USC Weekend Wrap-Up: A Special Monday for the Trojans

It was Monday morning at Heritage Hall and no one was around.  The coaches and players had the morning off since this is a bye week for the Trojans.

When the coaches returned in the afternoon, though, first-year Special Teams Coach Brian Schneider had his report card all filled out—and it was a very special one indeed.

Not only did punt returner Damian Williams break open the Cal game with a 66-yard TD return, but all of the Trojans special units managed a near-perfect performance as well.

Schneider has a 12-goal checklist to rate how his special teams are performing.  In Saturday’s 30-3 win over Cal, the USC special teams were successful on all 12 goals. 

The best the Trojans had been previously was 10-for-12.

"I have never seen 12-for-12," Schneider said at Monday afternoon's special teams meeting.

Here are Schneider’s 12 goals and how the Trojans performed on each against Cal:

Win: Yes

100 percent effort: Yes

100 percent punt protection: Three times

100 percent kick protection: Six times

Average start after a kickoff better than opponent: 30- to 25-yard line

Net punt better than opponent: 39.7 to 29.4 yards

Score or set up a score: Damian Williams' punt return for a TD

Penalty free: Zero penalties in 27 snaps

Give offense the ball inside the 50: Two times

Opponents always start outside the 50: 10 times

Have a game-breaking play: Williams' 66-yard TD

Eliminate the big play for the opponent: Zero big plays by Cal.

The Pac-10 also thought Williams’ 66-yard punt return for a TD was special and named him the Pac-10 Special Teams Player of the Week.  He is now tied for third in the nation in return yards with 198.

In addition to his punt return duties, Williams also led the team in receiving on Saturday, with eight catches for 101 yards.

Williams wasn’t the only Trojan to pick up honors this week.  All-American Safety Taylor Mays was named the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Week.  Mays had a team-high 10 tackles and a key interception in the end zone that turned the game around early in the first quarter.

Mays was also named the Ronnie Lott Trophy Player of the Week.

Joe McKnight, with 131 all-purpose yards, was one of five nominees for Offensive Player of the Week, but that honor went to Oregon State’s James Rodgers with 114 yards on 10 catches and 90 yards on punt and kick returns for 204 all-purpose yards.

The Trojans will see Rodgers and his younger brother Jacquizz on Oct. 24 at the Coliseum.  The Trojan staff and players all remember what the Brothers Rodgers did to them last year up in Oregon.

The Trojan defense was also special on Saturday.  They held Kevin Riley to 15-for-40 passing (37.5 percent) for only 199 yards, while picking up three sacks.  (They could have had three more if it weren’t for sloppy tackling.)  They also limited Cal's Jahvid Best to just 47 rushing yards on 14 carries (3.4-yard average)

But the Trojan defense has been special all year.  So far this season, they have held all five opponents under 90 yards rushing, and opposing teams are averaging just 2.0 yards per rush.

In five games this year, USC has allowed only three touchdowns and not a single touchdown pass.  The Trojans rank third in the nation, allowing just 8.6 points per game—and everyone was concerned because this unit lost eight starters from last season.

The offense also did some special things on Saturday that pleased the staff.  

The offensive coaches have been concerned all season with tempo and ball control.  On Saturday, however, the Trojans ran 77 offensive plays and held the ball for more than 36 minutes.  They also produced four drives of 65 yards or longer. 

This is the reason USC was able to dominate and take complete control of the game.

"Ball control is always good," offensive coordinator John Morton said.  "We were really clicking.  It's always good having long drives because it gets you in a groove and keeps the defense off the field."

Here are some of the stats that pleased the offensive coaches:

* 457 yards of offense.

* Matt Barkley going 20-for-35 for 283 yards (a season and personal high).

* Damian Williams catching eight passes for 101 yards.

* Joe McKnight accounting for 131 yards of offense and two touchdowns.

* Seven players recording a reception.

The Trojans also converted 40 percent of their third-down opportunities (six-for-15).  That was a nice improvement over the 25 percent rate from their first four games, but they will need to do even better in the coming weeks.

"It's good, but we can get way better," Coach Pete Carroll said. "That was really the only phase of our offense that wasn't cooking."

Another special aspect of the Cal game was how the Trojans were able to take the crowd out of the game by the way they played.  This is vital, since they have key matchups on the road with Notre Dame and Oregon in the next few weeks.

"We are in charge of the energy and noise in a stadium," Coach Carroll said during Monday afternoon's team meeting.  "We own it."

Speaking of Notre Dame, I see where Charlie Weis is at it again.  This time he is complaining because the pollsters haven’t given any love to his Fighting Irish for their close victories over Michigan State and Washington.

A few Trojan fans likewise are complaining because USC didn’t move up with their huge win on the road at Cal.  All I can say to Charlie and the disappointed Trojan fans is that none of these polls matter.

The only ones that matter are the polls that come out in early December after a team has completed its regular season.  Run the table in all of your remaining games and you will be okay.

This is no time to be complaining about your ranking, Charlie.  Carroll isn’t complaining.  Take care of business, and the polls will take care of themselves.

Although this is a bye week, there is still plenty of news ahead for Trojan fans, especially on the injury front.

Both Armond Armstead and Ronald Johnson are trying to get back in time for the Notre Dame game.  Then there is still the matter of Matt Barkley’s shoulder, and Malcolm Smith’s and Jordan Campbell’s knees.

There may also be some movement in the depth chart at the backup quarterback spot, so check back often for the latest word.

Speaking of injuries, make sure you visit Stafon Johnson's Caring Bridge site to send in your notes of encouragement and well wishes to Stafon.

You can also follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/stafon13.