The 5 Most Telling Stats for the USC Trojans This Season

Statistics can sometimes be deceiving, but not in the case of the following five from the USC football team nine games into the 2014 season. 

First-year head coach Steve Sarkisian's debut season has had its highs—thrilling road wins, program records, star performances—as well as its lows. 

Indeed, certain statistics reflect the ups and downs of the first year  of the Sarkisian era. The numbers also paint a vivid picture of the program's direction for the immediate future. 

Red-Zone Defense

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Stanford had six red-zone opportunities against USC in Week 2 and scored just 10 points. Arizona was inside the Trojans' 20-yard line seven times and scored on just four of those possessions. 

Red-zone stops were critical to USC scoring those wins, and those two wins are vital in USC's ongoing pursuit of the Pac-12 South's berth into the conference championship game.

And while the Stanford and Arizona games might be the quintessential examples of USC's red-zone defense, they are not aberrations.  

USC boasts the nation's No. 7-ranked red-zone defense, allowing opponents to score on just 68.6 percent of opportunities. And even better for the Trojans? They're often allowing only three points on opponent red-zone chances instead of six. 

Sixteen red-zone drives out of 35 have resulted in teams scoring touchdowns on USC. 

"[The defense is] very good in the red zone, which is exactly how we want to play," Sarkisian said after holding Washington State to 3 of 5 on such possessions Nov. 1.  

Some teams have tried to counter USC's stout play in the red zone by throwing at freshman cornerback Adoree' Jackson, but Sarkisian said the youngster is acquitting himself nicely. 

"Adoree' gets a lot of one-on-one matchups. We do some things coverage-wise where we know he's going to be isolated," Sarkisian said. "But he continues to impress us. He keeps getting better." 

Sarkisian added he anticipates Jackson "grabbing some" of the passes the freshman currently bats down to "create even bigger plays" for USC's red-zone defense. 

Jackson provided one such big play near the goal line with a strip at Utah.  

First- and Fourth-Quarter Points Allowed

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Few teams start at a pace quite as frenetic as that of USC. The Trojans hold a remarkable 108-20 scoring advantage in first quarters this season. 

The only quarter in which USC has been outscored over the course of its nine games is the fourth quarter, 64-59. While the total is modest, fourth-quarter disadvantages have cost USC in each of its two conference losses. 

Arizona State ran off 21 points in under five minutes, including the game-winning Hail Mary, while Utah rallied from a four-point deficit with a touchdown drive on its final possession. 

Arizona came a missed, 39-yard field goal away from capping a 19-point final quarter and downing USC a third time in Pac-12 play. 

Sarkisian talked about the Trojans' late-game struggles as his own failure to instill a "killer instinct." 

The coach has been adamant that lack of depth does not factor into USC losing steam over the course of games, but the Trojans are at a considerable numbers disadvantage each week. 

At Utah, for example, USC played just 41 scholarship athletes. 

Whatever the reason, the Trojans simply have not finished with the same prowess with which they have started. 

Buck Allen's Rushing Yards

Rick Bowmer/Associated Press

Sarkisian's arrival came with a promise of a "power run game," per USCTrojans.com. Redshirt junior running back Javorius "Buck" Allen helped bring the vision to reality. 

Allen's potential to flourish in Sarkisian's offense was evident well before the season began. Allen was the breakout performer of the second half of 2013, ascending from depth-chart obscurity to be USC's leading ball-carrier by season's end. 

Meanwhile, Sarkisian's Washington teams leaned heavily on star running backs Chris Polk and Bishop Sankey, and Allen is following in the same footsteps. 

Allen is on pace to lead the Pac-12 in rushing, a feat that not even Reggie Bush achieved in his 2005 Heisman Trophy-winning campaign. Allen is sitting at 1,124 yards after going for 114 at Washington State, his sixth consecutive game surpassing the century mark. 

Aiding Allen in his run at the conference's rushing title is the inspired play of a young offensive line. 

Toa Lobendahn and Damien Mama became the first true-freshman tandem to start on the Trojans offensive line in Week 1 since before World War II. Viane Talamaivao joined them a month later. 

When left tackle Chad Wheeler tore his ACL at Utah, the starting unit became even younger with Khaliel Rodgers making his first career start. 

"It's hard not to be excited about our future up front, and that's where it all begins," Sarkisian said. 

As the line continues to develop down the final stretch, Allen's run to the top of the conference should be paved smoothly. 

Opponent Kickoff, Punt Return Yardage and Average Field Position

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

Special teams play has at times been a weakness of this USC team. In particular, the coverage units have been susceptible to surrendering explosive plays.  

Take the sole touchdown the Trojans gave up to Oregon State: a 97-yard Ryan Murphy kickoff return, immediately negating a Su'a Cravens' pick-six. 

"

Ryan Murphy’s 97yd kickoff return TD at USC http://t.co/2XXLchOQlT

— Beaver Sports Now (@BeaverSportsNow) September 28, 2014"

Murphy's return is one of six of 30 yards or more USC has allowed on the season, per cfbstats.com. Only 15 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision have given up more.   

FootballOutsiders.com finds USC's opponents' average starting field position is their own 30-yard line. That's not a terrible statistic—the Trojans rank No. 61 nationally.  

But when compared to its own average starting field position rank—No. 104—USC is often spotting opponents yardage. 

Cody Kessler's Touchdown-to-Interception Ratio

Dean Hare/Associated Press

In July at Pac-12 media days, there was a palpable buzz circulating Paramount Studios, generated by the impressive corps of quarterbacks in the conference in 2014. 

USC redshirt junior Cody Kessler may have been something of an afterthought at the time, given counterparts Marcus Mariota, Brett Hundley and Taylor Kelly were considered Heisman contenders, Sean Mannion was fresh off a record-setting season and Kevin Hogan was a two-time Pac-12 champion. 

But Kessler has since put together one of the most impressive, if not under-appreciated statistical seasons in the conference. 

Kessler has thrown 25 touchdown passes to just two interceptions, while completing 69.7 percent of his attempts. He has also distributed the ball among six different targets with 14 or more receptions. 

Allen said Kessler's emergence makes his job on the ground "very easy."

However, Kessler's impressive stat line—particularly the touchdowns-to-interceptions—does point to a level of conservatism. 

Prior to the quarter back's record-setting seven-touchdown game against Colorado, Sarkisian was vehement about the offense's need for more explosive pass plays. Kessler's been willing and able to uncork deep passes against weaker defenses but can be hesitant against higher quality opponents.

It's a low-risk approach that avoids the calamitous play, but it also eliminates the possibility for big pay-off.

Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise cited. Statistics courtesy of USCTrojans.com and cfbstats.com.