USC vs Alabama Recap: 3 Things we Learned

The Alabama Crimson Tide demonstrated their dominance in the opening weekend, taking down the USC Trojans with a 52-6 blowout.

If you are a fan of the USC Trojans, you probably thought that your team might have had a shot against the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide. Unfortunately, things didn’t go exactly as planned for USC.

The Trojans got off to a strong start on their opening drive thanks to a 32-yard pass from Max Browne to Darreus Rogers. However, USC could only get a field goal out of it to take an early 3-0 lead.

Although USC was able to hold that lead going into the second quarter, things started to unravel from there. Blown coverage led to a deep 39-yard touchdown from Jalen Hurts to ArDarius Stewart to go up 7-3. After another field goal, Alabama then took a 17-3 lead into halftime when Marlon Humphrey intercepted a pass and took it to the house for a pick six.

Things quickly got out of hand in the second half. Blown coverage led another touchdown from Hurts to Stewart for 71 yards just over a minute into the half. Hurts then ran in for another score about three minutes later to go up 31-3.

The Crimson Tide continued to run the score up by running it down USC’s throats, adding a pair of touchdowns on the ground from Hurts and Bo Scarborough to go up 45-6 in the fourth quarter. Even Blake Barnett got in on the action with a 45-yard bomb to put Alabama up 52-6.

It was a dominant second-half performance from Alabama, and ignoring the outcome, the game taught us a few things about both teams.

Jalen Hurts Looks Like Alabama’s Guy

Alabama’s redshirt freshman Blake Barnett got the starting nod on Saturday, but it was true freshman Jalen Hurts who took the majority of snaps under center.

Hurts appeared to be the more composed quarterback, but Barnett didn’t exactly get a lot of opportunities to shine despite starting the game until the fourth quarter. Hurts finished the game with a 6-of-11 performance for 118 yards, two touchdowns and an interception while adding another two scores on the ground.

Barnett came back in during the fourth quarter and finished the game going 5-for-6 with 100 yards and a score. However, if this game was any indication, Hurts might be the go-to guy moving forward.

USC Has Some Work to Do

The Trojans came into the season ranked No. 20 in the nation, but they quickly learned that they still have a ways to go before they can be considered a legitimate contender coming out of the Pac-12.

Players like Adoree Jackson and JuJu Smith-Schuster have all of the talent in the world, but as a team, the Trojans showed that they’re not quite ready to compete with the top-tier teams like Alabama.

When you lose the battles in total yards (194 to 465), that’s probably a good indication that you have some work to do.

Marlon Humphrey is an Elite-Level Cornerback

NFL scouts were already raving about Alabama cornerback Marlon Humphrey heading into this season. If Humphrey wanted to set the tone this year, he did a great job on Saturday with a great showing against the Trojans.

Humphrey came right out of the gates to make a statement in the first quarter with a huge hit on USC’s Steven Mithcell Jr.. You can check out the hit in the Twitter video below.

As if that wasn’t enough to impress the scouts, Humphrey was also able to help shut down JuJu Smith-Schuster and even returned an interception for a touchdown in the first half. If scouts didn’t think Humphrey was worth a first-round pick before, they’re going to be thinking long and hard about that after a great opening-weekend performance.