USC Football: Consistency Key for Trojans to Compete for Pac-12 Title

LOS ANGELES—No. 18 USC showed flashes of Pac-12 championship caliber play in its 35-10 defeat of Oregon State Saturday in the Coliseum. The Trojans were also prone to stretches of sloppiness that must be remedied if they are to compete for the conference title.

“We’ll enjoy this, but it isn’t the end-all, be-all,” head coach Steve Sarkisian said in his postgame press conference. “We’re better than we played tonight, so we’ll get back to work and continue to strive for more.”

The highs were indeed high, and they were evident both on offense and defense. Wide receiver Darreus Rogers grabbed a 48-yard Hail Mary from quarterback Cody Kessler just before halftime, which is sure to be the highlight reel moment of Kessler’s individual effort.

He completed 24-of-32 pass attempts for 261 yards and threw two touchdowns. His pocket presence continues to progress, which was demonstrated Saturday when he evaded would-be tacklers.

Kessler said he placed an emphasis on that facet of his game after taking five sacks against Boston College.

Kessler also effectively spread the ball among his receivers, hooking up with nine different teammates. Saturday’s effort was Kessler’s best distribution since Week 1 against Fresno State.

A promising sign for the USC offense going deeper into Pac-12 play is the integration of the tight ends as pass-catchers. Bryce Dixon and Randall Telfer each caught two passes.

Sarkisian said he "loved" to see Kessler spread the ball among the roster, adding it was one point of emphasis for the offense. Another was establishing the run.

Javorius “Buck” Allen did just that. He scored a rushing touchdown for the first time since Week 1 and notched his third 100-plus-yard game of the season with 115.

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

Allen slammed the door on the Beavers with a 17-yard run to paydirt early in the fourth quarter.

Behind the play of its leaders Kessler and Allen, the USC offense showed flashes of an explosiveness the Trojans will need to contend in the Pac-12.

The Trojans defense also played at a championship level, putting together its best all-around performance of the 2014 season. The Trojans held the Beavers without an offensive touchdown and routinely had quarterback Sean Mannion under duress.

Sophomore Su’a Cravens in particular was stellar. Defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox’s use of Cravens both at safety and SAM linebacker paid dividends: Cravens returned an interception of Mannion 31 yards for a touchdown, made a sack and a tackle for loss.

USC got another interception when freshman cornerback Adoree’ Jackson made an athletic play to break-up a Mannion shot at the end zone. Safety Leon McQuay III had the presence of mind to get to the deflected ball before it fell out of bounds.

After giving up 37 points and 506 yards to Boston College, via USCTrojans.com, the defense answered the bell by holding Oregon State to 181 yards.

“That’s been our main focus this past two weeks, with the bad taste in our mouths,” defensive lineman Leonard Williams said. “Stop the run on first and second down, and getting to the quarterback.”

Wilcox said last week that a problem in the Boston College loss was losing sight of ball-carriers, but against Oregon State, Sarkisian claimed defenders' vision on fly sweeps was one key to slowing the Beavers.

But if the positives from Saturday’s win are potential building blocks to a championship, the negatives are possible stumbling points for Sarkisian and Co. to be wary of.

USC was penalized 14 times for 124 yards, including two unsportsmanlike conduct flags on linebacker and captain Hayes Pullard for facemasking.

Pullard summarized the penalties rather plainly: "That can cost us in a big game."

Sustaining drives also proved problematic for the USC offense, which did not put together a scoring drive until midway through the second quarter when running back Justin Davis scored on a 16-yard wheel route reception from Kessler.

Davis' score was pretty, but the sequences before it were not.

The Trojans also went scoreless in the third quarter. The stingy play of the defense kept Oregon State at arm's length until the flood gates opened in the final period, but that may not be a luxury USC has against some of the more potent Pac-12 offenses.

One such offense, Arizona State, comes to the Coliseum next week.

USC will enjoy its win and 2-0 conference start for now, but attention turns to preparation for the Sun Devils quickly.

"It's basically a 24-hour deal," Pullard said, alluding to the potential of complacency and letdown. "You still remember that bad taste [from a loss] you never want to revisit."   

Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise cited. Statistics courtesy of the USC athletics department unless otherwise noted.