It wasn't the prettiest win, but it's nice to be back in the winning column nonetheless.
Matt Barkley struggled in part due to an injury-plagued receiving corps, but his short pass to Damian Williams who took it 75 yards for a touchdown would be enough for the offense to pull out with a win. Not to mention, it's great material for a highlight reel. Joe McKnight and Allen Bradford each had quietly productive games, rushing for 78 and 67 yards respectively.
It looked as if the defense returned back to its normal form, holding the Sun Devils to 9 points. The Trojans recorded 3 interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown by Will Harris. Seeing more interceptions by the defense is a good sign considering they've only had a total of 3 interceptions coming into this game.
What a surprise! USC had another post-big game letdown entering Pac10 play.
Don't go into hibernation just yet; there are positives to be taken away from this game shown in the highlights.
Joe McKnight rushed for 100 yards on 11 carries, upping his current season total rush yards to 305. Could he be the first Trojan since Reggie Bush to rush for over 1000 yards in a season?
The offense struggled with the passing game, but there were some great runs by Stanley Havili, Stafon Johnson, and Allen Bradford.
USC's young defense did a great job containing Jake Locker and holding the Huskies to 16 points. If only the offense would have scored another touchdown or two. Sophomore Jurrell Casey and redshirt freshman Nick Perry set up camp in the Huskies' backfield.
Starting roster and 2009 schedule are in place to your left.
Notes of interest:
1) USC will play up in Oregon on Halloween (however an even bigger freak show will be assembled in Indio, California when Phish plays at the Empire Polo Fields).
2) Christian Tupou is higher on the depth chart, but if Jurrell Casey blows shit up like he did at the Spring Huddle, USC's front four could be wearing #91, #92, #93, and #94 (Jurrell Casey, Hebron Fangupo, Everson Griffen and Armond Armstead).
3) You may notice (how could you not) a new banner in between the TrojanWire logo and the starters gridiron. Yes, that is what you think it is -- an entire video devoted to purity, innocence, white sweaters and the USC Song Girls will be unleashed by TrojanWire on September 3rd, 2009. Try to contain yourself or keep your pants on until then...
<!----><!---->Christian Tupou and his fellow defensive linemen have heard it at least once — probably more. Defensive line coach Jethro Franklin's unleashed plenty of hollering since coming back to USC, and through Sunday's practice at Howard Jones Field, it's worked. But it's not that Franklin has a short fuse; he's got a plan. Go inside for a full report... more »
The end is near.And with it, so too is the beginning.The entire team hustled through an hour-long Trojan Run workout early Friday morning, completing their sixth week of the summer program and leaving just 10 more workouts before Fall Camp and the 2009 season officially kick off.Through agility and conditioning drills under the watchful eye of the USC strength... more »
Do the USC players think they can win a national championship in the 2009 season? DE Wes Horton, WRs Brice Butler & Jordan Cameron, DT Christian Tupou and others gave their answers to reporter Raj Nair, and their answers likely won't surprise you. What may surprise you is Nair's butchering of some of the Trojans' names...
The jury is out. Pete Carroll announced today his depth chart going into the huddle. Of course in traditional Carroll fashion, the competition for starting positions will continue throughout Summer workouts. But the Spring depth charts typically hold strong resemblance to the final list, come start of the football season.
Here's how things look right now on the defensive line. DE -- Armond Armstead, Wes Horton NT -- Christian Tupou, Jurrell Casey DT -- Averell Spicer, Derek Simmons DE -- Everson Griffen, Malik Jackson... more »
Defensive tackle Armond Armstead will start the first couple weeks at defensive end to see if he is fast enough to play on the outside. Why switch someone who enjoyed a nice freshman season at tackle? It's viewed as a chance to see if the four best players on the defensive line might be Armstead, Christian Tupou, Jurrell Casey/Averell... more »
The last two starters at nose tackle -- Mike Patterson and Sedrick Ellis -- were All-Americans. Now it's up to Averell Spicer or Christian Tupou to assume the responsibilities of anchoring the line. The nose tackle's job -- on a lot of teams -- is pure grunt work. Absorb blockers, clog the middle, let the linebackers run free.... more »
<!--start image--><!-- end image-->The few hundred fans that braved the 70-degree weather and attended practice Thursday afternoon at Howard Jones Field saw something special from sophomore Christian Tupou. With Fili Moala and Gerald Washington missing practice, coupled with the slew of injuries the defensive line was already facing, Tupou played nearly every snap of Thursday's practice with an intensity... more »
In this video, check out some of the warm-up action prior to the scrimmage as well as post-scrimmage interviews with Luthur Brown, Allen Bradford and Christian Tupou.... more »
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