Troy Talk: USC vs. Notre Dame grades

The Trojans were all but ruled out against the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame on a cold Saturday night in South Bend. The program is considered to be in shambles by many (overreaction much?) and the glory days of USC are long gone. But the atmosphere on campus was as good as one can hope. There was a rally for the players and I honestly believe we went in confident against the Fighting Irish. It was a good performance from the Trojans, one that exuded effort and a desperation to get out of this rut that we have been in during the beginning of the season. But we fell short. And as much as I love the effort, I know the players and coaches know that USC can’t accept a “good try”. At USC we win, and we have a commitment to excellence. But we have to know when we just don’t have what it takes. The rest of the season will be telling on what kind of state the program is in right now. It will be telling of whether Coach Clay Helton gets a shot at the head coaching job. It will be telling if USC is on its way back to the USC of old. For now, all we can do is hope.

Grades:

Quarterbacks: B-

• Cody Kessler played night and day better than he did against Washington. You could tell he really took that performance to heart, and I was really proud to see him give it his all against the Irish. He made some key plays and was running from the Notre Dame defense all night. However, as I have said so many times before, he lacks that killer instinct. He seems a bit timid out there, and it’s not due to a lack of talent. He has all the tools to be a great quarterback, I just think he needs to be more confident and assertive.

Running Backs: B

• Sheldon Day and Jaylon Smith are men and amongst boys out there. So needless to say, the running backs were going to have a tough time going against the Irish defense. But Tre Madden and Justin Davis played well for the most part. There were some key cuts that Madden missed, but Davis made up for them with some shifty moves and a couple of nice runs. I still think we are hesitant to pound the ball when we need to the most. That can be a dangerous weapon for this offense.

Wide Receivers: B

• What looked to be a position of strength for the Trojans at the beginning of the season now looks the thinnest of the bunch. With Isaac Whitney, Steven Mitchell, and Darreus Rogers all hampered with injuries, it was on the shoulders of JuJu Smith-Schuster to carry the load. He has done an admirable job so far and it’s even more impressive when you realize that the defense is keying in on him. But fact of the matter is, he got beat on some crucial 1 on 1’s. He will be the first to tell you he should have caught them. I was very, very impressed by how Deontay Burnett showed up on Saturday. COACH HELTON, PLEASE USE HIM MORE. Oh, and yes we have tight ends. CODY, PLEASE USE THEM MORE.

Offensive Line: C-

• There is no sugar coating it. This group has been downright awful. I understand losing all-world center Max Tuerk is going to cause some issues, but there is no excuse for looking so lost out there with such a talented group of individuals. There are countless missed blocks and assignments. Kessler very rarely has time to set his feet. The run blocking seems to start out great and then falter in the later stages. There needs to be some sort of consistency. I understand it is the players who play the game, but one has to question how successful the hire of Coach Bob Connelly has been so far.

Defensive Line: C

• If there is any consistency it is in this group. Just not the consistency you want. We consistently get no push on the opposing line. If there is pressure on the quarterback, it’s usually because we have more men rushing than they have protecting the quarterback. In the second quarter we did a better job shutting down DeShone Kizer and we even sacked him a couple times. But there were way too many instances where he had all day to survey the field. If that was a more experienced quarterback, we would have been dismantled all day.

Linebackers: C+

• I feel like this group always gets me out of my seat one play and then has me pulling out my hair the next play. There is so much talent with the likes of Cam Smith, Porter Gustin, and Osa Masina. But Gustin missed several read option assignments. Masina missed several key tackles. The lack of experience is evident. But mark my words, this group will be the second coming of Rey Maualuga, Clay Matthews, and Brian Cushing. The comparisons of talent and potential are unparalleled. Hopefully we can keep these guys together.

Secondary: D

• Oh man, it was awful. This grade isn’t meant to say that the unit was bad. But we just got beat individually on several key plays. We covered well, but a worrying trend is unfolding: we cover them, but they make the catch anyway. Adoree covered Will Fuller very well, with the exception of the first play for Notre Dame. But Will Fuller managed to make the spectacular catch. Same goes for when Corey Robinson made the diving catch in the corner of the end zone. We had him well covered, but he made the play. You have to tip your cap to Notre Dame, but you also have to wonder when WE are going to make the amazing individual play. That has yet to happen this season and it was evident in our losses to the Irish and Stanford. Also, we gave up two consecutive bad pass interference penalties that gave Notre Dame 30 yards. There is really no excuse to be tackling receivers. We need to do better.

Special Teams: C

• That missed field goal by Alex Wood was crucial going into the half. It hit the upright and gave Notre Dame their confidence back going into the break. We need to be perfect when it comes to kicking the short field goals. Great teams usually have great special teams and ours this year have been mediocre at best.

Overall: C+

• The Trojans were down early and came back with a vengeance. They played hard and with a chip on their shoulder, but at the end of the day we didn’t come up with a much needed win. I am hopeful we can rebound and beat Utah. We have to play our best game of the season, but it is definitely in the realm of possibility. I just don’t think it will happen this week. Please, please prove me wrong.

Prediction: USC 31- Utah 35

Fight On!