University Southern California Trojans
6-Points: Iowa 49, USC 24
December 27, 2019 | Football, USC Ripsit Blog, Features
USC finishes the season with an 8-5 record.
Credit Iowa
USC ended its 2019 campaign in disappointing fashion as Iowa was more efficient on both sides of the ball over the course of 60 minutes. "They played a really good game from start to finish," head coach Clay Helton said. "They played better than us tonight." The Hawkeyes scored touchdowns on their first five possessions to put the Trojans in a hole and then finished USC off with a devastating pass rush that created four sacks and injured QB Kedon Slovis.
Concern for Kedon
Before the injury, Slovis was slicing up Iowa's defense, considered to be one of the best in the country. The freshman completed 22/30 for 260 yards and 2 TDs in just over a half. On the second drive of the third quarter, he had his arm pushed down at an ugly angle by a defender while he was in the throwing motion. "Right now, we know it is an elbow injury," Helton said. "We'll get an MRI and see where it is from there. We're hoping it's a strain." Slovis ended up setting the NCAA completion percentage record for a freshman.
Stuck on the Field
While the offense scored on four of its first five possessions, the defense could not get a stop until it was already too late. Iowa was 8 of 13 on third down and 1 of 1 on fourth down. "They did a tremendous job of executing against our man coverage, so we went to zone coverage," Helton said. "The quarterback just played a heckuva game. You could tell he was a seasoned vet." The Hawkeyes were also 4/4 in red zone chances, scoring nothing but touchdowns.
Momentum Changer
Down 28-17 at half, Helton told his coaches that USC needed to "steal a possession" in the second half, so after the opening drive went for six, the Trojans rolled the dice on an onside kick. "Credit to Michael Brown, he's practiced that play all year and he worked it to perfection," Helton said about the kicker. After the big special teams play, the Trojans had the ball with a chance to take the lead when Slovis was injured. "It created a sense of electricity and then you lose your starting quarterback and that kinda sucks the air out of it." USC was shut out the rest of the way.
The Guy
With Michael Pittman Jr. graduating and Tyler Vaughns considering the NFL, Amon-Ra St. Brown could be the new leader of USC's receiving corps. The rising junior certainly looked the part tonight, making 9 catches for 163 yards. "I just want to be there for my guys, the young guys coming back," St. Brown said about being a veteran presence. "Somebody the guys can lean on and ask questions. Put in the work, be a leader for them and set the example."
2020
The Holiday Bowl did not provide the springboard into 2020 that many in the Trojan Family were hoping for, but Helton was not disheartened by the performance. "I thought this was a huge game for us because we are going to play about six of these next year - six Top 25 games. I believe you learn from every success and every failure. This young team is on the cusp of doing something really special and lessons like tonight will help." USC will now have eight months to work and improve before hitting the field again in Texas against Alabama.
USC ended its 2019 campaign in disappointing fashion as Iowa was more efficient on both sides of the ball over the course of 60 minutes. "They played a really good game from start to finish," head coach Clay Helton said. "They played better than us tonight." The Hawkeyes scored touchdowns on their first five possessions to put the Trojans in a hole and then finished USC off with a devastating pass rush that created four sacks and injured QB Kedon Slovis.Concern for Kedon
Before the injury, Slovis was slicing up Iowa's defense, considered to be one of the best in the country. The freshman completed 22/30 for 260 yards and 2 TDs in just over a half. On the second drive of the third quarter, he had his arm pushed down at an ugly angle by a defender while he was in the throwing motion. "Right now, we know it is an elbow injury," Helton said. "We'll get an MRI and see where it is from there. We're hoping it's a strain." Slovis ended up setting the NCAA completion percentage record for a freshman.
Stuck on the Field
While the offense scored on four of its first five possessions, the defense could not get a stop until it was already too late. Iowa was 8 of 13 on third down and 1 of 1 on fourth down. "They did a tremendous job of executing against our man coverage, so we went to zone coverage," Helton said. "The quarterback just played a heckuva game. You could tell he was a seasoned vet." The Hawkeyes were also 4/4 in red zone chances, scoring nothing but touchdowns.
Momentum ChangerDown 28-17 at half, Helton told his coaches that USC needed to "steal a possession" in the second half, so after the opening drive went for six, the Trojans rolled the dice on an onside kick. "Credit to Michael Brown, he's practiced that play all year and he worked it to perfection," Helton said about the kicker. After the big special teams play, the Trojans had the ball with a chance to take the lead when Slovis was injured. "It created a sense of electricity and then you lose your starting quarterback and that kinda sucks the air out of it." USC was shut out the rest of the way.
The Guy
With Michael Pittman Jr. graduating and Tyler Vaughns considering the NFL, Amon-Ra St. Brown could be the new leader of USC's receiving corps. The rising junior certainly looked the part tonight, making 9 catches for 163 yards. "I just want to be there for my guys, the young guys coming back," St. Brown said about being a veteran presence. "Somebody the guys can lean on and ask questions. Put in the work, be a leader for them and set the example."
2020
The Holiday Bowl did not provide the springboard into 2020 that many in the Trojan Family were hoping for, but Helton was not disheartened by the performance. "I thought this was a huge game for us because we are going to play about six of these next year - six Top 25 games. I believe you learn from every success and every failure. This young team is on the cusp of doing something really special and lessons like tonight will help." USC will now have eight months to work and improve before hitting the field again in Texas against Alabama.
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