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Taking Care of Business
Sandwiched between Stanford and UCLA, Colorado was easy to overlook. Add in below freezing temperatures, and the excuses were already laid out, but the Trojans refused to make them. Instead, they delivered a mature, professional performance to keep the momentum rolling into the final game of the regular season. "We just dealt with the task at hand," said interim head coach Ed Orgeron. "We were not going to worry about any circumstances." The defense pitched a shutout for three quarters, while the offense found its balance again with 243 yards rushing and 206 yards passing.Run to the End
At halftime, USC had just 37 yards rushing on 17 carries, so Orgeron tasked the offensive coaches with lighting a fire up front. The halftime pep talk led to 206 yards on the ground in the second half led by sophomore RB Buck Allen who ran for a career-high 145 yards and 3 touchdowns. "I am very happy with how the offense came and ran the ball in the second half," said Orgeron. "They just started blocking and being more physical. They just started opening up holes."
Baxter's Best Chess Piece
Under John Baxter, USC's special teams are terrorizing opponents with blocked kicks in four consecutive games. FB Soma Vainuku is a special teams demon with three blocked punts this season, including one tonight for a safety, and 12 special teams tackles. "Baxter said we had them in checkmate all week," said Vainuku. "We got the calls down and recognized what they were doing, and everything just fell right." Vainuku even flashed his running skills to kill off the game with a 52-yard TD burst. "I felt like I was back in high school," he said.
Shadow Games
In the last few weeks, Clancy Pendergast has tasked CB Josh Shaw with shadowing the opponent's top receiver instead of playing one side of the field. Tonight, Shaw went one-on-one with Paul Richardson, and held CU's biggest threat without a catch until midway through the third quarter. "He's probably the best receiver that I have gone against this entire season," said Shaw of Richardson. "I just wanted to get up there and challenge him at the line of scrimmage, and I was able to do so." Shaw credits "countless hours" of film study for his success, and says he has not been going to bed until 2 a.m.Remember the Tight Ends
The tight ends are always a fan favorite, but the group has been too banged up to contribute consistently this season. However, Xavier Grimble and Randall Telfer are getting healthy at just the right time. Grimble led the team with 6 catches, while Telfer found the end zone for the first time this season. "I had a conversation with [Clay] Helton, and he told us that he is a big tight end guy, and that the key to our success is going to be our tight ends," said Telfer. "I believed him, and it has proven successful."
Bring on the Bruins
The Trojans have had nearly a year to swallow the loss to UCLA at the Rose Bowl, but the bitterness has not subsided. "I'm still sick from that game, and I am sure the entire team is," said Shaw. "It is a new year now. We're going to play them in the Coliseum, and it will be a different outcome this year." While the Pac-12 South belongs to Arizona State, no extra incentive is needed when a city championship is at stake. The game will officially kickoff at 5 p.m. PT and be nationally televised on ABC. "We are going to give it hell. We are going to give it everything we got," said Orgeron.
(Photos of Allen and Vainuku by John McGillen)
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