USC Spring Game: Tale of Two Halves

Head coach Lane Kiffin said it all in his postgame interview.

“The first half was defensive dominated more than any other scrimmage or practice had been," said Kiffin. "I thought that the front seven were especially dominant on defense in the first half.”

As for the offense in the first half, it looked very much like UCLA’s offense last week in the Bruins spring game.   

“I thought the offense played terrible,” Kiffin remarked. “We told them at halftime that we were going to take away their scholarship texts and give them back to the fans that turned out today because that was an embarrassing performance. So, it was good to see them respond.”

And respond they did with six touchdowns in the second half after managing only one TD before halftime.

Stanley Havili, Dillon Baxter, Mitch Mustain and Travon Patterson sparked the White Team (offense) to a 50-30 victory over the Cardinal Team (defense). 

Havili wound up as the leading receiver with 129 yards on five catches for three TDs.  Travon Patterson also had five catches for 101 yards and two TDs. Baxter led all rushers with 129 yards on 13 carries for nearly a 10-yard average along with a TD. Mustain threw for 299 yards on 19 out of 29 and five scores.

Other notables on offense: Allen Bradford had 48 yards on seven carries, and Curtis McNeal carried eight times for 44 yards. Brice Butler had five catches for 41 yards, and true freshman Kyle Prater caught four passes for 40 yards.

Starting quarterback Matt Barkley completed seven passes out of 16 attempts for 87 yards including a 47-yard TD pass to Travon Patterson. Barkley had to leave the game in the third quarter with a hand injury from a Jurell Casey hit.

Since quarterbacks are off-limits during team scrimmages, Casey was ejected from the scrimmage and sent off to an early shower.

“That’s an example of what we’re trying to get rid of here,” Kiffin admonished, “That mentality that just because you’re mad about the play before or two plays before when something happened, that you come back and, you know, you go outside of the rules that are set.”

On defense, linebackers Michael Morgan and Malcolm Smith led all defenders with seven and six tackles respectively. Nick Perry had five tackles and a sack. Shareece Wright also had five tackles and three pass deflections.

“I think our defense has a chance to be really good,” Kiffin said but then cautioned, “I think our offense has a long, long, long ways to go.” 

That’s right, not one, not two, but three—count them—three longs. And you know that third and long is not a particularly good down-and-distance situation. So, don’t too quick purchase those Rose Bowl tickets.

What was Kiffin’s evaluation of the offense? 

“As you look out here, I think we’ve got two pretty good quarterbacks,” Kiffin stated.  “But a lot of runs are Dillion (Baxter) making a great play or a running back making a special play. 

"Obviously we haven’t seen real depth at receiver right now. It kind of felt like a 1960s scrimmage there for a while. There was nothing going on outside. I told them at halftime that Ronald Johnson wasn’t coming back, so somebody better figure out a way to make some plays. It was good to see Travon (Patterson) step up.”

What does Kiffin think of Dillon Baxter?

“I really like the kid, too, because his personality in the huddle,” Kiffin remarked. “He doesn’t seem like a senior in high school. He seems like somebody who’s been doing this for a long time.”

Asked if he ever saw anyone spin like that, Kiffin quipped, “Yeah, on PlayStation. Press the R-2 button.”

As far as the offensive line is concerned, Kiffin cautioned, “What you saw today was Dillion Baxter making a bunch of really good plays, and Stanley Havili making some plays. We’ve still got a long way to go up front.”

Up in Eugene Oregon, however, it is a different story. The Ducks offensive line did some crisp blocking today in their spring game, protecting both of their passers and opening nice holes for their bevy of running backs.

The White Team led by Nate Costa, 7-for-13 and 104 yards, and Andres Reed rushing for 57 yards on five carries beat the Green Team led by Thomas Darron, 15-for-23 and 196 yards and a TD, and tailback Kenjon Barner’s 96 yards on nine carries. 

The final score was White 26 and Green 21.