kickoff or punt return formation. At this point, why are teams kicking to him? You know that definition of insanity? Trojans placekicker Denis Lynch was perfect in his eight PAT attempts while punter Eddie Czaplicki hit on five punts and averaged 42.2 with a long of 49 yards. FYI, Eddie also planted three of his punts inside the 20-yard line…
The Trojans’ defense should have no excuses when it comes to defending mobile, scrambling dual-threat quarterbacks. They arguably face the best of the best in practice, or perhaps you haven’t heard of Caleb Williams?…
Prior to the Stanford game, Lincoln Riley seemed agitated with the USC fan base for not filling the Coliseum this season. Although the Coli was not at capacity on Saturday – just under 70,000 – it was a good turnout, and it was a spirited and loud gathering. Coach, win at ASU and especially Colorado, and there will be fans when you return home for Arizona. Win at Notre Dame, and the Coli will be full at home against Utah. SoCal has to REALLY believe their beloved Trojans are back, not just the offense. Bottom line: Just continue to win, Lincoln, just continue to win, and they will continue to come in bigger numbers – it’s the SoCal template…
I don’t think Lincoln Riley truly understood how much damage was done to the Trojans’ fan base by Clay Helton, athletic directors Pat Haden and Lynn Swann, and the football perception of an apathetic USC administration. There still is a lot of healing going on, but stay the course…
It’s likely Riley didn’t know before his arrival about the elimination of USC lifelines of spirit and financial help, AKA the regional USC support groups. Riley probably also didn’t know regarding the underwhelming Coliseum renovation disaster and season ticket seat relocation anger…
USC was on fire in the first half against Stanford, as the team came out with the lights off and the fans lighting up their cell phones.
(Photo above by Greg Katz- weAreSC.com)
With no old-time head yell leader, I am okay “up to a point” with the DJ exciting the Coli crowd. Who needs “old school” yell leaders? However, sometimes I wonder if the in-game experience is an NFL experience disguised as a college football game and the public address volume is over the top…
Can somebody please eventually take the Trojans Marching Band out of their cell block behind the peristyle end zone and put them in the stands to join the student body behind the USC bench? However, perhaps it’s best for the band in the end zone because it’s easier to rest a tuba or a trombone when not playing…
A reminder that shortly after each and every USC home and away football game, WeAreSC presents on WeAreSC and YouTube “Five Things,” a five-question and-answer review of the game just completed with moderator Erik McKinney and fellow panelists Marc Kulkin and your humble columnist. If you understandably missed it late last night, below is “Five Things” from the Coli press box after the USC’s victory over Stanford…
A final reminder, you’re invited to join me and “Dr. Zo” this early Tuesday evening (5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.) for “Trojan Tuesdays Meet and Greet” at the Cabrillo Landing, 291 W. 22nd Street Suite 104, San Pedro, Calif. In a great location with some good eats (complementary food and beverages), we’ll be talking USC football – Q&A and viewpoints and comments. See you there this Tuesday and Fight On!…
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Let’s go to the highlights…
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Trojans/ Stanford Quotebook
USC head coach Lincoln Riley post-game comments:
Lincoln Riley
(Photo © Kirby Lee)
Lincoln Riley opening comments: ” I’m proud of the guys tonight. We played a really, really good first half. All three sides of the ball really surged and got the momentum and kept it. It was fun to see the team really playing at a high level together for a sustained period and continuing to feed off of one another. We did a lot of good things, especially defensively in the second half.
“We got an opportunity to play a lot of guys, so there were a lot of positives in the game, certainly. I’m proud of the guys for finishing the game. Those situations are sometimes, I don’t want to say awkward — it’s still football — but when you separate that much, you try to walk the fine line between playing good football and also doing it with the respect and class that we would expect out of our program. So, great win, great way to start Pac-12 play.
“I’m proud of taking advantage of the moment in that this is potentially the last SC-Stanford game for a while. This was a series that in recent years went a little bit of a different way. To get them here today was important to seize that moment and opportunity, and we did it.”
Riley on the defense tonight: “It’s pretty good. It looked like good defense. We got pressure on the quarterback. We caused turnovers; we did pretty much everything that a really good defense needs to do.”
Riley on offense: “We’re just kind of running our offense. We’ve got some skill guys out there that we think are good players. And we’re trying to be efficient. We were able to get the run game going. I thought the O-line really controlled the game in the first half and that was the key. And I could say the same thing about the defensive line. We really won the game on the heels of how well we played on both fronts.”
Stanford head coach Troy Taylor post-game comments:
Troy Taylor
(Photo by John Todd/isiphotos.com via Stanford Athletics)
Troy Taylor opening comments: “We played an incredible football team. They’re very well coached, have great talent, just an impressive team. Obviously we didn’t play as well as we would have liked, but we have to give them credit – they played a huge part of that. We didn’t get off to a great start, but our guys did compete in the second half and I was proud of that. We will learn from this game, we will get better, I promise, we’ll be ready to play next week.”
On defending Caleb Williams: “I think he is pretty unique in that way. He’s good in the pocket, it’s not like he’s not, but I think what separates him is he’s hard to get on the ground. When he extends the play, he keeps his eyes up and he’s very accurate. So again, keeping him in the pocket, it’s not a great thing either, because they’ve done a great job of protecting him. He’s got great weapons, but what makes him really special I think is his ability to extend plays. He’s fast and he’s strong.”
On how far USC can go: “They have amazing talent. There’s no doubt they have a great scheme and great coaches. They can definitely challenge, win the conference and go beyond that. From my vantage point, they’re very good.”
Caleb Williams on playing just one half: “I prepare each week for each team the same. I prepare to play four quarters plus, for whatever goes on within games. It’s hard to win football games. Sometimes it looks easy, but it is hard. You go through weeks and summers and springs of training and things like that just to get to this point. So you treat everything the same. You treat everyone the same.
“I’m not pacing myself at all. I’m going out there trying to kill. It’;s what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to make everybody feel our pain and put it on our own terms, like coach said. To take that identity of ourselves and figure that out. We’re on that path to figuring out ourselves and not worrying about whatever everybody on the outside has to say. There’s no page, there’s not anything like that, we’re just trying to get better and focus on that day, that week and keep chugging along.”
Trojans safety Max Williams on the growth of the defense: “When everybody does their job it’s an elite defense. Everybody does their job, everybody communicates. Guys are in the right position. D-line did a great job. The front seven did an amazing job. I want to shout out the D-line, because when they get pressure like they’ve been doing, it makes our job in the secondary a lot easier. So, we’re seeing a lot of growth, a lot of guys are improving each week. We want to look to keep improving.”
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The post-game show…
(Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/Getty Images)
Night temp: Temperature at kickoff for the Stanford game was cloudy and 79 degrees.
It’s the series: USC now leads its series with Stanford 65-34-3.
Tunnel runner: Leading the Trojans out of the Coliseum tunnel before kickoff was former USC and current Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St Brown (2018-20), who was All-Pac-12 in 2020.
Former All-Pac-12 USC wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, now with the Detroit Lions, led the Trojans out of the Coli tunnel on Saturday.
(Photo above by John McGillen/USC Athletics)
Going bowling: Lone bowl representatives in attendance was the Senior Bowl.
Feeling a draft: NFL scout representatives in attendance on Saturday night included the Rams, Chargers, 49’ers,Titans, Jaguars, Dolphins, Lions, and CFL Roughriders.
Recognitions: During Saturday night’s game, the Coliseum gathering was entertained by a wonderful drone show at halftime, acknowledgement of the 2023 USC women’s beach volleyball national championship team, and the recognition of the Little League World Series Champions from El Segundo, Calif.
It was a spectacular drone show at halftime of the USC/Stanford game.
(Photo above by Greg Katz – WeAreSC.com)
Chow down: The 5-star Coli pregame media meal in the press box consisted of orange chicken, white rice, and veggies.
The Coliseum press box meal for the Stanford game.
Looking ahead: The USC at Colorado game (Sat. Sept. 30) at Folsom Field (50,183) is – shockingly an official sellout. FYI, Colorado plays at Oregon the week before battling USC.
Burgers anyone: Of course, you have had to have seen Caleb Williams and Matt Leinart in the latest Wendy’s commercial, haven’t you?
Inside the Trojans’ Huddle A reminder: this Tuesday, WeAreSC panelists Marc Kulkin, Chris Arledge, Erik McKinney, and your humble columnist review Saturday’s Stanford game and discuss the Trojans team progress heading into this week’s Bye Week, in addition to topics both current to USC and college football.
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The Stat Sheet…
Tackling the issues: Against Stanford, safety Jaylin Smith led the Trojans with six tackles followed by safety Bryson Shaw tackles with five.
USC Trojans defensive back Jaylin Smith (19) led the Trojans in tackle against Stanford on Saturday night.
(Photo above by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Downward trend: Against Stanford, the Trojans scored 56 points. The Trojans were averaging 61.0 points per game.
Downward trend: Against Stanford, the Trojans allowed 10 points. The Trojans’ defense was allowing 21.0 points per game.
Downward trend: Against Stanford, the Trojans had 573 yards in total offense. The Trojans were averaging 584.5 yards per game.
Downward trend: Against Stanford, the Trojans’ allowed 349 total yards in total offense. The Trojans were allowing 378.0 total yards per game.
Downward trend: Against Stanford, the Trojans had 180 net yards rushing. The Trojans were averaging 187.5 rushing yards per game.
Upward trend: Against Stanford, the Trojans allowed 209 yards rushing. The Trojans were allowing 198.0 rushing yards per game.
Downward trend: Against Stanford, the Trojans had 393 yards passing yards. The Trojans were averaging 397.0 passing yards per game.
Downward trend: Against Stanford, the Trojans allowed 140 passing yards. The Trojans’ defense was allowing 254.50 passing yards per game.
Upward possession trend: The Trojans had the ball 27:52 minutes, while Stanford had the ball for 32:08 minutes. The Trojans were averaging 26:40 minutes in time of possession while the opponents were averaging 33:20 minutes.
Upward penalty trend: Against Stanford, the Trojans had eight penalties for 85 yards while Stanford had five penalties for 40 yards. The Trojans were averaging 66.0 penalty yards per game as opposed to their opponents, who were averaging 35.0 yards per game against the Trojans.
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The Scoreboard Show…
(Photo by WeAreSC/USC Athletics)
Saturday – Sept. 9
At No 22 Colorado 36 (2-0, 0-0 Pac-12), Nebraska 14 (0-2, 0-1 Big Ten)
Deion makes home debut and Folsom Field rocks, Colorado stuffs the Cornhuskers.
NEB 0 0 7 7 14
COL 0 13 13 10 36
No. 12 Utah 20 (2-0, 0-0 Pac-12), at Baylor 13 (0-2, 0-0 Big 12)
Utes turn up the 100-degree Waco heat, late fourth quarter drive wins it.
Utah 0 3 3 14 20
Bay 0 10 3 0 13
At No. 8 Washington 43 (2-0, 0-0 Pac-12), Tulsa 10 (1-1, 0-0 AAC)
UW QB Michael Penix throws for 3 TDs and receivers Rome Odunze and Ja’Lynn Polk run reverse touchdown runs.
TUL 3 0 0 7 10
UW 14 8 14 7 43
No. 13 Oregon 38 (2-0, 0-0 Pac-12), at Texas Tech 30 (0-2, 0-0 Big 12)
Ducks come from behind in final quarter and pull it out.
ORE 15 3 0 20 38
TT 7 6 14 3 30
At Mississippi State 31 (2-0, 0-0 SEC), Arizona 24 (1-1, 0-0 Pac-12)
Wildcats lose a heartbreaker in Starksville to Mississippi St. in overtime.
UA 0 7 7 10 0 24
MSU 14 0 7 0 7 31
UCLA 35 (2-0, 0-0) Pac-12) at San Diego State 10 (2-1, 0-0 MWC)
Bruins vacation in San Diego and cruise to victory over Aztecs.
UCLA 7 21 7 0 35
SDSU 7 3 0 0 10
At Washington State 31 (2-0, 0-0 Pac-12), NO. 19 Wisconsin 22 (1-1, 0-0 Big Ten)
Washington State sends a big message to Big Ten. What about us?
WIS 3 6 13 0 22
WSU 7 17 0 7 31
At No. 16 Oregon State 55 (2-0, 0-0 Pac-12), UC Davis 7 (1-1, 0-0 BSC )
Beavers toy with the another UC school, and the point was?
UCD 0 0 0 7 7
OSU 14 24 10 7 55
Auburn 14 (2-0, 0-0 SEC) at Cal 10 (1-1, 0-0 Pac-12)
War Eagles stop Bears final late fourth quarter drive to hold on in Berkeley.
AUB 0 7 0 7 14
CAL 3 7 0 0 10
Oklahoma State 27 (2-0, 0-0 Big 12) at ASU 15 (1-1, 0-0 Pac-12)
OSU
OSU 0 10 7 10 27
ASU 7 8 0 0 10
At No. 6 USC 56 (3-0, 1-0 Pac-12), Stanford 10 (1-1, 0-1 Pac-12)
Trojans cruise to their first conference win before a near capacity turnout in the Coliseum.
Stan 0 3 0 7 10
USC 21 28 0 7 56
Pac-12 Standings Overall/Conference
USC Trojans3-0, 1-0 Pac-12Colorado Buffaloes2-0, 0-0 Pac-12Oregon Ducks2-0, 0-0 Pac-12Oregon State Beavers2-0, 0-0 Pac-12UCLA Bruins2-0, 0-0 Pac-12Utah Utes2-0, 0-0 Pac-12Washington Huskies2-0, 0-0 Pac-12Washington State Cougars2-0, 0-0 Pac-12Arizona Wildcats1-1, 0-0 Pac-12ASU Sun Devils1-1, 0-0 Pac-12Cal Bears1-1, 0-0 Pac-12Stanford1-1, 0-1 Pac-12
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The last word…
Bring on the Bye Week!!!
The post From the Press Box: IMHO Sunday – “No. 5” Trojans hand Stanford a painful 56-10 going away present. appeared first on On3.
