Click here for the recap and final stats.
Click here for the post-game press conference.
Prayer AnsweredThe Trojans appeared destined to head into the half with a narrow 14-10 lead after a cagey start from both sides. Instead, head coach Steve Sarkisian decided to let Cody Kessler give it a heave towards the end zone, and as it turned out, fate had something else in mind. WR Darreus Rogers leaped up to catch the ball, landed cleanly on his feet, and shuffled into the end zone for a game-changing and crowd-pleasing six. "We practice it once a week, but I didn't think it would come to perfection like that," said Rogers, who called the play "a dream come true."
Su'a the Spark
For the first time this season, Su'a Cravens was listed as the starter at outside linebacker. The safety is now making his future living closer to the line of scrimmage, and whatever the title, he is the Trojans top playmaker on defense. He provided the first highlight of the night with a pick-six off Sean Mannion, and then proceeded to add a team-leading 6 tackles, including a sack among two tackles-for-loss. "I love it. I love being next to the ball," said Cravens about his new role. "Once I learn all my stuff, I should be there primarily. That's the plan, but as of now, I say I'm a safety."
Mr. Efficiency
After four games, QB Cody Kessler is putting himself in elite company. He joins Oregon's Marcus Mariota as the only two FBS quarterbacks to boast a completion rate of 70% or better and at least 10 TD passes without an interception on the season. Kessler was a sparkling 24/32 for 261 yards and 2 TD/0 INT tonight, including several athletic escapes from danger. "He's a better athlete than people give him credit for," said head coach Steve Sarkisian. "He's very accurate. He's in great command. And, I love coaching him."
USC-Hawks
Super Bowl champion Malcolm Smith, along with Michael Morgan, led the Trojans on the field tonight. Smith secured Seattle's Super Bowl berth when Richard Sherman tapped him an interception in the end zone to seal the NFC Championship Game last year. Adoree' Jackson strives to be in Sherman's company, and he pulled off a decent impression tonight tipping an interception to teammate Leon McQuay in the end zone. "I didn't really know he was there, but it just worked out perfect," said Jackson, who broke up two passes on the night.
Challenge Accepted
The USC defense took its lumps after the Boston College game, but the Trojans responded tonight holding the soon-to-be all-time Pac-12 passing leader Sean Mannion to 123 pass yards and 0 TD/2 INT. In fact, the only Beavers' touchdown came on a kickoff return, so the USC defense with Cravens' pick-six actually outscored OSU's offense. The Trojans held the Beavers to 1/10 on third downs, which was the key stat to Sarkisian. "Two weeks ago, we were busting assignments. That's all it was," said Cravens. "We know we are a great defense. And, we know we can play like it every week."
Stop Start Affair
While the game featured several memorable plays, the rest of the contest will be easily forgotten. Between Oregon State's injuries (countless) and 27 penalties (14 for USC), the game lacked any kind of rhythm and got completely bogged down in the third quarter. Sarkisian explained that the game plan was to be physical with the Beavers' receivers, which led to being "too physical" on occasion drawing flags for defensive holding, but they never let Oregon State's offense get comfortable. "The beauty of it is I know we can play a lot better too," said Sarkisian. "We need to improve. We need to be better next Saturday night."
Here are tonight's SnappyTV highlights...
