USC vs. Washington State
September 21, 2018 at 7:35pm
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA: 52,421 (of 78,467)
Total Time: 3 hours 27 minutes

Two S_Cents

It’s great for USC to win in a dramatic fashion and claw their way back up to a .500 record, but don’t let a win cloud all glaring flaws. The number of bad snaps and messy handoffs were astounding—those are things that shouldn’t happen more than once every several games.

CommBro Breaker

The Trojans also depended too much on the referees. SEVEN first down from penalties, which accounts for almost one third (30.4%) of their total first downs. On the other side, the defense allowed the Cougars converted 100% of their first downs (3 of 3).

However, the D did adjust during the half, going from 2 or 3 pass rushers in a nickel formation to more blitzes. That slowed Wazzu’s passing offense down enough to squeeze out the win. The offensive coaching staff still need to get their crap together

J.T. Daniels passed better this game and the  receivers also made some fantastic, body-contorting catches.

Lastly, being able to come back from down 10 to win a game is a step in the right direction. One could argue, though, that they never should have been down 10 in the first place.

Ridiculous Stat of the Week: USC lost as many rush yards (-53) as Washington State’s top rusher ran for (54). Of those 53 lost yards, 17 came from one miscue.

P.S. A few weeks ago I said I’d tried to confirm the maximum capacity of the Coliseum. It is 78,467. You’re welcome.