USC Trojans Mock Game: Could There Be Danger Ahead?

If you want the sugar-coated version, here it is. The Trojans mock game at the Coliseum this afternoon was "nice." Both the offense and defense looked terrific.

Now for the real deal. (Uh-oh!)

Unless the first-teams at Virginia, Ohio State, and Oregon are worse than USC’s scout team, the Trojans could be in for a tougher time than Pete Carroll lets on. "All in all, it was a terrific day for us," coach Carroll was quoted as saying after the game.

But the Trojan (white team) offense appeared to me to be anything but terrific, at least until Mitch Mustain got in the game with about seven minutes to go in the second quarter.

When the coaches go back and review the game film, they will see that Mustain finally separated himself from Aaron Corp. Is he on par with Mark Sanchez? Maybe not. But it isn’t apparent yet just how well Sanchez will do if and when he returns from rehabbing his dislocated knee.

Sanchez is expected to be back running the first-team offense on Monday or Tuesday in order to be part of the game plan for the opener at Virginia on Saturday. But the training staff had better be absolutely certain that knee is good to go. If not, Sanchez could incur further damage that would put him out for a good part of the season.

Mustain may be one of those players who looks so-so in practice, but put him in a game and he shines. And that’s just what happened this afternoon as coach Carroll’s staff did a splendid job of creating a mock game to mimic the atmosphere of a real one, including the Trojan Marching Band, the Trojan Song Girls, Pac-10 officials, and 8,000 fans in attendance.

The other quarterback that had some incredible moments when he looked like he could out-Tebow Tim Tebow was Garrett Green. In fact, he took more snaps than either Mustain or Corp, giving way to Chris McCaffery, a true freshman, for only one short series.

Green started the game off with a nice sideline pass to Jordan Cameron for a first down then scampered to another first down on a quarterback roll out. The drive stalled and the first-unit took over with Corp at the helm. They went three-and-out.

After a punt, the scout team took over on its own 11. On the second play, Garrett went back to pass, Kyle Moore broke through and batted Green’s pass straight up, and Everson Griffen pulled it down in the end zone for the first score of the game.

Undaunted by the interception, Green went to the air again and drove the scout team in for its only score of the game. It started with a pass interference call on Kevin Thomas. Then with a truly remarkable now-they-have-him, now-they-don’t scramble, Green threw a 48-yard strike to Cameron down the middle of the field. Then he hit Brice Butler for a seven-yard score to knot the game at 7-7.

Corp again took over the Trojan first unit and again failed to move the sticks. On a 3rd-and-2, he misread the coverage and threw into the flat. The receiver came up short, but Corp missed a wide-open Patrick Turner well beyond the sticks.

After a touchback, Green hit Butler for a short gain. Marc Tyler ran for another Cardinal (scout team) first down. Then DJ Shoemate gained seven yards. But on a 3rd-and-3, Kyle Moore came up big and stopped Tyler for a two-yard loss.

Mustain entered the game at this point and took over the sluggish first-unit offense. He immediately hit Vidal Hazleton for a 15-yard gain. Malik Jackson then bull-rushed his way through the Trojan line and smothered Mustain, who got off a wounded duck just as he was hit.

With no holes in sight and scout team players everywhere, McKnight juked and weaved his way to an 11-yard gain. After two successive false starts, the first-unit offense was faced with a 3rd-and-20. Then McKnight, again with some nifty running, picked up 15 yards to set up a 4th-and-5.

Mustain hit Hazelton for a gain of nine and then hit Hazelton again down to the 13. A pass interference penalty on a throw to McCoy put the ball at the 7. Then all Mustain had to do was hand off to Joe McKnight for a seven-yard touchdown. This time the hole was there—a big one. Yes, you guessed it, off left guard Jeff Byers. Who else?

The kickoff team tried an onside kick and recovered. But they were offsides and had to do it over. This time the scout team recovered, and the half ended with the first unit ahead: Trojans 14, Cardinal 7.

Off to a slow start, Corp finally began to drive the Trojan offense in the second half. He hit Hazelton for a first down. Then, after another false start, he found Blake Ayles, the true freshman, All-Everything tight end, for a 21-yard gain to the 46. Then Trojans big back Allan Bradford ran for 14 yards.

With the pocket closing on Corp, Patrick Turner broke off his route, and Corp hit him on a come-backer for a nice 20-yard gain. Then Corp hit Bradford for a gain of eight at the 12. Blake Ayles then caught a pass over the middle but fumbled into the end zone. Zack Herberer alertly pounced on the ball to make the score 21-7.

Chris McCaffery relieved Garrett Green for a series that went three-and-out, and Mustain returned to guide the first unit.

He hit Travon Patterson for a first down, then hit the very busy Blake Ayles over the middle for a 22-yard gain to the Cardinal 30. Then Mustain showed his mobility rolling away from the rush and hitting Patterson again for a 16-yard gain down to the 10. He then hit Ellison on a short sideline hitch for three yards. Bradford banged his way down to the 2. Then Mustain threaded the needle and put the ball where only fullback Adam Goodman could catch it to make the score 28-7.

On the final drive of the game, Garrett Green returned to quarterback the Cardinal against a Trojan team made up of first and second units.

Will Harris, replacing the injured Cary Harris at right corner, missed an interception that went right through his hands. That’s not something a cornerback wants to do, especially against a quarterback like Green, who could start for any number of Division 1 teams, even a few in the Pac-10, one right across town.

Green burned the Trojans on the very next play, hitting DJ Shoemate with a 28-yard pass-and-run to the 44. Next, Green avoided a sure sack—not once, but twice—and scrambled for a six-yard gain. Broderick Green ripped off a 15-yard rush down to the Trojan 23.

After hitting Jimmy Miller for a gain of six, Green completed a one-yard pass falling backwards. He is perhaps the only player on the team besides Joe McKnight who can make a one-yard gain look exciting. But the drive and the game ended when Nick Garratt intercepted a pass to Jordan Cameron at the eight.

Here are the stats:

The leading passer overall. Garrett Green (Cardinal) 10-for-19, 134 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs.

The leading passer for the Trojans (white squad), Mitch Mustain, 10-for-14, 92 yards, 1 TD.

Aaron Corp was 8-for-10 for 85 yards.

The leading receiver overall, Jordan Cameron (Cardinal), 3 catches for 81 yards.

Freshman, Blake Ayles was the leading receiver for the Trojans (White), 3 catches for 55 yards. Vidal Hazelton had 5 for 44 yards.

The leading rusher overall Allen Bradford for the Trojans (White), 6 for 39 yards.
Joe McKnight had 3 rushes for 32 yards and 1 TD

Broderick Green (Cardinal), 3 rushes for 17 yards.

Danger signs:

The offensive line: C+

They had numerous false starts, putting the Trojans in obvious passing situations, which will be trouble against really good first-unit defenses.

Only 71 yards total rushing against a service team just won’t get it done against a solid defense, and two of McKnight’s runs (25 yards) were done mostly on his own.

Protecting the quarterback is another issue. Neither Mustain nor Corp were sacked, but both were hurried on several occasions. 

The quarterbacks:

Mustain looked competent at quarterback, driving the team for two long scores the two times he directed the offense. He looked more mobile than at any other time this year. He also looked more in control and sure of himself. A-

Corp got off to a very slow start, which is something that must trouble Coach Carroll. It’s important for the Trojans to be in the game from the very outset and put pressure on the defense. When he finally got rolling in the second half, he looked fine. But the Trojans need to strike quickly and often. C+

Garrett Green is unreal. He makes a quarterback rollout look as though it were invented for him. I know he had two interceptions. One on a tipped ball, the other on the last play of the game when the defense knew exactly what the offense would do. But he really showed poise under pressure and, unlike Mustain and Corp, he had to play against the first-team defense and behind a makeshift offensive line. And he has been practicing at quarterback for less than two weeks, shifting over from wide receiver when Sanchez got injured. A-

The defense:

This is still USC’s strength. The offense is more than a little behind the defense. The defense looked good against the run, but only fair against Green’s passing (134 yards).

The defense also revealed a weak spot—the running quarterback. They pressured Green, but they could not sack him. Let the quarterback run around long enough, and a receiver is bound to get wide open like Jordan Cameron did for the longest play of the scrimmage, 48 yards. Ouch! Just one sack (Kyle Moore). Only two turnovers, although one for a touchdown, but this was a scout team, not the Ohio State Buckeyes or the Oregon Ducks. They could be in for a long day against a good spread offense. B-

Penalties: Trojans 8, Cardinal 4

Players of note:

For the Trojans (White team): Mustain, McKnight, Hazelton, Ayles, Bradford, Jeff Byers, Kris O’Dowd. On Defense: Nick Garratt, Kyle Moore, Everson Griffin, Taylor Mays, Kevin Thomas, Brian Cushing, Rey Maualuga.

For the Cardinal (Scout team) Garrett Green, Jordan Cameron, Brice Butler, Broderick Green. On Defense: Drew McAllister, Jordan Campbell, Malik Jackson, Shane Horton, Ryan McMahon.