The best thing about college football is that, on a day to day, week to week basis, like a box of chocolates, you just never know what you’re going to get. We see that every week, and this Saturday was no exception. Wisconsin was shocked by Michigan State in East Lansing. Oklahoma got beat by Texas Tech in their own house. Tennessee played with Alabama for a half (which may have been Saturday’s biggest upset of all).
But while there were plenty of surprising results, one that is going underreported this morning, is USC’s ruthlessly efficient 31-17 victory over Notre Dame in South Bend. Like the games mentioned above, it’s something that no one saw coming.
All week long, all the talk surrounded Notre Dame, as they seemed poised to re-enter the Top 25 with a win. We heard how the Irish had finally turned a corner. How they were finally playing great ball. How they were fresh off a bye week. And we heard how the fumble-itis that was a team-wide epidemic earlier in the year, had been cured thanks to the finest of modern medicines. Everything seemed to be coming up Notre Dame.
Then there was USC. Read the national narrative, and we were led to believe the Trojans were a total fraud (despite their 5-1 record), getting by on some combination of good luck, easy scheduling and Matt Barkley’s right arm. Not to mention that Lane Kiffin was the worst coach in the history of, well, coaching, and arguably one of the top five worst human beings ever to walk the face of the Earth (ok, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration. But depending on who you ask, not by much).
Except, as is the case every Saturday, just when we think we’ve got it all figured out, we realize that we know nothing at all.
Simply put, Saturday’s two touchdown Trojans victory was Kiffin’s finest moment in Troy. His Trojans were better prepared, executed better, and really just looked like the better overall football team. The Trojans had 443 total yards to Notre Dame’s 267, with USC picking up 29 first downs to the Irish’s 17.
Where the game was really won and lost was in the trenches. First and foremost the credit needs to go to a young offensive line, which played two true freshmen, yet had little trouble moving Notre Dame’s more experienced defensive front. Curtis McNeal led the Trojans with 118 yards on the ground and Marc Tyler added 67 on the ground. For the game USC averaged five yards per rush.
Also, we’d be remiss if there wasn’t a Matt Barkley mention in this space as well. I’ve watched at least parts of just about every one of Barkley’s starts, and relative to the opponent, I can’t say I’ve ever seen him play as well as he did Saturday. His stats from the night were superb, with the junior quarterback throwing for 224 yards and three touchdowns, with 24 completions of 35 attempts.
Of course beyond the stats there are also the ancillary things, the stuff that you can’t find in a box score but were the difference in this game. In that regard, Barkley did it all. He kept plays alive with feet, kept defenders from rushing him with quick pump fakes, and even picked up a few first downs on the run, something that he’s definitely not known for.
As for Notre Dame, well, they looked an awful lot like the Notre Dame of the first few games of the season on Saturday night. The turnovers in specific killed them, with one crucial one swinging the game late in the third. With starter Tommy Rees briefly sent to the sideline with an injury, Dayne Crist stepped in trailing 17-10, and proceeded to lead the Irish into the red zone on just a few short plays. It seemed for certain that the Irish would get at least three points out of the drive, if not seven.
But for Crist, the problems that plagued him earlier in the year resurfaced. On the final play of the drive, Crist botched the snap, attempted to pick it up and kicked it instead, before USC safety Jawanza Starling returned it 80 yards all the way to the other end zone for a touchdown. A 17-10 score (with Notre Dame driving) turned into 24-10 USC, and the Irish never recovered. Just to add insult to injury, USC scored their final touchdown after another Notre Dame turnover when Rees threw a lateral pass that was dropped by Jonas Gray and recovered by Trojans linebacker Chris Galippo. Four players later, Barkley found Robert Woods in the end zone for the final score. Woods of course, was fantastic as always, finishing with 119 yards on 12 catches.
Really though, what this game may be remembered for is Lane Kiffin’s coming out party at USC. Granted, Kiffin hasn’t been terrible at ‘SC so far, but his 8-5 record last year was simply unacceptable by the obnoxiously high bar his predecessor Pete Carroll set in the last decade. And even after five wins in their first six games this year, there still seemed to be something missing. USC just didn’t look like USC anymore.
Well, for at least one night that changed. Kiffin outcoached Brian Kelly in every way a guy can be outcoached, with the young USC coach balancing the run and pass perfectly on offense, and striking when the opportunities presented themselves. The Trojans opened up the game with a surprisingly efficient 13-play 66 yard drive in the first quarter, and then closed out the opening period with a six play, 62 yard drive after that. From there, they had to hold on. But considering they were on the road, and considering the opponent, they’ll certainly take it.
As for what to expect going forward, well, it’s pretty hard to say. For USC, things really pick up with their Pac-12 schedule, as they host the red-hot Stanford Cardinal next Saturday, a team which crushed Washington 65-21 Saturday. From there, they have a visit to Colorado (a tough venue even if the Buffaloes aren’t playing well), before back-to-back games with Oregon and Washington, and a finale with their feeble cross-town rivals, the UCLA Bruins. For the second year in a row, there will be no postseason berth for the Trojans, thanks to NCAA sanctions.
Then of course there is Notre Dame. While the schedule is manageable (only Stanford seems like a surefire loss), Saturday’s loss is going to sting for a long time. Coming off a bye, against an unimpressive Trojans club, this was their chance to really make a run. The rest of the schedule seemed to line up nicely for a return to a BCS bowl game for the first time since the 2005 season.
Now though, the Irish must go back to the drawing board. Everything they’ve worked so hard to fix- the turnovers, the complacency- it’s all back. It’s déjà vu all over again in South Bend.
And on the other side of the country? Well, for the first time in a long time, Lane Kiffin’s USC Trojans have something to celebrate.
Follow Aaron Torres on Twitter @Aaron_Torres.
