Now that was Trojan football. It wasn't supposed to be a close game, and it wasn't. The Trojans took control from the beginning offensively and defensively, and the Illini never knew what hit them.
The Trojans had leads over the Illini of 21 - 0, 35 - 10 and finally 49 - 17, and made a statement that once again USC is one of the strongest teams in the country when all is said and done.
You gotta love these kinds of breakdowns:
Offense -
QB - J.D. Booty had another efficient game, and came away with a second consecutive Rose Bowl MVP award. He finished 25 - 37 for 255 yards with 2 TDs and 1 cheap Int (VHazleton fell down on the play). Big ups to former high school QB and current WR Garrett Green for delivering a strike to Desmond Reed for his first TD pass on a nice trick play. Grade: B+
RB - The trio of Washington, McKnight and Johnson rushed for 304 yards. That will get it done.
McKnight was also dangerous on passing plays with 6 receptions, and FB Stanley Havili caught 4 passes for 63 yards. PCarroll also made sure Herschel Dennis scored his one and only TD of his six year Trojan career. Grade: A
WR/TE - Really quiet day for the WRs - they only caught 5 passes on the day - although David Ausberry caught a nice TD pass late. TE Fred Davis led the Trojans in receiving again with 7 receptions and scored a TD. Grade: C +
OLine - We said the Big Uglies up front would have an advantage over the Illini DLine - and they came through leading SC to nearly 350 yards rushing, and gave up only 2 sacks.
Grade: A minus
Defense -
DLine - DE Lawrence Jackson led this unit with 3 TFLs with a sack. Don't be fooled by the statistically quiet day for DTs Ellis and Moala (combined 3 tackles), because they occupied Illini OLinemen to allow the Trojan LBs to make plays against the spread option. Grade: B+
LBs - What a game for this unit! Rey "Mad Dog" Mauluga was a beast with 3 sacks, an Int, and causing general mayhem. Kaluka Maiava, Clay Matthews and Brian Cushing forced key turnovers, while Thomas "Hit Man" Williams led the unit with 6 tackles. Only a lapse by Keith Rivers (led to an Illini 79 yard TD run) prevented a perfect grade for this unit.
Grade: A minus
DBs - A really solid game by this group. The passing yardage of 300 by the Illini is misleading cuz they were down by multiple TDs for most of the game and had to sling the rock. CB Cary Harris had a magnificent game, leading SC in tackles with 10, collecting an Int, recovering a fumble, breaking up a pass, and scoring 1 TFL. Terrell Thomas and Kevin Ellison also joined the fun collecting 3 TFLs between them. Grade: B
Special Teams - K David Buehler garnered 5 touchbacks on kickoffs, and even punter Greg Woidneck had 4 punts downed inside the 20 yard line, preventing the Illini from getting any favorable field position. Grade: B+
Coaching - Offensively, the game plan was great. SC plowed the Illini with the run game and made excellent use of the TE and FB in the passing game - something Illinois just couldn't handle. Even the trick play for a TD to Desmond Reed was set up perfectly. So except for a little lull late in the 2nd quarter, the offensive gameplan and execution was on point.
Defensively, SC was prepared for the spread option attack, and shut down the run game except for the lapse mentioned above. Giving PCarroll a month to prepare with a healthy defense just isn't fair - they may have to change the rules and give SC only 2 weeks to prepare for bowl games. Grade: A minus
Game Balls:
Offense - RB Joe McKnight/QB J.D. Booty
Defense - LB Rey Maualuga/CB Cary Harris
Special Teams - K David Buehler
Prediction Winner: J-Man comes through with a win to end the season.
