Now that's what I'm talkin' about! The Trojans opened up a can on the Huskers and then left town. For the second year in a row, SC was quicker and more physical than Nebraska and the score didn't tell half the story. After all the talk of a potential upset, the Huskers found out that they just need to stick to the Big 12 North Division and tractor pulls . . . leave football to the real ballers at SC.
Let's go to the grades:
Offense:
QB - Booty had a solid game. His yardage wasn't big (144), but his WRs are letting him down with drops. He came through, though, with 2 TDs and zero turnovers. That's huge on the road.
Grade: B
RBs - This was a game an RB dreams about - a commitment to the run game, and holes you could drive a minivan through. Stafon Johnson led the way with 144 yards, CJ Gable and Stan Havili had big runs, and even Choo Choo got into the act with 2 TDs. Most impressive was the patience that the RB ran with, allowing the OLine to create the holes and then explode through them. Grade - A
WRs/TE - When the leading receiver is the TE with only (3) catches, then you know the QB and WRs are not in sync yet. WR Pat Turner had a forgettable game with as many drops as catches (3), and then he threw in a fumble he recovered to boot. Ausberry had a couple of nice catches, but Hazelton and Patterson did not get any looks. A couple of deep tries to RoJo did not connect either. Grade - C minus
OLine - This was a big test for the big uglies. Loud stadium, frosh Center, and hyped Huskers? No problem. The Trojan OLine bulldozed their way for over 300 yards rushing. Byers, O'Dowd, and Rachal, especially, removed any Husker obstacles up the middle. As we predicted in our preview, the young DLine and light LBs would disappear if SC decided to run the ball. And here's another positive: no penalties. Grade: A +
Defense:
DLine - Stellar game for this group. NT Sedrick Ellis' name has officially been changed to "The Beast". DE LoJack came through with a sack and constant pressure. And then DE Kyle Moore made game changing plays by tipping a pass that turned into an INT, and then snagging one himself and returning it to the 2 yard line. They also killed the Husker OLine, only giving up about 20 yards rushing. Grade: A minus
LBs - Good game. Keith Rivers is an all american . . . but we already knew that. I liked the way Kaluka Maiva played in place of the injured Clay Matthews (broken thumb) halfway through the game. Pass coverage, however, was a little porous in the first half, but they squeezed the Husker short routes in the second half when SC closed the deal. Grade: B
DBs - By design, the Trojan corners play soft on the outside which is frustrating sometimes to watch. Cary Harris was being picked on early because of the seven yard cushion he was giving. But they played okay. Once again, they didn't give up the big play and forced a team to string together 10+ play drives to have a chance at scoring. Grade: C
Special Teams - Kickoff and punt coverage was good, but the return game continues to be lackluster. Unfortunately, Vince Joseph got hurt, but I like getting CJ Gable back there on kickoff returns as he is pretty good at it. We just ask DReed to catch the punt, which is good enough when the offense is rolling. Kicker DBuehler kicked the ball deeper and deeper as the game went along, but it didn't result in any touch backs. Grade: C
Coaching - Nobody prepares a team for an early OOC game like the Trojan staff. Its just on the money everytime. If I have one complaint, its that SC puts the 2nd and 3rd teamers in the game when they take command of a ballgame when the other teams' first teamers are still in the game. So inevitably, SC gives up a couple of cheap scores that messes up the dominant stat sheet. Anyway, great job with sticking with the run game on offense, and making great adjustments on defense. Grade: A minus.
Game Balls:
Offense - OLine (Baker, Byers, O'Dowd, Rachal, Radovich)
Defense - DE Kyle Moore
Special Teams - Kicker David Buehler
Prediction Winner - JudoMan (he almost nailed SC's point total)
QB - Booty had a solid game. His yardage wasn't big (144), but his WRs are letting him down with drops. He came through, though, with 2 TDs and zero turnovers. That's huge on the road.
Grade: B
RBs - This was a game an RB dreams about - a commitment to the run game, and holes you could drive a minivan through. Stafon Johnson led the way with 144 yards, CJ Gable and Stan Havili had big runs, and even Choo Choo got into the act with 2 TDs. Most impressive was the patience that the RB ran with, allowing the OLine to create the holes and then explode through them. Grade - A
WRs/TE - When the leading receiver is the TE with only (3) catches, then you know the QB and WRs are not in sync yet. WR Pat Turner had a forgettable game with as many drops as catches (3), and then he threw in a fumble he recovered to boot. Ausberry had a couple of nice catches, but Hazelton and Patterson did not get any looks. A couple of deep tries to RoJo did not connect either. Grade - C minus
OLine - This was a big test for the big uglies. Loud stadium, frosh Center, and hyped Huskers? No problem. The Trojan OLine bulldozed their way for over 300 yards rushing. Byers, O'Dowd, and Rachal, especially, removed any Husker obstacles up the middle. As we predicted in our preview, the young DLine and light LBs would disappear if SC decided to run the ball. And here's another positive: no penalties. Grade: A +
Defense:
DLine - Stellar game for this group. NT Sedrick Ellis' name has officially been changed to "The Beast". DE LoJack came through with a sack and constant pressure. And then DE Kyle Moore made game changing plays by tipping a pass that turned into an INT, and then snagging one himself and returning it to the 2 yard line. They also killed the Husker OLine, only giving up about 20 yards rushing. Grade: A minus
LBs - Good game. Keith Rivers is an all american . . . but we already knew that. I liked the way Kaluka Maiva played in place of the injured Clay Matthews (broken thumb) halfway through the game. Pass coverage, however, was a little porous in the first half, but they squeezed the Husker short routes in the second half when SC closed the deal. Grade: B
DBs - By design, the Trojan corners play soft on the outside which is frustrating sometimes to watch. Cary Harris was being picked on early because of the seven yard cushion he was giving. But they played okay. Once again, they didn't give up the big play and forced a team to string together 10+ play drives to have a chance at scoring. Grade: C
Special Teams - Kickoff and punt coverage was good, but the return game continues to be lackluster. Unfortunately, Vince Joseph got hurt, but I like getting CJ Gable back there on kickoff returns as he is pretty good at it. We just ask DReed to catch the punt, which is good enough when the offense is rolling. Kicker DBuehler kicked the ball deeper and deeper as the game went along, but it didn't result in any touch backs. Grade: C
Coaching - Nobody prepares a team for an early OOC game like the Trojan staff. Its just on the money everytime. If I have one complaint, its that SC puts the 2nd and 3rd teamers in the game when they take command of a ballgame when the other teams' first teamers are still in the game. So inevitably, SC gives up a couple of cheap scores that messes up the dominant stat sheet. Anyway, great job with sticking with the run game on offense, and making great adjustments on defense. Grade: A minus.
Game Balls:
Offense - OLine (Baker, Byers, O'Dowd, Rachal, Radovich)
Defense - DE Kyle Moore
Special Teams - Kicker David Buehler
Prediction Winner - JudoMan (he almost nailed SC's point total)
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