USC Football: Grading the Trojans Game Against the Ducks

Welcome back to the big time Trojans.

With USC's heart stopping victory over Oregon at Autzen Stadium, the Trojans announced in no uncertain terms that they have returned to the prime time college football stage they starred on not so long ago.

But good Lord, it wasn't easy.

For almost three quarters, the men of Troy had their way with their new found nemesis from the Pacific Northwest before Oregon took advantage of gifts the young Trojans bestowed upon them late in the game.

On a night when the Trojans led 38-14 with 3:28 left in the third quarter, it took a missed field goal by the Ducks to finally seal a game that USC should have won easily.

Still, this was a game that no one thought they could win and despite the late meltdown, it is one that both quarterback Matt Barkley and head coach Lane Kiffin can hang their hats on.

How the Trojans got that big lead and subsequently gave most of it away will be subject of this report card as USC finally gets that big win they have been looking so long for.

Quarterback

For those who questioned Matt Barkley's ability to finally win a big game, wonder no more.

The junior quarterback, who came so agonizingly close to beating then No. 5 Stanford, came through with an outstanding performance that was marred only by a fourth quarter interception where his primary receiver was clearly held though it wasn't called.

Other than that, Barkley was magnificent.

In shredding the Ducks for 323 yards and four touchdowns, young Matt has given those holding Heisman Trophy votes something to think about as the regular season heads into its final week.

And he was efficient too.

As in 26 for 35 if you don't mind.

For Barkley, who has a big decision to make after the season regarding his amateur status, the win at Oregon will occupy a special place for him as he ponders what the future holds for him.

But right now, he is one of the best signal-callers in the nation.

And for his trouble, he earns a grade for this game that reflects that.

Grade: A

Running Backs

Earlier this week, I opined that the Trojans would need to gain somewhere north of 200 yards on the ground to win this game at Autzen Stadium.

Well, not quite.

After rushing for 139 yards against a sometimes tough Oregon defense, USC's rushing attack did just enough to keep the Ducks defense honest.

Led by Curtis McNeal's 94 yards on 20 carries, the ground attack did not overwhelm anyone but on this night, they didn't have to.

Still, Marc Tyler's fumble on the Trojans last drive was almost a killer and this component of the offense was slightly better than average and nothing more.

Grade: C+

Receivers

Can we please just place the Robert Woods-Marqise Lee wide receiver tandem among the best one or two duos in the nation?

Certainly, no one would have the temerity to argue that after witnessing the destruction that those two heaped upon the Oregon Ducks last night in front of a national audience and with so much on the line for Chip Kelly's boys.

Led by true freshman Lee, who had a stupid good game with 187 yards on eight catches, the youngster elevated his profile to elite status, though those who follow the cardinal and gold have known about this kid for months.

For those of you—like me—who are numerically challenged, the average yards per catch was a silly 23.4 yards per.

And joining Lee was the always special Robert Woods who shook off a bevy of injuries to catch seven Barkley darts of his own and two touchdowns.

A "crystal" moment in this game:

Woods, after his first touchdown, collecting some imaginary chalk and tossing it up in the air as a back-handed acknowledgment of NBA star LeBron James, who attended the game with some of his on strike roundball cohorts and hung out on the Ducks sideline.

Tight end Randall Telfer continued his recent penchant for scoring with another TD as well.

With the receivers accounting for 273 yards and four touchdowns, this group earns a solid grade.

Grade: A

Offensive Line

For a young unit still finding its way, USC's offensive line represented well as has been the case for the last six weeks or so.

Though not dominant, the guys in the trenches kept their quarterback clean for most of the night and while the rushing attack did not overwhelm anyone, they certainly held their own.

One knock was the inopportune penalties, especially in the second half, but for a line that little was expected from to start the season, they just keep growing and getting better.

Watch out in 2012 when this group of youngsters come completely of age.

Grade: B-

Defensive Line

As was the case for the entire defense, this game was a tale of two halves.

Spectacular in the first half, the defensive line was much less so in the second.

Overall, they gave up 209 yards on the ground including 123 yards to Kenjon Barner who shredded them in the second frame.

But in all fairness, it should be noted that much of the Ducks damage on the ground came when they were running away from the Trojans D-line.

Though they did hold a banged up LaMichael James to 78 yards on 20 carries, when taken in its entirety, however, this unit held their own but couldn't sustain their first half brilliance though out.

Still, when the Trojans won this game—in the first half—they set the tone.

Grade: B-

Linebackers

Can you imagine how good the Trojans "baby linebackers" are going to be next year?

Not that they are too shabby in late 2011 mind you.

Led by redshirt freshman Hayes Pullard and his more than a dozen tackles—including a sack—the Trojans youthful linebackers were special for a large portion of the game.

True freshman middle linebacker Lamar Dawson continues to get better by the week and Dion Bailey had a nice game as well, showing a lot of grit by coming back into the game late despite a painful ankle.

Bailey's status for next week's game against UCLA is yet to be determined.

However, much like the rest of their defensive cohorts, the linebackers were exploited in the second half as the Ducks had their way with this group who showed their inexperience while helping make this game a nail-biter to the very end.

Grade: B-

Defensive Secondary

Surprisingly, the Trojan secondary, despite the high score and relatively big numbers put up by Duck quarterback Darron Thomas, had a pretty good game.

Take away the tight end and halfback contributions receiving, and the wide receivers only had about 140 yards or so for the entire game.

Of course, there was that little matter of DeAnthony Thomas and who held responsibility for his production but that is a matter for the secondary coaches to decide.

And run support in the second half on the edges left a lot to be desired as well, but overall, it could have gone much worse for this unit.

Grade: B-

Special Teams

Coach John Baxter's boys alternated from good to bad throughout this game which makes giving a grade difficult.

First, there was T.J. McDonald's blocked punt that led to a field goal and Marqise Lee's nice return of a kickoff following a Duck score which led to a Trojan score of its own.

Good and Good.

Then there was Oregon's DeAnthony Thomas' return of a Trojan kickoff for a long touchdown of his own, plus a couple of other short kickoffs which allowed the Ducks some pretty sweet starting points for their own offensive series.

Obviously, this is not good.

Overall, it was an uneven performance from the special teams who can be forgiven as long as the Trojans escape with that "W."

Grade: C+

Coaching

Now even the haters have to say something nice about Lane Kiffin.

Finally securing that so-called "signature victory," the job that Kiffin has done under the most trying of circumstances in 2011, has been nothing short of remarkable.

In this game, Kiffin coached his team to an early lead in perhaps the most hostile stadium in the country against a fabulously talented Duck team and the only reason the Trojans had to hang on was some unfortunate bad luck and some equally unfortunate no-calls by officials who were obviously distracted in the moment (think of a horrible intentional grounding call on Barkley in the first half and a no-call on a pass interference on Barkley's interception in the second half).

Yet, for all of the abuse that Kiffin has had to endure in his coaching career, all he could think about was the Trojan fans whom he thought had been great in dealing with USC's misfortunes over the last couple of years.

You haven't been so bad yourself coach, and the great thing for those Trojan fans you care so much about, it appears you are getting better as time passes.

His dad, Monte Kiffin, had a great game plan for his defense in the first half and though they wore down in the second, there was no disgrace in that since this is a phenomenon experienced by every team not named "LSU" when playing Oregon.

Grade: A

Conclusion

With their biggest win of the year(s) behind them, the Trojans cannot afford to let down with one game left in the season.

And lo and behold, look what waits for them on the horizon, none other than cross-town rival UCLA, who somehow has a Pac-12 Southern division title on the line when they meet the Trojans at the Coliseum next Saturday.

Win that game and the Trojans make a mockery of the initial conference championship, lose and the season takes on a very sour taste which will remain for the entire offseason.

But those notions can be entertained in the coming days.

For now, USC gets to bask in the glory of an unexpected win that started magnificent but ended scary to say the least.

A wonderful game for certain, not the "A+" it looked be when the Trojans were up 38-14 but still very special and one the gets a high grade overall.

Overall Grade: A-