University Southern California Trojans
6-Points: USC 31, Fresno State 23
September 01, 2019 | Football, USC Ripsit Blog, Features
RB Vavae Malepeai and WR Tyler Vaughns posted career-best performances in the victory.
The Trojans won their season opener despite having to switch quarterbacks at halftime due to injury.
Unscripted
After a long offseason and an extended quarterback battle, the Trojans got off to a dream start offensively with back-to-back touchdown drives as sophomore QB JT Daniels carved up Fresno State. In the second quarter, the USC offense lost its rhythm and then its quarterback to a knee injury, meaning freshman Kedon Slovis was suddenly in the hot seat. "I couldn't have been more proud of him," said RB Vavae Malepeai. "When you think about it, just a couple of months ago, he was playing high school ball. Now, here he is in the Coliseum, really leading the Trojans." Daniels will have an MRI this weekend to determine the extent of the damage, but for now at least, Slovis is directing the offense. "I thought he did the things to win," head coach Clay Helton said. "We'll need to continue to progress him and get ready for next week."
Ground Raid
Coming into the game, there were questions about the running backs role in the Air Raid offense, but as it turned out, USC's tailbacks stole the show. Malepeai posted a career-high 134 rushing yards plus a TD, while Stephen Carr scored two touchdowns to go along with 99 yards from scrimmage. "Everyone has a role out here," Malepeai said. "At the end of the day, it's an execution-based offense and today, we really took what they gave us. They gave us the run game."
Turning Point
After opening up a 14-0 gap to start the game, USC saw its lead to dwindle down to 4 points in the third quarter when Velus Jones Jr. took a kickoff 100 yards to the house. "I thought Velus did a great job all night," Helton said. "When the momentum is down, and you just lost your starting quarterback and you need a spark, there's your kickoff return team and Velus Jones coming up with a huge play that basically is the separation in the game."
Turnover Tale
In the end, the Trojans lost the turnover battle because they gave the ball away 4 times (2 fumbles and 2 interceptions), but they did force 3 takeaways, addressing a major problem from last season. While the offense has to clean up its ball security, the defense showed an improved ability to make plays, including in the clutch. With Fresno State driving for the potential game-tying touchdown late in the fourth quarter, safety Isaiah Polo-Mao "came out of nowhere" for an end zone interception to switch the momentum back to USC, Helton said.
Slippery QB
The USC front provided lots of pressure on Fresno State QB Jorge Reyna, but the Trojans struggled to bring him down. Clancy Pendergast's group ended up with 3 sacks, but they could have had many more. "He's definitely a slippery guy," said freshman DE Drake Jackson. "I just have to prepare more, come back, and the sacks I missed, get them." Jackson was impressive in his debut, making 1.5 tackles for loss and batting down 2 passes.
One Down
RS junior WR Tyler Vaughns served as a microcosm for USC's performance. He made some outstanding catches en route to a career-high 150 yards receiving, but he also had a drop on third down and a fumble. "I know that's not me regularly," Vaughns said. "I should be more consistent. I'm going to get on it this weekend." The Trojans have a lot of positives to take from this performance, but also a lot to fix before Stanford comes to town next Saturday night. "Half the teams in the country are either really happy or really sad, we got the win and we are 1-0," said Helton. "We have to get healed up, make some corrections and get ready for Stanford next week."
Gallery: (8/31/2019) USC 31, Fresno State 23
Unscripted
After a long offseason and an extended quarterback battle, the Trojans got off to a dream start offensively with back-to-back touchdown drives as sophomore QB JT Daniels carved up Fresno State. In the second quarter, the USC offense lost its rhythm and then its quarterback to a knee injury, meaning freshman Kedon Slovis was suddenly in the hot seat. "I couldn't have been more proud of him," said RB Vavae Malepeai. "When you think about it, just a couple of months ago, he was playing high school ball. Now, here he is in the Coliseum, really leading the Trojans." Daniels will have an MRI this weekend to determine the extent of the damage, but for now at least, Slovis is directing the offense. "I thought he did the things to win," head coach Clay Helton said. "We'll need to continue to progress him and get ready for next week."
Ground RaidComing into the game, there were questions about the running backs role in the Air Raid offense, but as it turned out, USC's tailbacks stole the show. Malepeai posted a career-high 134 rushing yards plus a TD, while Stephen Carr scored two touchdowns to go along with 99 yards from scrimmage. "Everyone has a role out here," Malepeai said. "At the end of the day, it's an execution-based offense and today, we really took what they gave us. They gave us the run game."
Turning Point
After opening up a 14-0 gap to start the game, USC saw its lead to dwindle down to 4 points in the third quarter when Velus Jones Jr. took a kickoff 100 yards to the house. "I thought Velus did a great job all night," Helton said. "When the momentum is down, and you just lost your starting quarterback and you need a spark, there's your kickoff return team and Velus Jones coming up with a huge play that basically is the separation in the game."
Turnover Tale
In the end, the Trojans lost the turnover battle because they gave the ball away 4 times (2 fumbles and 2 interceptions), but they did force 3 takeaways, addressing a major problem from last season. While the offense has to clean up its ball security, the defense showed an improved ability to make plays, including in the clutch. With Fresno State driving for the potential game-tying touchdown late in the fourth quarter, safety Isaiah Polo-Mao "came out of nowhere" for an end zone interception to switch the momentum back to USC, Helton said.
Slippery QBThe USC front provided lots of pressure on Fresno State QB Jorge Reyna, but the Trojans struggled to bring him down. Clancy Pendergast's group ended up with 3 sacks, but they could have had many more. "He's definitely a slippery guy," said freshman DE Drake Jackson. "I just have to prepare more, come back, and the sacks I missed, get them." Jackson was impressive in his debut, making 1.5 tackles for loss and batting down 2 passes.
One Down
RS junior WR Tyler Vaughns served as a microcosm for USC's performance. He made some outstanding catches en route to a career-high 150 yards receiving, but he also had a drop on third down and a fumble. "I know that's not me regularly," Vaughns said. "I should be more consistent. I'm going to get on it this weekend." The Trojans have a lot of positives to take from this performance, but also a lot to fix before Stanford comes to town next Saturday night. "Half the teams in the country are either really happy or really sad, we got the win and we are 1-0," said Helton. "We have to get healed up, make some corrections and get ready for Stanford next week."
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