Thoughts from Tuesday's practice, through the eyes of USCRipsIt...
- With the final team period tied at 22, the Trojans went to an overtime simulation to settle the score on Competition Tuesday, with Matt Barkley leading the second-team offense to a touchdown to capture the victory after Aaron Corp and the first-team offense managed just a field goal. Rolling out to the right, Barkley completed a seven-yard touchdown pass to wideout Brice Butler, who was zooming across the back of the end zone, to conclude the no-pads practice on a blustery afternoon.
- Chilly crosswinds provided some interesting challenges for the Trojans, who had to battle through off-kilter throws and curve-ball kicks throughout the practice. Field goal tries turned into lessons on algebraic parabolas, while errant passes were littered all over the field and spirals often turned into wobbly balls. "That throw looked like a kickoff," wideout Damian Williams said half-jokingly after one unsteady pass during team period.
- Even with the winds, kickers Joe Houston and Jordan Congdon combined to go 6-of-6 on field goals Tuesday, including a 38-yard boomerang field goal by Houston in the overtime session.
- Coach Carroll used the difficult conditions as a teachable moment for the team. "Sometimes things aren't going to go our way and it's going to be hard," he said in the post-practice team huddle. "You've got to keep staying with it, keep battling. These are good lessons to learn."
- Though the offense earned the overall practice victory, the defense had a quality performance with numerous sacks and several pass deflections.
- Coming off a big-time effort in Saturday's scrimmage, tailback Curtis McNeal churned out a few more long juke-filled runs in Tuesday's practice.
- With the final team period tied at 22, the Trojans went to an overtime simulation to settle the score on Competition Tuesday, with Matt Barkley leading the second-team offense to a touchdown to capture the victory after Aaron Corp and the first-team offense managed just a field goal. Rolling out to the right, Barkley completed a seven-yard touchdown pass to wideout Brice Butler, who was zooming across the back of the end zone, to conclude the no-pads practice on a blustery afternoon.
- Chilly crosswinds provided some interesting challenges for the Trojans, who had to battle through off-kilter throws and curve-ball kicks throughout the practice. Field goal tries turned into lessons on algebraic parabolas, while errant passes were littered all over the field and spirals often turned into wobbly balls. "That throw looked like a kickoff," wideout Damian Williams said half-jokingly after one unsteady pass during team period.
- Even with the winds, kickers Joe Houston and Jordan Congdon combined to go 6-of-6 on field goals Tuesday, including a 38-yard boomerang field goal by Houston in the overtime session.
- Coach Carroll used the difficult conditions as a teachable moment for the team. "Sometimes things aren't going to go our way and it's going to be hard," he said in the post-practice team huddle. "You've got to keep staying with it, keep battling. These are good lessons to learn."
- Though the offense earned the overall practice victory, the defense had a quality performance with numerous sacks and several pass deflections.
- Coming off a big-time effort in Saturday's scrimmage, tailback Curtis McNeal churned out a few more long juke-filled runs in Tuesday's practice.
Ben, thanks for the blog - love getting updates and being able to follow the team, especially from your "behind the scenes" perspective. Just curious, but how does the scoring in practices work, for example, when the offense and defense are tied at 22? Thanks, and please keep up the great work.