Trojans Out-Gun Irish, 34 – 27

Another trip to South Bend . . . another SC win. That’s eight consecutive wins for the Trojans over their intersectional rivals. And it feels good.

SC got out to a big lead, but the referees and a little bit of a defensive let down made it close at the end. But the Trojans prevailed, and got out of town.

Break down time!

Offense

QB – This Barkley kid is a keeper. Matt Barkley performed well on the big stage again going 19 – 29 for 380 yards, with (2) TD passes. The only blemish was an ill-timed INT in the 2nd half. But overall, Barkley showed his poise and precision to lead SC to the win. Grade: B+

RBs – Joe McKnight and Allen Bradford combined for 120+ yards rushing, and had some signature runs helped SC on scoring drives. Grade: B

WRs/TEs – Terrific game for TE Anthony McCoy who finished with 153 yards on 5 catches. WR Damian Williams caught (2) TD passes and finished with 106 yards receiving on 4 receptions. Even WR Brice Butler got into the act with a couple of clutch catches for first downs. Grade: A

OLine – A solid job by this group, that provided good pass protection for most of the day. Running the sweep proved to be a successful play for the OLine that got the tough yards when they needed to. Grade: B minus

Defense

DLine – Stellar effort for the DLine that garnered 5 sacks in the game, led by DEs Everson Griffen and Nick Perry who had two apiece. NT Jurrell Casey had an astounding 10 tackles. The Irish also only gained 82 yards on the ground primarily as a result of this unit’s effort. Grade: A minus

LBs – A bit of an up and down game for the LBs. MLB Chris Galippo shined when stopping 3rd and 4th down short yardage running plays by the Irish. But the group was also out of position on a few successful running plays by ND in the 2nd half.
Grade: C +

DBs – See LB commentary. While breaking up a few passes, the Trojan secondary surrendered its first two TD passes of the year. Safety Taylor Mays led the group with 10 tackles. Grade: C


Special Teams

Kicking/Returns/Coverage – No big plays from this group, but no major breakdowns either. A fake FG by the Irish was not sniffed out by the Trojans . . . but it was an illegal play the refs just missed. What a surprise. Grade: C

Coaching – The offensive game plan was very good. Highlighting TE Anthony McCoy in the seams of ND’s defense worked like a charm. The defense was great in the first half, but gave ground in the second half. The coaches relied on the front (4) DLine to pressure the Irish QB a little too much, and ND was able to throw down field with some success. Grade: B minus

Prediction Winner:

B-Dub takes the cheese!