The Wildcats Come Calling

This is it folks . . . the finale . . . and who knows what’s going to happen. The Arizona Wildcats bring a formidable offense to the Coliseum, and the question is whether SC’s defense will be able to shut it down.

The SC offense also needs to have a good game, and maintain possession of the ball to keep the Wildcat offense off the field.

Here we go:

Arizona

Offense – The Wildcats bring in a very balanced offense behind QB Nick Foles who’s completing 67% of his passes with 17 TDs and only 7 INTs. UofA can also do some damage on the ground with Nic Grigsby and Keola Antolin, two quick RBs who both have 500+ yards rushing this season. As one might expect, the Wildcat OLine is very good, only giving up (9) sacks on the year.

Defense – This unit is solid, and boasts a couple of very good players. DE Ricky Elmore leads the Pac 10 in sacks with 10.5, while LB Xavier Kelley is a quick, smart player who patrols near the line of scrimmage. CB Devin Ross is one of the better cover-men in the conference, and leads the team in passes defensed.

USC

Offense – Well, this game represents another opportunity for QB Matt Barkley and the Trojan offense to find the groove that’s been missing since mid-season. The pieces are there as key injured players are back. But the play-calling has not helped the cause. SC should get series’ started with it’s solid run game, and get to 3rd and short situations . . . giving them a better chance to keep drives going.

Defense – Another stiff test for the Trojan defense that has struggled recently against teams that can score. And Arizona can score. So it will start up front with DE Everson Griffen, Jurrell Casey having to make a dent in a very good Arizona OLine. If they don’t, it will be a long day for the Trojan LBs covering the small and quick Wildcat RBs in the running game. The Trojan secondary can’t sleep, or they will be on the wrong end of some long gainers from the tall Wildcat receivers.

Prediction:

USC – 28

UA – 24

Trojans Show Some Fight, Beat Bruins 28 – 7

Take heart, Trojan fans . . . USC is still the king of L.A.

On a cool, crisp night at the Coliseum, things got kind of heated as SC took control and then applied the “sleeper hold” with a late TD pass that got the fans juiced up, and the Bruins riled up. It was beautiful.

Here’s the breakdown:

Offense

QB – Matt Barkley had a decent night going 18 – 26 for 201 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT. But he has been unable to keep offensive drives going, and in my opinion, it’s not all his fault. SC is in 3rd and long situations all night long, and that just puts too much pressure on Barkley to complete downfield passes when the defense is expecting it. Grade: C

RBs/FBs – RB Allen Bradford led the way in this game gaining 70 yards on 14 carries, with 2 short TD runs. McKnight left the game early with a thigh bruise, but it was good to see FB Stan Havili back on the field and contributing. Grade: B minus

WRs/TEs – The trio of receivers Damian Williams, Ronald Johnson and TE Anthony McCoy combined for 13 receptions and 190+ yards. The late deep TD to Williams added a punctuation mark to a nice game by the group. Grade: B

OLine – The OLine didn’t overwhelm a solid Bruin front (7), but they did enough by not allowing a sack and opening holes for SC RB’s to average over 4 yards per carry on the ground. Grade: B minus

Defense

DLine – This group should have been more dominant vs. a weak Bruin OLine. Although, UCLA couldn’t get anything going offensively, NT Jurrell Casey had the only sack by the Trojan DLine. Grade: C minus

LBs – This unit had it’s best game since ASU. OLB Malcolm Smith got things going with a pick 6, and also made (15) tackles. Fellow LBs Chris Galippo and Michael Morgan each added a TFL to the cause. Grade: B

DBs – The Trojan secondary contributed some nice plays in this game. Safety Taylor Mays led the group with (9) tackles, while CB Josh Pinkard and Safety Will Harris both collected INTs. CB Kevin Thomas also broke up two passes, in addition to his (6) tackles. Grade: B +


Special Teams

Kicking/Coverage/Returns – The return of punt returner Damian Williams (62 yards in returns) added some spark to this unit. But the FGs continue to struggle with any kick over 40 yards, with Jacob Harfman missing again from long distance. Grade: C minus

Coaching

Finding a rhythm offensively was again a problem. And to me, it stems from not using the running game more often early on offensive possessions to set up the passing game. As a result, the team is in 3rd and long too much and not converting. Defensively, the game should have been a shut out, except for not falling on a fumble during UCLA’s only scoring drive. A good game plan would have been even better had SC been more stingy on 3rd downs. Grade: B minus

Prediction Winner:

J-Man scores one for the out-of-state Trojan fans!