USC Football: Report card for underwhelming win over Fresno State

USC football raced out to a comfortable lead over Fresno State in the season opener but then got stagnant, thanks to an injury.

The USC Trojans are coming off of their worst season in 18 years. With Fresno State coming into the Colosseum, the first game of 2019 was no warm-up. They had to come out of the gates fast this season if they wanted it to be as successful as their Trojan fanbase demands.

Let’s see how the Trojans graded out in the late night matchup on Saturday night.

Quarterbacks: B

JT Daniels played a phenomenal game  in the first half before going down with a knee injury. He was 73 percent on completions with 215 yards. He went through his progressions and read the defense well.

Kedon Slovis came into the game late in the second quarter when Daniels went down — he’s a true freshman in the backup position and it showed. He made a few good passes but he seemed to try to force the ball into tight locations. His footwork was not very good and he keyed on one or two primary receivers without going through his progressions. The combination of an A and C rating are how they ended up with a B overall.

Wide Receivers: A

The Trojans’ wide receivers all had a very good night. They were often finding themselves covered and they still managed to come down with the ball. Tyler Vaughns was a man among boys with 11 grabs for 150 yards and the other three starters had a combined 17 receptions for 109 yards. However, the group didn’t manage to get a touchdown on the night. They came so close to that coveted A+ grade.

Offensive Line: B

The offensive line only gave up one sack in this game. That was due to the quick release of the quarterbacks more than anything else. The pass blocking was lacking in the interior of the offensive line but the run blocking, on the other hand, was superb. Linemen were getting to the second level often and it showed in the performance of the running backs.

Running Backs: A+

Vavae Malepeai ran the ball with elusiveness and authority as he finished the night averaging 5.8 yards per carry, 126 rushing yards and added one score. Change of pace back Stephen Carr averaged 9.3 yards per carry on only six attempts and he also added six receptions and distanced himself as the receiver out of the backfield. Catching, carrying and even decent blocking brings this group grade to an A+.

Defensive Line: A

The defensive line are the reason why the Trojans won this game. They were in the backfield all night. They only sacked the quarterback twice but Jorge Reyna was running for his life most of the evening. He did manage to rack up 88 yards on the ground but the majority of that was scrambling instead of designed runs. They were rarely pushed off of the ball in the run game all night.

Linebackers: C+

John Houston Jr. had himself a night with 13 total tackles — he seemed to have a nose for the ball all night. The other three linebackers in the game combined for nine total tackles. They seemed to over-commit at times and the tackling was sub-par but Houston saved the grade of this group for the evening.

Secondary: D

If Reyna had time in the pocket to throw the ball, he would have eaten this secondary alive. They couldn’t find the ball in the air. Receivers were continually open down field. They are going to be a big question mark moving forward for this team. They didn’t receive an F only due to the fact that Isaiah Pola-Mao saved the game with an interception in the end zone.

Special Teams: A-

The kick return group was outstanding for the Trojans. They returned a kick for a touchdown at a crucial time in the game when Fresno State was gaining momentum and closing the gap. Velus Jones Jr. showed great speed and vision on the way to a much needed score.

This was a hard-fought game for the Trojans but overall, the team deserves a B+ grade. They didn’t play a cupcake team and I believe this experience will help them as the season progresses.