University Southern California Trojans
Photo by: John McGillen
6-Points: WSU 30, USC 27
September 30, 2017 | Football, USC Ripsit Blog, Features
USC hosts Oregon State at the Coliseum on Saturday at 1 p.m.
The Trojans have their 13-game winning streak snapped, falling on the Palouse to No. 16 Washington State.
Click here for the recap and final stats.
Lost Night
The Trojans have not felt that losing feeling in a year, so the locker room was understandably crushed after a hard-fought battle did not go their way. "We've got a lot of sad kids in there," said head coach Clay Helton. "We haven't felt this way in a while. It hurts." While USC has a lot to clean up, especially offensively, there is no questioning the will of this team. "It's our job as coaches to make sure there's not mistakes," Helton said. "It's their job to give the utmost effort and the utmost fight, and they fought their guts out."
MASH Unit
The Trojans came into the game banged up, missing their starting tight end, left tackle, wide receiver and outside linebacker, but things got worse in a hurry. USC lost two players, LB Jordan Iosefa and WR Jalen Greene, when they collided during warmups. They lost two more starters on the offensive line, RT Chuma Edoga and RG Viane Talamaivao, in the first half. "You don't anticipate losing three of your starters on the offensive line," Helton said, but he refused to use injuries as an excuse. In the second half, RB Stephen Carr and DL Malik Dorton succumbed to injury. The Trojans will have Saturday and Sunday off as they try to regain some health before Oregon State.
Decisive Down
In what proved to be a telling statistic, USC converted on 2 of 11 third downs, while Washington State was successful on 8 of 18. "We didn't get it done tonight on third down," Helton said. "I thought it was going to be the most critical area of the game tonight, especially against a high-powered offense like Washington State." By staying on the field, the Cougars enjoyed a massive edge in total plays (81 to 58) and time of possession (35:27 to 24:33).
Vaughns Arrives
Running low on experienced wide receivers, RS freshman Tyler Vaughns picked a good night to have a breakout game. "We saw the emergence of Tyler Vaughns tonight," Helton said. "I thought he played his tail off." Vaughns made two critical catches on the game-tying drive in the fourth quarter en route to a career-best day with 6 receptions for 89 yards. "I have always been confident in my game, just been waiting for the opportunity," Vaughns said. "I just got the opportunities today and I exploited it."
Death by 1,000 Paper Cuts
The USC defense had its bright spots, including five sacks and one impressive interception by OLB Uchenna Nwosu, but the Trojans struggled to get off the field against the Cougars short passing game. "We had some good times, but that's what they do best, they dink and dunk," said LB Cameron Smith. "Luke Falk is a great quarterback, and they played us well."
Live and Learn
Helton made it clear to his team that none of its dreams were dashed tonight. The Trojans can still rally to win the Pac-12 and compete for a spot in the College Football Playoff. "We lost a tough game in a hostile environment against a good football team," Helton said. "Now we've got to recollect and go on a run, and we know how to do that. We've done it before and we'll do it again." USC players described the feeling of losing as "sickening," so they are even more motivated to do whatever it takes going forward. "You're going to see a team that's going to fight more than ever," Smith said. "We are going to be out there and give it our all every single game."
Click here for the recap and final stats.
Lost NightThe Trojans have not felt that losing feeling in a year, so the locker room was understandably crushed after a hard-fought battle did not go their way. "We've got a lot of sad kids in there," said head coach Clay Helton. "We haven't felt this way in a while. It hurts." While USC has a lot to clean up, especially offensively, there is no questioning the will of this team. "It's our job as coaches to make sure there's not mistakes," Helton said. "It's their job to give the utmost effort and the utmost fight, and they fought their guts out."
MASH Unit
The Trojans came into the game banged up, missing their starting tight end, left tackle, wide receiver and outside linebacker, but things got worse in a hurry. USC lost two players, LB Jordan Iosefa and WR Jalen Greene, when they collided during warmups. They lost two more starters on the offensive line, RT Chuma Edoga and RG Viane Talamaivao, in the first half. "You don't anticipate losing three of your starters on the offensive line," Helton said, but he refused to use injuries as an excuse. In the second half, RB Stephen Carr and DL Malik Dorton succumbed to injury. The Trojans will have Saturday and Sunday off as they try to regain some health before Oregon State.
Decisive Down
In what proved to be a telling statistic, USC converted on 2 of 11 third downs, while Washington State was successful on 8 of 18. "We didn't get it done tonight on third down," Helton said. "I thought it was going to be the most critical area of the game tonight, especially against a high-powered offense like Washington State." By staying on the field, the Cougars enjoyed a massive edge in total plays (81 to 58) and time of possession (35:27 to 24:33).
Vaughns Arrives
Running low on experienced wide receivers, RS freshman Tyler Vaughns picked a good night to have a breakout game. "We saw the emergence of Tyler Vaughns tonight," Helton said. "I thought he played his tail off." Vaughns made two critical catches on the game-tying drive in the fourth quarter en route to a career-best day with 6 receptions for 89 yards. "I have always been confident in my game, just been waiting for the opportunity," Vaughns said. "I just got the opportunities today and I exploited it."
Death by 1,000 Paper Cuts
The USC defense had its bright spots, including five sacks and one impressive interception by OLB Uchenna Nwosu, but the Trojans struggled to get off the field against the Cougars short passing game. "We had some good times, but that's what they do best, they dink and dunk," said LB Cameron Smith. "Luke Falk is a great quarterback, and they played us well."
Live and Learn
Helton made it clear to his team that none of its dreams were dashed tonight. The Trojans can still rally to win the Pac-12 and compete for a spot in the College Football Playoff. "We lost a tough game in a hostile environment against a good football team," Helton said. "Now we've got to recollect and go on a run, and we know how to do that. We've done it before and we'll do it again." USC players described the feeling of losing as "sickening," so they are even more motivated to do whatever it takes going forward. "You're going to see a team that's going to fight more than ever," Smith said. "We are going to be out there and give it our all every single game."
Players Mentioned
TB
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DT
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OT
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WR
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ILB
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OLB
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ILB
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OG
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WR
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