- The Trojans were finally able to grind out a victory. After a season of shootouts, USC won a game fairly comfortably in which they only scored three points in the second half. As I mentioned in the scouting report on Arizona, the best way to beat them is to control the clock. The Trojans held the ball for 15 minutes more than the Wildcats (an entire quarter), including 12:24 of the final period. "They were like the #10 rush defense in the nation and a top 20 team and we came out here and beat them up on the ground," said Marc Tyler, who ran 31 times for 161 yards.
- Marc Tyler has always been a talented back. Even in limited opportunities the last few years, he made plays, but he could never stay on the field. After a soft night in the Oregon loss, RB coach Kennedy Pola blasted his tailback and apparently the message got through. Tyler was an absolute workhorse tonight, including shaking off a recurrence of his ankle injury. "It felt good to go out there and run the ball 31 times. That's the most I've ever run in my life I think," said an exhausted Tyler. "Obviously, tomorrow it's not going to feel that good, but we got the win."
- Matt Barkley was not sacked tonight. Against the best defensive end tandem in the conference, Tyron Smith and Matt Kalil pitched a shutout despite combining for zero practices this week. "It was just the preparation. We were challenged again this week and we really took it to heart in our individual work," said Kris O'Dowd about the offensive line's stellar play. "Everyone is banged up, but these guys can play through it because they are tough."
- Arizona is now 0-11 when they lose the turnover battle. USC took advantage of two key fumbles, which led to 10 Trojans' points, and stopped one Wildcats drive in the red zone. "You are talking about running 82 plays today with only one turnover and no sacks, that's a very clean day," said Lane Kiffin about his offense.
- I do not understand why Shareece Wright does not shadow the opponent's best receiver. To use a basketball analogy, you put your defensive stopper on the other team's best scorer. Arizona's star WR Juron Criner killed the Trojans on 3rd down tonight and by my recollection, all six of his catches came against Torin Harris, USC's third best corner.
- Many of you may not know Ross Cumming, but the back-up linebacker made the biggest play of the night. "Right when he kicked it, I knew it was going to go 10 yards with the force behind it and if I waited, I was going to get blown up," recounted Cumming, who said that they have practiced that exact onside kick situation countless times this season. He's symbolic of a special teams unit that continues to produce magic week after week, including a faked field goal and another blocked PAT returned for two points (yeah yeah, offsides, whatever).
- Joe Houston outkicked Alex Zendejas and it was the difference in the game. The math is simple. USC won by three. Houston made his one attempt, while Zendejas missed. "Joe kicking that field goal was big," said Kiffin, who has stuck with the former walk-on despite his struggles. "You just felt going in that we had not kicked many field goals all year and we were going to need a big boost."
- The locker room was as celebratory tonight as it has been all season. While the head coach does not let his guard down often, he shared a great moment with the ESPN Radio broadcast team when Pete Arbogast told him the Oregon/Cal score. "No that's the score at the end of the first quarter," Kiffin contested. "They must have let Cal play with 15 guys on defense."
- The 2010 Trojans have their signature win. While Arizona may not be Oregon or Stanford, the Wildcats were a top 20 team in their own stadium with a big name quarterback. If USC had lost, they would have failed to avenge any of their four losses from last season. Now...
- They have a chance to win out and finish 10-3, which is looking all the more likely after Oregon State lost to Washington State in Corvallis. "We're going to have to go up there and it is a tough place to play, but there is some light here," Kiffin broke down the schedule. "The picture is starting to clear, so we need to just keep improving."
- Here is a spent Marc Tyler after his career night...
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