Stanford vs. USC: Who Is to Blame for Trojans' Failed Upset Bid?

The USC Trojans came within minutes of pulling off a monumental upset over No. 6 Stanford in a pivotal Pac-12 clash at the Coliseum on Saturday but were betrayed in that effort by a long-suspect and poorly-disciplined defense.

The offense was solid all night thanks to the typically sterling efforts of quarterback Matt Barkley (28-of-45 for 286 yards, three touchdowns and an interception) and a breakout performance on the ground from diminutive running back Curtis McNeal (145 yards, two touchdowns). With those two leading the way, the Trojans torched a stout Cardinal defense, which came into Saturday giving up less than 13 points per game, for 27 points in regulation.

Meanwhile, the defense, which has come under fire ever since Lane Kiffin brought dear ol’ dad Monte on as his top coordinator, struggled to stop Andrew Luck and the hard-charging Stanford offense down the stretch.

Granted, it was the defense that put ‘SC up in the first place, with a pick-six by Nickell Roby with just over three minutes remaining in the game. Sure, Robert Woods could have gotten down and/or out of bounds before the clock ran out in regulation to give Andre Heidari a chance to kick the winning field goal. And sure, McNeal should have done a better job of hanging onto the ball, rather than fumbling it into the end zone on ‘SC’s third overtime drive to end the game at 56-48.

And yes, it’s tough to expect anyone, much less a shoddy defense like ‘SC’s, to stop Luck and the Cardinal ground attack from scoring with three minutes to play and the game on the line.

That being said, the onus remains on the Trojans defense, which surrendered 516 total yards of offense, to stand tall and do its job in crunch time. A stupid personal foul penalty by the ‘SC secondary turned what would otherwise have been a 4th-and-6 for the Cardinal at their own 40-yard line into a 1st-and-10 at the Trojans' 45, from which point Stanford was all but certain to secure the game-tying touchdown.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Regardless of where the Trojans decide to point their fingers, whether at Monte Kiffin, the defensive players themselves, Curtis McNeal or Robert Woods, the fact remains that they had a golden opportunity to knock Stanford out of the BCS national championship hunt but, ultimately, came up short.