Southern Cal vs. Arizona: Game Grades for Trojans, Wildcats

The Southern Cal Trojans traveled to the desert and knocked off the No. 10 Arizona Wildcats in thrilling fashion by a score of 28-26 on Saturday night.

Running back Buck Allen led the Trojans offense with 205 yards rushing and three touchdowns on only 26 carries. It was a career-high effort for Allen, who dominated all evening long. 

For once in a football game, the proverbial icing of a kicker finally paid off. USC head coach Steve Sarkisian iced Arizona kicker Casey Skowron twice in the game—both leading to huge misses. Arizona's beleaguered kicker missed three on the night—including one in the final seconds that would have won the Wildcats the game. 

The win by Southern Cal now places the Trojans atop the Pac-12 South Division standings. 

A full box score can be found here, courtesy of NCAA.com. Check out first-half and final grades for the Trojans and Wildcats. Additional analysis for positional units will also be addressed. 

Position Unit	First-Half Grades	Final Grades
Passing Offense	B-	B-
Pass Defense	B+	C+
Rushing Offense	A	A
Run Defense	A	A
Special Teams	A	B
Coaching	A	B

Southern Cal Trojans Game Grades

Passing Offense

With the success of USC's rushing attack, there wasn't a big need to stretch the field vertically. Cody Kessler was efficient and poised, completing 66 percent of his passes on the evening. While he didn't put up huge numbers statistically, he calmly guided the Trojans offense very well.

His one minor mistake came on the interception throw late in the first. Aside from that, he was solid. 

Pass Defense

In the first half, USC did a nice job of challenging Arizona's receivers. Most of the routes were shorter than 10 yards, and the Trojans didn't allow any big plays. 

Injuries in the second half to Adoree' Jackson and Kevon Seymour understandably made things difficult. At times, USC trotted out three freshmen in the secondary. Arizona began to smartly pick on the inexperienced players and was able to gain yards in chunks. 

Anu Solomon threw for 395 yards on the night but averaged only 5.5 yards per completion. It's a case where statistics can be a bit deceiving. 

Rushing Offense

What more can we say about Allen? USC's star tailback led the way with a career-high 205 yards rushing. He, along with Justin Davis, was virtually unstoppable at points in the game. 

Credit USC's offense for dominating the battle at the line of scrimmage. Both Allen and Davis had gaping holes to run through. Throw some pads on Pat Haden, and he would have run for close to 100 yards on the evening. 

In total, USC ran for 239 yards and a 6.3 yards-per-carry average. 

Run Defense

The defense hounded Arizona's offensive line all night long. Led by Leonard Williams, the front three got consistent penetration up the middle. Williams was a disruptive force throughout the night—even when he faced double- and triple-teams. 

The defense held Arizona to a 2.7 yards-per-carry average. Although Nick Wilson didn't play in the game, USC's front effectively shut down an important element to Arizona's offensive success.

Special Teams

Aside from a 43-yard punt return by Arizona receiver DaVonte' Neal and an onside recover by Arizona, the USC unit did very well—especially considering starting kicker Andre Heidari was a late scratch due to a groin injury. 

The blocked field-goal attempt at the end of the first half by Claude Pelon was huge from a momentum standpoint. It also loomed large on the final scoreboard, as the Trojans won by two points. 

Coaching

Credit Sarkisian for icing Arizona's kicker. Although this wouldn't seem like an overly important thing, Skowron missed both kicks after being held up by a USC timeout.

The defense played very well for three quarters and then reverted back to a similar showing versus Arizona State last week. Justin Wilcox in particular never adjusted to Arizona's passing scheme of quick throws—which predominantly were slants and outs to the perimeter. 

Offensively, some questionable calls in third-down situations could have come back to bite the Trojans. Regardless, the team won on the road versus a Top 10 team.

Job well done by Sark and the staff.  

Position Unit	First-Half Grade	Final Grade
Passing Offense	B	B+
Pass Defense	B+	B+
Rushing Offense	D	C-
Rush Defense	D	C-
Special Teams	D	D-
Coaching	C	C

Arizona Wildcats Game Grades

Passing Offense

Arizona used a predominantly short passing attack for the first half, often looking to exploit the perimeter on outs and hitches. 

In the second half, coach Rich Rodriguez opened it up a bit. With USC's corners playing with a considerable cushion, Solomon simply took what the defense gave him. Due to the running back situation, Arizona threw probably more than it would have liked. Regardless, Solomon went 43-of-72 for 395 yards and one touchdown. 

Pass Defense

The secondary generally did a solid job of containing the elite skill players of USC. Jarvis McCall in particular defended Juju Smith very well. The Wildcats tackled well and never allowed the receivers to beat them in space.

USC's longest pass play went for only 25 yards, and Arizona held Kessler to only 185 yards passing on the night. The interception by Jonathan McKnight was Kessler's first in 196 attempts. 

Rushing Offense

Arizona did not have much success running the football, but it wasn't necessarily its fault. Without Nick Wilson, Arizona had little in the way of physicality in the backfield. The reliable Terris Jones-Grigsby was knocked out of the game in the first half, which left a decimated backfield. 

Jared Baker probably played the best game of his career in relief of Jones-Grigsby. The Los Angeles native had three touchdowns—including two on the ground.

However, the unit as a whole only rushed for 77 yards on 29 carries. This equates to a paltry 2.7 yards-per-carry average. 

Run Defense

It was a tough night for the unit across the board. The Trojans ran to the tune of 6.3 yards per carry. Allen had a career high in rushing, and the defense gave up 239 yards on the ground for the night. 

At times, the line could not adequately get off blocks. Various pressure packages also weren't overly effective. On most instances, the bigger USC offensive line engulfed the small, undersized Arizona front. There's only so much a 247-pound nose guard can do versus the massive guards of Southern Cal. 

Special Teams

It was a tough night for the Arizona kicker. Even with two makes on the evening, the grade would have been an "F," had it not been for a nicely executed onside kick recovery in the final moments. Skowron missed three very manageable attempts. Converting on just one would have given Arizona the victory. 

Nothing else really needs to be said. 

Coaching

Defensively, Jeff Casteel seemed reluctant to bring pressure. At times (especially in the first half), Kessler had all day to sit in the pocket and make throws. Furthermore, Arizona made few adjustments against the vaunted USC rushing attack. 

Offensively, the team was handicapped without its two top running backs. As a result, it's understandable that the offensive balance was irregular. However, Rodriguez made a questionable decision on the zone-read call for the two-point conversion. 

With USC playing exclusively freshmen at corner, why not attack one of the inexperienced players with Cayleb Jones or Austin Hill? Running the third-string RB into the strength of USC's defense didn't make much sense. 

Also with the struggles of his kicker, one has to wonder whether Rich Rod should have kept his offense on the field earlier in the game as opposed to attempting some of the field goals.