They say a win is a win . . . but that sure wasn’t a satisfying win by the Trojans. Once again, SC took a commanding lead in the 3rd quarter, but had to hang on to win at the end after the defense gave up two scores to the opponent in the 4th quarter.
Luckily, the Trojan offense came to play, and a big punt return by Damian Williams proved to be the difference. Here’s the good and bad of a performance the Trojans will need to learn from:
Offense
QB – Matt Barkley had his moments in this game with a couple of TD passes to TE Anthony McCoy and WR Ronald Johnson. But he also under-threw a couple of passes that turned into INTs. He was mostly efficient, though, going 15 – 25 for 200+ yards. Grade: C
RBs/FBs – This night belonged to Allen Bradford who rushed for nearly 150 yards on 15 carries with 2 TDs that included a 43 yarder. Joe McKnight also ran well for 65 yards until a cut hand sidelined him for most of the night. Without fullback Stanley Havili, replacement DJ Shoemate and the Trojans didn’t make an impact in the passing game. Grade: B
WRs/TEs – The Return of RoJo was a hit with the fans as it only took the lightning fast WR only one game to get his legs back. RoJo caught (6) passes for about 100 yards and a spectacular diving TD grab. Damian Williams was solid, and TE Anthony McCoy had a TD catch but left the game early after spraining an ankle. Grade: B +
OLine – This unit was very good in both run blocking and pass protection. They helped SC to 229 yards on the ground, and Barkley was not sacked once. C Jeff Byers and LG Butch Lewis did an outstanding job. Grade: A minus
Defense
DLine – A frustrating game for this group. Even though they had (2) sacks, the Beaver passing scheme and quick trigger QB prevented many more. Guys like Nick Perry and Everson Griffen were just one step away from blowing up a passing play several times. Grade: C
LBs – The worst game for this unit this year. MLB Chris Galippo and crew had a tough time corralling OSU RB Jacquizz Rodgers in the 2nd half both in running and receiving. Beaver RB and TE receptions over the middle turned into even more yards with a couple of missed Trojan tackles. OLB Malcolm Smith led the group with (10) tackles. Grade: D
DBs – The Trojan secondary was busy trying to break up the Beaver passing game. Unfortunately, they were unable to create turnovers and had to settle for making the tackle after a short reception. CB Kevin Thomas and S Taylor Mays led the team in tackles with (11). Grade: C minus
Special Teams
Kicking/Coverage/Returns – One of the bright spots of the night, the combination of Damian Williams’ key punt return for a TD and punter Jake Harfman averaging 44 yards per boot made this special teams effort a solid one. Grade: B plus
Coaching
The offense continues to come around with personnel additions on the OL and at WR making the team more balanced. The offensive coaches are becoming very comfortable going for it in different down and distance situations. Defensively, the coaches need to figure out how to keep a lead. More aggression is necessary when SC has a team down, and rushing 7 or 8 players should replace dropping 7 or 8 players into coverage when the opponent resorts to the passing game to make the game close. Grade: C minus
Prediction Winner:
J-Man rings it up!
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