USC vs. Stanford: Game Grades, Analysis for Trojans vs. Cardinal
The Stanford Cardinal took care of business Saturday night, comfortably downing in-state rival USC 27-10 in Palo Alto.
Christian McCaffrey and the Stanford defense led the way, frustrating the Trojans with steadiness on both sides of the ball. This was a vintage Cardinal performance, which is why they are in the Pac-12 and national championship hunt seemingly every year.
Offensively, USC will be searching for answers as it could only muster 10 points on the road. The team also failed to contain McCaffrey, which was really its only job heading into this matchup. The Trojans have been outscored 79-16 in its two big games against Alabama and USC this season, so there are plenty of problems to solve in Los Angeles.
Each team will be feeling vastly different emotions following this conference opener, so let us look at why as we delve into how each unit fared on Saturday.
Stanford Offense
1 of 6
Grade: A
Stanford knows how it wants to play every time it steps on the field. Establishing the run, taking care of the ball and winning the line of scrimmage are the key ingredients to the Cardinal style of football, and they accomplished that goal Saturday.
McCaffrey received plenty of touches, as he totaled 30 carries for 165 yards and a touchdown on the ground to go with four catches for 74 yards and a score through the air. Stanford is not going to be successful without a strong night from its star, and he did not disappoint with his blend of explosiveness and hard running.
Ryan Burns managed the game well from the quarterback position, finishing with 109 yards through the air with a touchdown and a pick. He only completed one pass after halftime, but he did not need to air it out as Stanford continued to wear down USC on the ground. Burns did throw an interception by testing Adoree' Jackson, so it was not a perfect night for the signal-caller. Still, it was definitely good enough.
If Stanford can average over six yards per rush like it did Saturday, then the team will easily win at least 10 games this season.
USC Offense
2 of 6
Grade: C-
USC was going to need to score some points and create explosive plays to get Stanford to veer from its ground-and-pound efficiency, but it was not to be.
The team finished with a modest 353 yards of total offense, but the unit was marred by inconsistency and self-inflicted wounds. The Trojans were able to push the ball past midfield on numerous occasions, but they were not able to cash in for points when they needed it. Penalties certainly did not help this effort, as USC committed eight fouls for 56 yards.
USC was able to average 4.5 yards per carry, which is impressive against a physical Stanford defense. Yet, quarterback Max Browne struggled as he finished with just 191 yards on 18-of-28 passing. The Trojans lacked any real explosive threat, and star receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster's measly three catches for 34 yards were a direct result of that.
If not for a strong running game, USC may have never scored in this one.
Stanford Defense
3 of 6
Grade: B+
Stanford was solid defensively, containing some outstanding USC athletes all night to the tune of only 10 points allowed.
Darreus Rogers and Smith-Schuster were unable to find much space on the outside, which is a testament to a great performance from Stanford's secondary. The unit also performed well on its own side of the field to slow down the Trojans after they picked up a few first downs.
Yet, the run defense is the reason the defense does not earn an "A." Stanford is supposed to stifle the run, but USC had little trouble getting a push up front to give its talented stable of running backs some room to work. Against teams like Oregon and Washington later in the year, this will put the team in serious trouble. This needs to be shored up moving forward.
USC Defense
4 of 6
Grade: C-
USC was simply beaten up at the line of scrimmage, as Stanford established its dominance in the run game early and often.
Now, there is not a lot the Trojans can do to make up for physical disadvantages, but it was the blown assignments that ultimately did the team in.
McCaffrey was inexplicably left wide open on a wheel route for the game's first score, and the defense was slow and sorely out of position on a 56-yard end-around to Michael Rector in the third quarter. The entire left side of the Trojans' defense failed to stay home, and Rector had ample space to score nearly untouched.
This is just a lack of focus from USC, and the team is now 1-2 as a result.
Stanford Coaching
5 of 6
Grade: A
Why has Stanford been so good lately? Well, it is because the coaching staff has formed an identity for its team, and they execute so well.
The Cardinal came in and did what they did best by suffocating the Trojan defense with the run game while also refusing to break defensively. The offensive staff also did an excellent job of moving McCaffrey around, which seemed to really confuse the USC defense.
The one knock on the coaches was the excessive use of their Heisman-contending running back. Giving him the ball 34 times on offense was unnecessary given how well Stanford was controlling the game, especially late. There is no reason to be rushing McCaffrey up 27-10 in the fourth quarter, and the team is lucky the junior was not injured.
USC Coaching
6 of 6
Grade: F
After a 52-6 drubbing in its opener against Alabama, USC should have come out fired up to redeem itself against its next quality opponent. Instead, pretty much the opposite happened.
The Trojans came out flat, as they were unable to make much of an impact on either side of the ball. The defense seemed woefully unprepared to take on McCaffrey, as the unit was perplexed when he moved around.
The offense was rather vanilla, particularly in the passing game. The team never looked to take shots downfield with Rogers and Smith-Schuster to soften up the Stanford defense, and the Cardinal focused on smothering the Trojans underneath as a result. Not getting your best players involved is never a positive formula. Stanford got its star going, and USC saw Smith-Schuster look nearly invisible on Saturday.
Statistics are courtesy of NCAA.com.
.jpg?w=600 "NFL strength of schedule breakdown")