The Trojans get revenge on the Huskies with an all-around dominant performance.
Click here for Lane Kiffin's post-game press conference.
A six-pack of stories...
Click here for Lane Kiffin's post-game press conference.
A six-pack of stories...
The Fake Punt... USC looked pretty flat midway through the 2nd quarter when punter Kyle Negrete galvanized the offense and the Coliseum faithful with a 35-yard perfectly executed fake punt. Lane Kiffin advised his punter to slide earlier in the day if they
called the play, but the former University of San Diego linebacker
charged through his tackler. "I told him there was no way I was going to slide," Negrete said with a smile. "I have not seen green grass like that since I was playing back in high school." The game-changing play was green-lighted by Kiffin, but actually entrusted to Ross Cumming, who made the call on the field to proceed with the fake based on the look of Washington's punt return team.
- Marqise Lee... On a day when Robert Woods was held to two catches for five yards, freshman WR Marqise Lee led the way with nine receptions for 74 yards and a TD plus an 88-yard kickoff return for a touchdown on the first play of the second half. Lee needed several IVs this week to ward off the flu, but nothing can slow down his rocketing stardom. "Marqise arguably looked like the best player on the field today," Kiffin praised. Lee sees Kiffin's compliment as a challenge: "Now he says that, now you have to live up to it."
- Curtis McNeal... The 5'7" running back is easy to overlook, but McNeal is developing into a homerun threat out of the backfield. He has rushed for over a 100 yards in three of his last four games and averaged better than 7 yards per carry in each of the last three contests. The 79-yard victory sealing TD against the Huskies was his longest run of the season. "The monkey jumped on my back," McNeal joked about getting tired during the long sprint. "I just kept my feet moving and shook [the tackler] off me and just kept going."
The Pass Rush... The defense dominated the line of scrimmage led by DE Nick Perry, who recorded 2.5 sacks. In all, Washington QBs were sacked seven times and never given a chance to complete a vertical pass down the field. "The pass rush came alive," Kiffin complimented the defensive coaching staff's blitz scheme. The defense got sacks from all three levels with Perry, Devon Kennard and George Uko up front, and LB Lamar Dawson and CB Isiah Wiley contributing from the back seven.
- A New Year... "We've come a long way as a defense," said Kiffin. In the 2010 game, the Huskies racked up 536 total yards to just 244 today. UW ran for 6.6 yards per carry against last year's Trojans, but only 1.9 yards per rush versus the 2011 version. Monte Kiffin's current group forced a change in quarterbacks and did not allow a third-down conversion until late in the game. What is the difference? "Everybody is being more competitive," Nick Perry said.
- Rivalry Game... "This has become a very big rivalry," Kiffin admitted after the game. The Sark vs. Kiff standings read 1-1 after today. The familiarity between coaching staffs brings extra drama to the match-up. Steve Sarkisian is always trying to recruit Southern California. And just for fun, while the Trojans might be "easier to prepare for" than Oregon, USC hung 40 on Nick Holt's defense, while the Ducks settled for 34.
- CB Nickell Robey's late mother would have celebrated her birthday Saturday. To that end, Lane Kiffin presented his "favorite player" with the game ball in the post-game locker room. Robey responded: "I'm proud to be a Trojan."
Something is amiss when supposedly all world receiver Robert Woods catches only two passes for a total of five yards. Saw the highlights of the TCU at Boise ST. where the Horned Frog's wide out caught three long TD passes using some nice moves to get open in the secondary. They did not throw no stinking bubble screens to their home run guy. Maybe the USC coaching staff should look at the game films to see how they executed these plays.
A 7th point would be, when USC beats the Ducks this saturday the collective of the SEC will be looking over their shoulder trying to figure out how SC can become ineligible for next season because they immediately become THE team to beat for the NC:)