Click here for the recap and final stats.
Click here for the post-game press conference.
Couldn't Stop ItBoston College defeated USC despite only passing for 54 yards on 13 attempts. How is that possible? Well, the Eagles ran for 452 yards, the most by a USC opponent since 1977, led by their quarterback Tyler Murphy, who had 191 rush yards on 13 carries (14.7 yards per carry). "We just needed to stop the quarterback, and unfortunately, we couldn't," said S Su'a Cravens. "I'm telling myself and I'm telling my guys, don't be sad over a game like this, be disappointed, because they didn't beat us. We lost this game, and they did a great job of taking advantage of the mistakes we made."
Couldn't Start It
On the other side of the ball, the Trojans pounded away at BC's defense with Buck Allen but never made a dent. After back-to-back 100-yard rushing games to start the season, Allen produced only 31 yards on the ground, and with sack yardage included, the USC offense was limited to 20 total rush yards. "Obviously, the plays we were trying to run weren't the best plays," said head coach and play-caller Steve Sarkisian who took responsibility. "We've got to look at one, the game plan, two, the execution, and the third piece of this is that at some point, you have to defeat your man."
Sizzle Then Fizzle
With all the talk of a letdown, the Trojans actually started on fire. They led 10-0 after the first quarter and 17-6 before BC ran off 24 unanswered points. "I felt like the energy in the locker room getting ready to take the field was really good, and we probably played our best football early in the game," said Sarkisian. "For whatever reason, we lost that focus and that spark, and that's what I have to figure out."
Not All Gloom and Doom
The Trojans failed in terms of "execution" but the "effort" was there, according to Sarkisian. They made a couple late pushes, but could not get over the hump. Nevertheless, WR George Farmer scored his first touchdown, and CB Chris Hawkins secured his first interception. S Su'a Cravens had three tackles-for-loss, and RB Buck Allen caught nine passes for 118 yards. Also, Andre Heidari drilled a 52-yard field goal to keep his confidence rolling.
Keep Cody Clean
While it took the Trojans too long to get the passing game started, Cody Kessler delivered another sterling performance when given time. He finished 31/41 for 317 yards and 4 TDs without a turnover. However, he was sacked five times, which he explained was a combination of needing to make better calls at the line and a lack of physicality up front. "At the end of the day, I am not worried," said Kessler. "This team knows how to fight back and they are going to bounce back from this."
Been Here Before
These Trojans are no stranger to adversity, so while this loss comes as a shock after all the excitement from the Stanford victory, they have no intention of letting it linger. USC enters its bye week with plenty on which to improve, but also carrying the "next play" mindset that the coaches preach on a daily basis. "I am glad that we got this out of the way early," said WR George Farmer. "We're going to come back and fight on this bye week and clean up everything and come back and fight hard for Oregon State."
