Coming off a bye week, USC kicks off the second half of the 2011 season Thursday night against the California Golden Bears. The Trojans have five games in the books, but they also have some questions and weaknesses to address before hitting the toughest part of the schedule.
USC has a 4-1 record heading into the second part of the season, but it was often a struggle to get into the win column. At times, the offense has been outstanding; at others, it’s stalled almost to a total halt. Early in the season, the defense had to hold fast when the offense couldn’t get insurance points on the board. In the last two games before the bye week, the defense crumbled, giving up more than 40 points to both Arizona State and Arizona.
Matt Barkley and Robert Woods are one of the most prolific offensive duos in the nation.
Offense
The passing game is the least of the Trojans’ worries. Sophomore wide receiver Robert Woods is among the top receivers in nation, and true freshman Marqise Lee is quickly becoming a key piece of the offense opposite his high school teammate. Junior quarterback Matt Barkley continues to improve on his first two seasons, with 14 touchdowns and just four interceptions so far. Through five games, he’s completed more than 70% of his passes, for almost 1600 yards.
The offensive line has been primarily solid. Barkley generally has plenty of time to get set and while he’s been sacked four times in five games, he’s getting significantly better protection than he has in the past. (He was sacked 17 times in 2009 as a true freshman, and 16 times last season).
The biggest concern on offense is the run game. Senior Marc Tyler was suspended for the opener but quickly moved into the starting position. Still, he’s averaging just 4.7 yards per carry and has only two touchdowns after 72 carries. D.J. Morgan, who started before Tyler’s return, played well against Minnesota but two fumbles have landed him on the bench for recent games. Curtis McNeal has the Trojans’ longest runs of the season, but he hasn’t played much, and when he has, he hasn’t been consistent. Sophomore Dillon Baxter was expected to have a season for the highlight reels as a true freshman; a year later, it still hasn’t happened, and he’s barely seen the field in 2011.
Looking to get something started on the ground, the Trojans played true freshman Amir Carlisle rather than redshirting him, since he’d been a fall camp standout, especially early. He injured his ankle in his first game though, so he hasn’t had an opportunity to be a factor. He’s listed as “possible,” against Cal, but don’t count on it, especially with the rumors from Heritage Hall suggest that top recruit George Farmer will get a chance at running back this week.
Signing Farmer, another teammate of Woods and Lee, was a huge recruiting victory for USC, but he hasn’t played yet this season. It doesn’t sound like he’s planning to redshirt, either. During the bye week, he’s been taking some practice reps at tailback – and reportedly doing pretty well at it, so well that he might play there or on special teams this week.
Defense
Well, it’s a bit better than last year’s (at least it started that way), but it’s far from ferocious. In the last two games, a loss to Arizona State and a win over Arizona, the Trojans gave up 84 total points. Eighty-four. No one was expecting the 2011 Trojans to have a defense comparable to one of the dominating units of years past, but there’s nothing remotely stalwart about allowing opponents to score that many points. The red zone defense has been especially poor of late, allowing opposing offenses to score 14 touchdowns in 17 red zone trips.
The D started off fairly solid, intercepting a pass in the final seconds of the season opener to win over Minnesota and saving the win over Utah the following week. They appeared to be tougher and much more physical than last season, but looks may have been deceiving. They’ve had 10 sacks on the year, but just three interceptions.
In 2010, the secondary was a concern because it was young; only Shareece Wright had any experience, and it wasn’t much. This season, there’s more experience but still not enough production. Sophomore Nickell Robey, who won the starting job at the beginning of his freshman year, is the only lock at cornerback, but he hasn’t looked as fast or as sharp this season as he did by the end of last year. He’s just 5’8″ and has struggled against bigger receivers.
Torin Harris was starting opposite Robey but was inconsistent; in the first game, for instance, he missed a tackle that put the Utes within two, then intercepted a pass to prevent them from getting on the board again. Harris is currently dealing with a shoulder injury and may not play against Cal. If not, Anthony Brown and Isiah Wiley will likely share time. Brown has played well so far this season while Wiley, a transfer from Arizona Western College, was the “MVP” of the bye week, as head coach Lane Kiffin told the media.
Linebacker is another area that has to improve for the Trojans to be successful in the second. Dion Bailey has received lots of positive press for his play thus far, but senior Chris Galippo still seems to be underperforming. Earlier in the season, when the defense was playing better, Galippo was alternating with freshman Lamar Dawson, before Dawson sprained his ankle. Dawson’s presence, according to Kiffin, provided both motivation and rest for Galippo, which will be much needed against Stanford, Notre Dame, and especially Oregon.
Special Teams
Spending valuable scholarships on kicker Andre Heidari has, so far, been a very smart investment. He’s kicked all his extra points and made 7 of 8 field goal attempts. Hiring special teams coach John Baxter before last season was an even smarter investment, as the Trojans have already blocked multiple kicks this season.
