University Southern California Trojans
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USC Football to Face Iowa in SDCCU Holiday Bowl
December 08, 2019 | Football, Features
The matchup, involving teams that both won 5 of their final 6 games of 2019, pits one of the nation's top offenses (USC) against one of the game's best defenses (Iowa). USC is ranked 22nd by the BCS and AP and 23rd by the coaches, while Iowa is 16th by the BCS and 19th by AP and the coaches.
Trojan Athletic Fund members and USC season ticketholders will receive information via email starting today (Dec. 8) about the opportunity to purchase Holiday Bowl game tickets. All other USC fans should visit the Holiday Bowl site (holidaybowl.com) for ticket information. More information about USC's participation in the Holiday Bowl is at usctrojans.com/bowlcentral.
"We are proud and honored to be part of the 2019 Holiday Bowl," said USC head coach Clay Helton. "The game is a terrific matchup between teams that finished very strong down the stretch. To have the opportunity to compete against a team coached by Kirk Ferentz, who is so respected in our profession, is an honor. Our players are excited for this game, which is almost a home game for our fans. We look forward to heading to San Diego and experiencing the first class hospitality that the Holiday Bowl has given us in the past."
This will be USC's third appearance in the Holiday Bowl, all in the past 6 seasons. USC beat Nebraska there in 2014, 45-42, and fell to Wisconsin the following year, 23-21.
USC holds a 7-2 all-time record against Iowa, with wins in the past 6 meetings. The teams last met in the 2003 Orange Bowl (after the 2002 season), a 38-17 Trojan victory. That was the only time the teams faced each other in a bowl.
USC is among the nation's premier bowl teams, with an overall post-season record of 34-18 (not including 1 win and 1 loss vacated due to NCAA penalty; original record: 35-19). Troy's most recent bowl was the 2017 Cotton Bowl, a 24-7 loss to Ohio State.
This young USC team, which has only 4 senior starters, fought through an injury-marred season in which 26 starters or key backups missed action. Two of Troy's losses were by a field goal, including one in overtime on the road. The Trojans finished a close second behind No. 12 Utah in the Pac-12 South Division at 7-2 and gave the Utes their only regular season loss. USC did all this despite starting 3 different quarterbacks and entering games down to a fourth-string tailback or with 4 defensive starters out or missing both starting cornerbacks or both starting defensive ends.
USC's Air Raid-style offense is averaging 463.7 total yards (including 335.9 passing) and 33.2 points per outing. Troy currently is fifth nationally in passing offense and completion percentage, 12th in passing efficiency and 18th in total offense.
True freshman quarterback Kedon Slovis has been remarkable, ranking in the national Top 20 in completion percentage (.718), passing yards (294.7), completions (23.6), passing efficiency (167.6), passing TDs (28) and total offense (290.4). His 260 completions and 3,242 passing yards are USC freshman season records, while his 28 pass TDs trail only Sam Darnold's frosh mark (31). His 71.8% completion percentage is above Cody Kessler's USC season record of 69.7%. He has 4 games this year with 400 passing yards (a USC season record and tied with Matt Barkley for the most ever in a Trojan career) and 4 TD throws, all in the past 5 contests.
Slovis throws to arguably the nation's top receiving corps. Michael Pittman Jr., who has 95 receptions for 1,222 yards and 11 TDs this season, won the 2019 Pop Warner College Football Award, is a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award and a semifinalist for the Witten Award. He is fourth nationally in receptions (7.9), 10th in receiving yards (101.8) and 13th in receiving TDs. Tyler Vaughns, who is ninth on USC's all-time pass catching chart, has 68 catches for 858 yards and 6 TDs in 2019. Amon-Ra St. Brown also has 68 receptions this year (for 779 yards) and 6 TDs. True freshman Drake London, who also plays basketball, emerged mid-season and has 35 receptions for 533 yards and 4 TDs.
Four Trojans have manned the tailback spot because of injury and rotation: Vavae Malepeai (466 yards, 6 TDs in 2019), Stephen Carr (372 yards, 4 TDs), Markese Stepp (307 yards, 3 TDs) and true frosh speedster Kenan Christon (373 yds, 2 TDs), the 2019 California state 100- and 200-meter dash champion.
USC's solid offensive line features tackles Austin Jackson and Drew Richmond, guards Alijah Vera-Tucker and Jalen McKenzie and center Brett Neilon. Erik Krommenhoek and Josh Falo share time at tight end.
The Trojans' opportunistic defense, like the offense, features only 2 senior starters. The rest of the defensive starters are sophomores or freshmen.
Anchoring the defensive line are Jay Tufele, a 2018 Freshman All-American who has 38 tackles (6.5 for losses with 4.5 sacks) this year, Marlon Tuipulotu (44 tackles, 6 for losses), veteran Christian Rector (a 3-year starter with 104 career tackles) and dynamic true freshman Drake Jackson (team bests of 11.5 for losses and 5.5 sacks in 2019).
Senior John Houston Jr., a 3-year starter who has 267 career tackles, tops the Trojans in tackles this season (100) from his inside linebacker spot.
The safeties have been stellar: Talanoa Hufanga, who has 76 tackles this year at strong safety, and free safety Isaiah Pola-Mao, USC's 2019 interception leader (4). Hufanga had 18 tackles against UCLA in USC's last game (the most by a Trojan in 18 years). Pola-Mao is the first Trojan since 1998 to grab an interception in 3 consecutive games. Olaijah Griffin, who has a team-high 9 pass deflections this year, Isaac Taylor-Stuart and true freshman Chris Steele have split time at cornerback, with Greg Johnson (2 interceptions in 2019) playing as the nickel back.
Chase McGrath, who has 31 career field goals, is 13-of-15 on field goals in 2019 and has connected on all 51 of his PATs. He is 12th nationally in field goal percentage (.867). Punter Ben Griffiths is a 28-year-old redshirt freshman who played professionally for 8 years in Australian Rules Football. He averages 41.4 yards in 2019 on his 48 punts, of which 21 have pinned foes within the 20 and only 3 have been touchbacks. Kirk Ferentz, in his 21st year as the Hawkeyes' head coach, saw his team finish third in the Big Ten's West Division at 6-3, with losses to Michigan, Penn State and Wisconsin.
The Hawkeye defense is fifth nationally in scoring defense (13.2), 10th in pass defense (184.2), 12th in total defense (304.3) and 25th in rushing defense (120.1). Senior linebacker Kristian Welch (80 tackles, 7.5 for losses, 3 sacks in 2019) and sophomore defensive back Jack Koerner (73 tackles) top the team in tackles. Junior defensive end A.J. Epenesa, who made the All-Big Ten first team for the second consecutive year, is 20th in the nation in forced fumbles (0.3) and 24th in sacks (0.8).
Iowa's offense is directed by senior quarterback Nate Stanley, a 3-year starter who has thrown for 2,738 yards and 14 TDs (with a 58.9% completion mark) in 2019. His top pass catchers are a quartet of wide receivers: redshirt freshmen Nico Ragaini (44 receptions, 2 TDs in 2019) and Tyrone Tracy (36, 3) and juniors Ihmir Smith-Marsette (42, 4) and Brandon Smith (33, 4). Ragaini also returns punts (10.7 average), while Smith-Marsette is the kickoff returner (25.8 average, with a TD). Junior offensive lineman Tristan Wirfs was the Big Ten's Offensive Lineman of the Year.
Junior placekicker Keith Duncan, the Big Ten's Kicker of the Year and a finalist for the Groza Award, leads the nation in field goals (2.42) and is 11th in scoring (9.3). His 29 field goals this season are a Big Ten record.
In the 2018 Holiday Bowl, Northwestern defeated Utah, 31-20.
