The USC Trojans had their most complete game this season in a 32-21 win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers, cutting down on penalties and improving to 3-0.
Robert Woods and Allen Bradford had huge games for ‘SC. Woods’ 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the second half was a wakeup call for the Trojans, who went on to score 13 consecutive points. Bradford, who lost his starting job to Marc Tyler before the season, showed his value as a power runner, carrying the ball 12 times for 131 yards, including one 56-yard touch
down run.
In the first two games, USC exhibited strengths on both sides of the ball – just not during the same game. The one area in which the Trojans were consistent, to the frustration of head coach Lane Kiffin, was penalties, a category in which they led the
nation. Against Minnesota, both the offense and defense showed up to play, and while they still incurred seven penalties for 71 yards, it was a significant improvement.
The defense seemed to get off to a dominant start, completely stopping the Minnesota run game on the opening drive, before surrendering a touchdown on the Gophers’ next possession. True freshman cornerback Nickell Robey earned the first penalty flag of the day for touchdown-saving pass interference in the end zone, but it only took Minnesota two more plays to put seven points on the board.
Everyone wants to know why Lane Kiffin always tries to go for the two-point conversion
When the Trojans finally scored, they didn’t get seven to tie the game. After a gorgeous 53-yard touchdown pass from Matt Barkley to his star receiver, Robert Johnson, backup quarterback and holder Mitch Mustain went for two. The Trojans tried a similar play after their first TD in Hawaii, with similar results. It was the theme of the afternoon, with the Trojans attempting two-point conversions after three of their touchdowns, and failing every single time. On the year, the Trojans are 2 of 7 on two-point conversion attempts, compared to 7-for-7 kicking extra points. The decision sort of made sense the second time, when USC trailed the Gophers by one point – but if they’d just kicked the point after the first time, they wouldn’t have been down.
With both teams starting inexperienced players in the secondary and strong, accurate passers at quarterback, the game had all the ingredients for a shoot-out. Neither USC quarterback Barkley, nor his Minnesota counterpart, Adam Weber, had thrown an interception yet this season. Weber, who became the Gophers’ all-time leader in touchdown passes with his first TD pass of the game, also threw his first interception to USC’s Jawanza Starling, with :45 seconds left in the first half. The momentum shifted to the Trojans, but only for a few seconds as Barkley threw his first interception on the next play, hitting Minnesota’s Kyle Theret right in the numbers. Both quarterbacks went on to throw an additional interception on the afternoon, with Weber accidentally finding USC’s Chris Galippo late in the fourth quarter.
After Woods’ impressive kickoff return in the second half (and another missed two-point conversion), the Trojans finally seemed to come alive. Barkley found David Ausberry in the end zone for a 21-yard touchdown, and with an extra point, it looked like they were back in a zone. But with only eleven seconds in the game, the Trojans defense surrendered yet another late fourth-quarter touchdown. USC did the same thing last Saturday, letting Virginia throw a few last second points on the board, and while it didn’t affect the final outcome, it didn’t ease the concerns about the defense, either.
Depth and endurance are issues with a young defense that’s been fading toward the end of the fourth quarter, but the Trojans will need to find a way to get past it if they want to be successful in Pac-10 play. If USC gets tired and starts to wind down late in the game, their conference opponents will see it, and they will exploit it. The Trojans must learn to play – and play with even fewer penalties – for 60 minutes, not 55 minutes, not even 59 minutes and 49 seconds. They must learn to make a stand at the goal line and protect their end zone when their opponent is facing 3rd or 4th down on the 1 yard line.
The elite defenses pride themselves on making those plays. This year’s squad might not be as stacked with future NFL talent like Rey Maualuga, Sedrick Ellis, Keith Rivers, Brian Cushing and many others, but this year’s schedule will be no easy walk to the Rose Bowl (not that they get to play in the Rose Bowl game anyway). If the Trojans expect to survive conference play, the Trojans’ defense must continue to mature by playing better D for the entire game, and the Trojans’ head coach should learn how to send the kicking team out for an extra point every once in awhile.
