6-Points: USC 45, Stanford 20

A Star Is Born

No one on the outside knew what to expect from true freshman QB Kedon Slovis in his first career start, but the locker room was united behind him, and the coaches picked him to be the backup for a reason. Slovis rewarded their faith by pitching a near perfect game (28/33 for 377 yards and 3 TDs). "It was fun to watch," said head coach Clay Helton. "It was about as much fun as I've had in a long time." Despite his age, Slovis is an emotional and vocal leader for this offense. "He inspired us and we just went hard for him," said LT Austin Jackson. "I thought he played great."

Help a Brother Out

With all the focus on Slovis coming into the game, Helton put the pressure on the rest of the offense to carry the load. "We asked [Kedon] not to be Superman," he said. "And we asked the guys around him to be Superman." Down 17-3, sophomore WR Amon-Ra St. Brown put on his cape to spark the rally with two second quarter touchdowns. In the end, St. Brown, Tyler Vaughns and Michael Pittman Jr. would combine for 19 catches, 285 yards, 3 TDs and a reel of highlights.

Big Man's Game

While the quarterbacks stole the headlines, USC-Stanford is always decided at the line of scrimmage. The Cardinal controlled the game early on as the Trojans struggled with gap integrity issues up the middle, but once DC Clancy Pendergast made the adjustments at halftime, USC blanked Stanford in the second half. On the other side of the ball, the USC offensive line looked comfortable from start to finish. "Our offensive line, I thought coming into this season, they were our best kept secret," Helton said. "Those kids kept the quarterback upright all night long as well as opened some running lanes for the backs." The Trojans had 3 sacks to the Cardinal's 1 and 10 tackles-for-loss to Stanford's 5.

Little Big Man

Sophomore CB Olaijah Griffin was giving up 7 inches and 70 pounds in his matchup with Stanford TE Colby Parkinson, but that did not stop him from getting 4 pass breakups. "I fear no one," Griffin said." I just wanted to play my game. It's just natural to me." The USC secondary was supposed to be the team's weakness, but the young group has held up nicely through two games.

Killer Instinct

At halftime, the message from the coaching staff was "keep pushing" and "separate." The Trojans had no intentions of getting conservative or playing not to lose. Instead, they stepped on the Cardinal's throat, scoring 35 consecutive points to close out the game. The 25-point victory was USC's largest over Stanford since 2006.

Hit the Road

The next step for USC is adapting to life on the road. The Trojans will be greeted with hostility in Provo, Utah, next Saturday. "It will be loud and crazy for the Trojans as it always is when we go on the road," Helton said. "It should be a lot of fun. These kids are playing lights out right now and they are having a blast doing it." Confidence is high as USC prepares for BYU. "We can be really good," said Amon-Ra St. Brown. "We just have to keep executing, keep playing with heart and discipline, and be the team we know we can be."

Gallery: (9/7/2019) USC 45, #23 Stanford 20

6-Points: USC 45, Stanford 20

Players Mentioned

Olaijah Griffin

Austin Jackson

Michael Pittman Jr.

Kedon Slovis

Amon-Ra St. Brown

Tyler Vaughns

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