The USC Trojans won their eighth consecutive game over the Cal Golden Bears on Thursday night, in a 30-9 win that might prove very costly in the future.
USC linebacker Dion Bailey caught two of Maynard's three interceptions as USC improved to 5-1 with a win over Cal
USC cornerback Anthony Brown, starting in place of the injured Torin Harris, was carted off the field in the first half with an apparent ankle injury. He announced via Twitter later that he’ll be fine.
Just a few plays later, standout freshman wide receiver Marqise Lee left the game immediately after scoring a 39-yard touchdown, the Trojans’ first of the night. The extent of his injury has not been released, but he may have landed awkwardly on his shoulder as he fell across the goal line. Lee was also dinged up against Arizona after catching a touchdown in the right corner, but in that instance, he returned to the game; this time, it seems more serious.
Starting tailback Marc Tyler also hurt his shoulder in the second half; he has confirmed that it’s dislocated.
The injuries to key position players, particularly the up-and-coming Lee, could cause big problems for a USC team that didn’t play nearly as well against Cal as the 30-9 final score suggests.
The Trojans’ offense first took the field after Cal’s Keenan Allen coughed up the ball on the Bears’ first series. USC’s first offensive play of the game was a 31-yard pass from Matt Barkley to Lee to make it first & goal. The Trojans unsuccessfully tried to run it in for the score, then to throw it in, and when that failed, to fake a punt to try to make it in – and that also failed.
Barkley finished with 195 yards and two touchdowns, but he never got into a rhythm and finished just 19 of 35 (54%). His best pass all night was his first one, to Lee, and he wasn’t able to establish the connection with Robert Woods that has been so strong all season. Woods finished with just 5 catches for 36 yards.
Still, it could’ve been worse: Barkley could’ve had a night like Cal’s Zach Maynard.
Maynard completed 58% of his passes and threw for 294 yards, nearly 100 more than Barkley, but he also threw three interceptions – and he’s lucky it was only three. His top two receivers, Keenan Allen and Marvin Jones, combined for 19 receptions for 249 yards to out-gain their USC counterparts by more than 100 yards, but Maynard’s mistakes were too damaging. He threw an interception to linebacker Chris Galippo that led to a field goal, and he hit USC’s Dion Bailey twice, once to end the first half and once to set up the Curtis McNeal touchdown that sealed the game for the Trojans.
The USC defense had given up more than 40 points in each of the last two games, the first time in USC history that’s happened. They worked hard tonight to be better than that, and they were pretty successful, allowing only a field goal and a Maynard touchdown run (the extra point was blocked by USC’s Matt Kalil).
In a game that featured four of the conferences’ top receivers, it was a lower-scoring game than many predicted. Both passing games were disrupted, by injuries or interceptions, and neither team was too successful running the ball. Cal’s Isi Sofele was averaging nearly 100 yards per game on the year; the Trojans held him to 44.
USC wasn’t able to get any of its players to make an impact as a rusher either. Tyler had 11 carries for just 30 yards before dislocating shoulder, and true freshman George Farmer saw his first playing time as a Trojan on the first drive, but he was dropped for a loss short of the line of scrimmage. USC leaned on McNeal after Tyler’s exit, and once again it proved to be a smart move, as McNeal broke out on some longer runs before finishing with 17 carries for 86 yards and touchdown.
It’ll be interesting to see how the depth chart shakes out after this game. Transfer Isiah Wiley had been switching in and out at cornerback with Anthony Brown, before Brown’s injury, but with no word on Torin Harris’ status, Wiley looks like he might get the start against Notre Dame. Fortunately for USC, they have a backlog of talent at running back and wide receiver; there are a lot of guys eager to get their chance, and all eyes will be on them if they take the field against Notre Dame next weekend.
