warning Hi, we've moved to USCANNENBERGMEDIA.COM. Visit us there!

Neon Tommy - Annenberg digital news

USC Escapes With Frustrating 17-14 Win Over Virginia

Patrick Crawley |
September 12, 2010 | 1:23 a.m. PDT

Senior Sports Editor

It was ugly but the No. 16 USC Trojans took care of business Saturday, beating the visiting Virginia Cavaliers 17-14 to notch their 13th straight home opening win.

The Trojans racked up 13 penalties for 140 yards and converted just five of 15 third down opportunities in one of the more disappointing home openers in recent memory. After the game, coach Lane Kiffin characterized the mood as “the most miserable 2-0 locker room [he’s] ever been in.”

“I’m extremely disappointed with our performance today,” Kiffin said.

Penalties and mental lapses aside, the Trojans did several things well against Virginia.

The defense, for one, was much improved, holding the Cavaliers to 340 yards of offense after surrendering a whopping 588 yards to Hawai’i the previous week. The Trojans also stifled Virginia on third down, allowing the Cavaliers just four conversions in 15 chances.

Safety T.J. McDonald led the way for the Trojans, picking up 14 tackles and intercepting a crucial pass in the end zone early in the game. Cornerback Shareece Wright made eight tackles and broke up numerous third down opportunities and Jurrell Casey (10 tackles), Wes Horton (4 tackles and a sack) and Devon Kennard (7 tackles) all played well as well.

“We had a bad taste in our mouth from last year. Our last game in here was a loss and we didn’t want that feeling again,” Kennard said. “We came out here with a chip on our shoulder and I feel like defensively we got the job done.”

On offense, Matt Barkley showed excellent poise in the pocket and the Trojans made good on all three of their red zone scoring chances, including two quick scores at the end of the first half.

“I think our two-minute and our hurry-up offense is really effective,” Barkley said. “If we get the ball down there, I knew we were going to score.”

Barkley completed 20 of his 35 passing attempts for 202 yards. He threw two touchdown passes in the second quarter (one to Jordan Cameron, the other to Brandon Carswell) and managed not to get picked off.

He did, however, surrender a fumble in the first quarter after being sacked by Matt Conrath, setting up a red zone opportunity for the Cavaliers.

Fortunately for Barkley, McDonald intercepted quarterback Marc Verica in the end zone and turned the tide back the Trojans’ way.

USC struggled to get its offense going early, a credit to Virginia’s tenacious defense, which held the Trojans to 329 yards of total offense. After rushing for 154 yards on 17 carries against Hawai’i, Marc Tyler managed just 68 yards against Virginia’s front seven, a fact that Kiffin lamented in his postgame press conference.

"We didn't have much rhythm because we didn't get the running game going,” Kiffin said. “3.8 yards per carry, that's not very good. But give credit to Virginia. They played extremely well."

While Tyler struggled, freshman Dillon Baxter proved that the hype surrounding him is much deserved. He juked and cut his way to 49 yards on nine carries, giving Trojans fans a glimpse of what will surely ignite them to frenzy in the future.

Freshman receiver Robert Woods played well also, catching three passes for 64 yards. 

Woods made an outstanding individual effort to set up USC’s first score of the game, putting on an extra burst of speed and laying out to catch a seemingly overthrown 40-yard pass from Barkley with just over four minutes left in the half.

The diving catch put the Trojans on Virginia’s four yard line, and Barkley quickly converted the opportunity with a four-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jordan Cameron.

The Trojans’ touchdown kicked off an offensive explosion from both teams. Their mouths bloodied, the Cavaliers responded with a six-play, 61-yard scoring drive of their own, capped by a six-yard touchdown run by Keith Payne to tie the game at 7-7.

USC, refusing to be outdone, continued its late-half barrage with a one-minute, seven-second 76-yard touchdown drive.

Barkley was the star of the drive, gaining 20 yards on a 2nd-and-10 scramble and racking up another 15 thanks to a late hit from Virginia safety Trey Womack. He then orchestrated an impressive 30-second scoring strike that ended with a gutsy play during which he avoided two Cavalier defenders before finding Brandon Carswell up the seam for a touchdown with one second remaining in the half.

Asked afterwards if he was worried about coming away from the drive empty-handed, Barkley showed uncharacteristic swagger.

“I knew that play was going to work.”

The score was 14-7 at the half and it stayed that way for quite some time.

Neither team could muster a sustained offensive drive, succumbing instead to frequent penalties and multiple cases of the dropsies.

The scoring drought lasted until midway through the fourth quarter, when kicker Joe Houston made a 34-yard field goal to put USC up 17-7. Houston had previously missed an attempt wide right from 47 yards.

Given Virginia’s offensive woes, the game looked out of reach at that point. But USC’s defense let down as the clock whittled away and allowed one last furious drive from Verica that ended in a three-yard touchdown pass to Kris Burd with four seconds left.

The ensuing onside kick was recovered by USC and the Trojans escaped unscathed, albeit more than a little frustrated with themselves. 

“This is the most disappointed I’ve been in a win,” Kiffin said. “I’m most disappointed for the SC family. The crowd was great and we disappointed them. It wasn’t like the old days at all.”

To reach editor Patrick Crawley, click here.

Sign up for Neon Tommy's weekly e-mail newsletter.



 

Buzz

Craig Gillespie directed this true story about "the most daring rescue mission in the history of the U.S. Coast Guard.”

Watch USC Annenberg Media's live State of the Union recap and analysis here.

 
ntrandomness