USC hopes the offense will keep scoring – and needs the defense to stop Virginia from scoring – when the Virginia Cavaliers visit the Coliseum on Saturday night.
The game is a homecoming of sorts for the Trojans – they ended their long, painful offseason with a win at Hawaii but have yet to play in front of the USC faithful at the Coliseum. It’s also head coach Lane Kiffin’s first time back to the Coliseum sidelines since 2006, when the Trojans’ offensive coordinator.
Kiffin’s been charged with the enormous task of bolstering the team in the wake of last season’s 9-4 record, Pete Carroll’s departure, and crippling NCAA sanctions – no easy task for an unproven head coach. USC fans will be watching closely, especially since new restrictions prevented them from attending practices and training camp for the first time in years.
Last week, against Hawaii, Matt Barkley and his offense were virtually unstoppable, while the defense could barely make a stop. Look for that to change this week.
The Trojans’ defense struggled against Hawaii in part because of their run and shoot offense led by quarterback Bryant Moniz. Quarterbacks who can make plays with their feet have been USC’s Achilles’ heel in recent years, but Virginia’s Marc Verica is a more traditional pocket passer who won’t pose that problem.
The secondary, arguably the weakest unit last week, will need to improve – and it certainly should in week two. Hawaii’s backup quarterback, Shane Austin, didn’t scramble for extra yards, but he exploited the young defenders with two touchdown passes when he came in after Moniz was injured.
Many of the issues, especially taking bad angles, should improve now that the team has one game under its belt and had a week to work on the specific problems that the Hawaii game revealed.
The defense should also be helped by the return of several players who sat out last Thursday due to injuries. USC junior T.J. Bryant should be back after missing the first game recovering from a broken cheekbone courtesy of teammate Stanley Havili; he could start over true freshman Nickell Robey.
Defensive end Nick Perry will be back from a sprained ankle. His return shuffles the defensive line-up from last week; Armond Armstead will be back at defensive tackle after being switched to defensive end last season.
USC didn’t bring much of a pass-rush with them to Hawaii, but they won’t be able to get away with that against Virginia. The Cavaliers rank above the Trojans in passing yards so the defense will need to tackle and rush the passer to keep the Cavs from getting too close for comfort.
The offense can take some of the pressure off the embattled defense with another powerful, balanced attack, although that might not be quite as easy as last week.
Hawaii’s defense matched USC’s when it came to blown coverages and missed tackles; Virgina’s D should be a bit better, but USC’s offense is still better. The Trojans were 9 of 12 on third down conversions last week, and the offensive line provided Barkley with excellent protection. They might be going up against a stronger defense, but they’ll also have freshman phenom Dillon Baxter back from suspension. If he can hang onto the football (no Joe McKnight drops, please) the USC offense should have another big night, even against a better D.
And don’t underestimate the power of home field advantage. This will be the Cavaliers first game in the state of California in the 122-year history of its football program, and the Coliseum will be rocking.
