USC football got shellacked by the Texas Longhorns on the road. The ugly performance sent shockwaves through the Trojan fanbase, and it should.
The USC Trojans were completely outclassed by the Texas Longhorns on the road and under the lights Saturday night. The Trojans took their second straight loss, losing 37-14. Coming into the game as slight underdogs, few expected the absolute one-sidedness of the primetime affair.
USC started well, but Texas took a two-point lead to halftime. It all came apart in the second half for the Trojans. Texas was dominant in the last 30 minutes of the game, imposing their will on a beleaguered Trojan team. No matter what they tried, Texas had an answer, pulling away from their opponents and slowly running up the score.
USC is a far cry from the last two years when they won the Rose Bowl to conclude the 2016 season and winning the Pac-12 championship last season. Perhaps they can turn it around, but for now here are three takeaways from the game against the Longhorns.
3. Where was the USC defense?
The USC defense was given a 14-3 cushion to defend by the end of the first quarter. After the first frame, it was all Texas as the Trojan defense did a disappearing act.
The Trojans biggest problem on the night was containing Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger. The sophomore was very effective on the night, passing for 223 yards and two touchdown. When needed he also used his legs and USC could not stop him.
Overall on the night, the Trojans gave up nearly 400 yards of total offense and Texas was very balanced between the pass and rush games. The biggest dagger was on the scoreboard as USC allowed Texas to score the final 34 points in the game.
The poor punting from USC with a couple shanked kicks did not give any favors to the USC defense, setting up the Longhorns with short fields. Also poorly timed penalties extended Texas drives. The Trojans were completely gassed by the end of the game.
Overall it was just a really poor performance from USC. It will need to be better as the Trojans get into the heart of the Pac-12 schedule.
2. Amon-Ra St. Brown appears to be the real deal
There were not too many positives out of this game for USC. Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown’s performance was a bright spot in the loss.
St. Brown had himself quite the night. He had nine receptions for 167 yards with the longest one being a 53-yard catch. No touchdowns for the true freshman but a career night for his early career.
USC knew they had a good one on their hands when they gained his commitment. In the 2018 class, he was the top player in the state of California, the second best wide receiver in the nation and the 11th best player in the country according to 247 Sports.
The scary thing is the kid is only 18 years old. Standing at six-foot-one 195 pounds, one has to think the kid is only going to get faster and stronger. While it was not a good night for his team, St. Brown can hang his hat on this performance. With his talent, there are sure to be more games like this in his future.
1. USC was completely one dimensional
With a freshman quarterback coming into a hostile environment, the Trojans should have tried to establish the run game and give quarterback JT Daniels easier throws to establish a rhythm. The Trojans could not run at all.
As a team, the Trojans carried the ball 16 times for negative 5 yards with two touchdowns. That is an absolutely putrid performance. This comes a week after the Trojans only managed 114 yards on the ground against Stanford.
The Trojan offensive line could not handle the Texas defensive front at all. Daniels was left to throwing the ball nearly every play. Texas knew what was coming and could just pin their ears back and come after Daniels.
For his part, Daniels passed for over 320 yards but he did that on 48 attempts. There was no balance. Not a great game plan for Clay Helton and company to let their quarterback throw that much.
With USC now 1-2, they will need to go back to the drawing board. The Pac-12 slate starts in full next week with a home game against Washington State. The Trojans need some quick answers to their woes.