USC Football: 3 takeaways from convincing win over Stanford in Week 2
By Dante Pryor
3. Early miscues cost Stanford the game
Rule number one for any Pac-12 team looking to defeat USC: don’t turn the football over. The Trojans turned all four turnovers into points (three touchdowns and a field goal) by the Trojans. Head coach David Shaw had to know that his team needed to play nearly flawless to have a chance to defeat the Trojans; four turnovers did them no favors.
The only hope for a team defending USC is trying to force them to execute on long drives. That said, the Trojans have four players on offense who can score from anywhere on the field, another lesson Stanford learned quickly. The Cardinal were going to have enough of a challenge trying to contain Lincoln Riley’s offense at least; giving them a short field made matters worse.
Give the Cardinal credit, however. They kept clawing, trying to make a game of it. The Stanford defense was no match for USC’s potent offense. The Trojans didn’t punt until the fourth quarter.
Maybe the game is more of a shootout if the Cardinal don’t have the early turnovers, two of which were in the red zone. However, it almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades; this is football.