USC beats Arizona . . . 17 - 10

Once again, the Trojan defense led the way to another win over the Arizona Wildcats. The offense, however, looked like it forget to board the plane for Tucson. Offensive mistakes kept this game close, and gave the Wildcats to get lucky and try to steal the game. But the Trojan defense would have none of it . . . and SC escaped the desert for its 6th win.

Grades, grades, grades:

Offense

QB - At this point, Mark Sanchez is not having a good run. Overthrows, missed reads and a tendency to go for the risky, big play rather than taking the easy pass to move the chains is costing Sanchez big time - and costing the Trojans points. His stats were respectable at 21 - 36 for 216 yards and a TD. But he threw an INT, and just made bad decisions throughout the game. Sanchez's play (between the ears) has to improve. Grade: D

RBs/FB - Rarely have I seen an RB play with more heart than Stafon Johnson did last Saturday. Leading the team in rushing at 87 yards on 19 carries only told part of the story. His blocking and key first down runs were clutch. Neither CJ Gable nor a gimpy Joe McKnight were able to get anything going. FB Stan Havili, however, killed 'Zona in the passing game as he caught (5) balls for 67 yards and a TD. Grade: B

WRs/TE - Decent game for this unit who's stats would have been better if not for some poor decisions and overthrows by Sanchez. Damian Williams led the group with (5) receptions for 77 yards. Grade: C

OLine -Nothing spectacular from this group. They did lead the way for 151 yards on the ground, and at one point opened some holes for Stafon Johnson to run through on a key drive. Gave up (3) sacks - a couple of which I wouldn't consider their fault. Grade: C +

Defense

DLine - The DLine played pretty well. They had (5.5) TFLs, including (3) sacks combined from Griffen, Matthews and Moala, and kept the 'Zona running game to about 100 yards. Frosh NT Jurrell Casey is looking very good.
Grade: B +

LBs - Rey Maualuga and Brian Cushing continue to lead this group, filling holes and causing general havoc. They were late on a couple of run plays, but generally kept the Wildcat RBs in front of them. OLB Kaluka Maiava pitched in with (5) tackles, as well. Grade: B

DBs - CB Kevin Thomas is beginning to make this a habit - he had another INT, and played solid football in coverage. The same goes for Josh Pinkard and Cary Harris. 'Zona QB Willie Tuitama only had 88 yards passing. Safety Taylor Mays was laying the wood, stopping a couple of Wildcat RBs with vicious hits . . . just the way an SC safety is supposed to. Grade: A minus

Special Teams - PR Stafon Johnson had a couple of excellent returns in this game, but also made a mistake fielding a punt inside the ten yard line. Punter Greg Woidneck shanked one punt and Kicker David Buehler made a 43 yarder, but missed a 30 yarder on FGs. Grade: C minus

Coaching

Offensively, the troubles centered around Sanchez's decision making. At times, you could see the coaching staff imploring Sanchez to make the easy play instead of going for the big play. At some point, I believe the coaches should give him simpler plays to calm down and develop a rhythm. SC did get the ball to the FB in the passing game, which had been missing for a little while. Also, the sequence of plays bothers me. Instead of running on 1st down and putting SC in a nice 2nd and mid range situation where they can run or pass and set up 3rd and short yardage - SC passes a lot on first down and puts itself in low percentage 3rd and long plays too much. can't be happy with the execution in the game. The defense executed the scheme about as well as could be expected against a balanced offense like Arizona. I liked the rotation on the DLine that kept guys fresh. Grade: B minus


Game Balls:

Offense: RB Stafon Johnson
Defense: DT Fili Moala
Special Teams: PR Stafon Johnson

Prediction Winner: DMoody - rings up a winner by correctly predicting a close game.