Written by Sarah Bergstrom, USC blog contributor
The Trojans fell to the Vikings in their season opener on Saturday night after giving up 23 turnovers. However, the host of new and talented Trojans showed promise in their debut.
Click here for the full recap.
Turnover Terror
As head coach Andy Enfield said, "It's impossible to beat a team with 23 turnovers." The Trojans found this out the hard way as the starting five gave up the ball 22 times, never able to fully take the momentum away from the Vikings. Even when the Trojans took a one-point lead midway through the second half and seemingly had momentum on their side, they turned the ball over and failed to recover the lead again. Enfield credited the turnovers to poor decision-making rather than sloppy play but is confident in his team's ability to compete this season regardless of its relative inexperience.
Fantastic Freshmen
In his USC debut, Jordan McLaughlin led the team in scoring with 19 points and six assists. The two freshmen starters, McLaughlin and Malik Martin combined for 29 points and newcomer Elijah Stewart tacked on five of his own. The Trojans will be reliant upon fresh faces this season and it's clear after one game that the youngsters aren't shying away from the challenge. "I'm happy with their effort but disappointed with their turnovers," said Enfield. "They played hard, they're good players. They just have to learn and get better."
Quick Turnaround
The Trojans have less than 48 hours to bounce back from their season-opening loss as they host Tennessee Tech on Monday night at 8 p.m. The focus will be on eliminating turnovers and coming out of the gate fast, two areas Darion Clark feels confident his team can execute. "You'll see more of our style of play as the year goes on and as we start playing defense the way we know how to," said the redshirt sophomore. "It's a good thing we had this type of game early. On Monday, we will be a much better team."
Here are the SnappyTV game highlights:
University Southern California Trojans
Saturday, August 15
Saturday, August 15
Friday, August 14
Friday, August 14
