Trojans can't snap skid vs. Stanford
LOS ANGELES --- There’s been a trend so far through the first two weeks of the college football season. USC wins and then they drop in the polls.
USC was up 35-0 at halftime of their game against Hawaii on their way to a 49-10 win and dropped from No. 1 to No. 2 in the AP Poll.
The following week, the Trojans withstood Syracuse and a nearly 70-minute halftime/weather delay in New Jersey to defeat the Orange 42-29.
They were rewarded by falling from No. 2 to No. 3 in the latest coaches’ poll.
If the trend continues again this week, that’s just fine by head coach Lane Kiffin. The win's the key. He values polls so much, he voluntarily gave up his vote.
USC is favored to win their Pac-12 opener on Saturday. However, the lasting images of Kiffin’s Trojans (2-0) don’t reflect a team that’s going to take a trip up to Palo Alto and run roughshod over No. 21 Stanford (2-0) still trying to break in a new quarterback.
The team that defeated Syracuse looked nothing like the team that opened the season a week prior.
Kiffin was disappointed in his defense after they gave up 26 second half points to the Orange.
Also serving as the playcaller, Kiffin elected not to air the ball out and go downfield, instead opting for a more conservative approach despite having a Heisman Trophy front runner at quarterback and the best wide receiving duo in the country. Kiffin didn’t care what it looked like. Facing a team playing in what he called their “Super Bowl,” the Trojans’ head coach wanted to play it safe.
“I thought it was more critical that we were getting completions,” Kiffin said to the Orange County Register. “(We were) trying to run the ball instead of throwing it downfield and turnovers happen or sacks (that) cause fumbles.”
Whether they decide to take more risks or continue with the conservative approach, the Trojans know they’re going to have to step their game up on Saturday when they travel to The Farm. There were lulls that they suffered in the win against Syracuse that have to be avoided this weekend.
“You have to (have) a little bit of a sense of urgency going into conference,” Silas Redd said. “This is where you make your money, per se. This is a great time of the year.”
Facing Stanford in recent years has left the Cardinal and Gold feeling blue. USC has lost their last three to Stanford, which means senior quarterback Matt Barkley doesn’t know what it’s like to defeat the Cardinal.
“It’s just another game, we got to beat them,” Barkley said of this weekend’s matchup. “That’s my approach to the game.”
Senior captain T.J. McDonald, who like Barkley returned for his senior season instead of heading to the NFL, was flagged for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the triple overtime loss to the Cardinal last season. McDonald’s hit on former Stanford wideout Chris Owusu resulted in an automatic first down. Without the flag the result of the play would have been a 4th and 6 for Stanford in a make or break play for the Cardinal trailing 34-27 with 2:16 left in the fourth quarter. Andrew Luck went on to lead the game tying drive and the Cardinal eventually won 56-48 in triple overtime.
McDonald, who was suspended for the first half of the Trojans’ game the following week at Colorado as a result of the hit, says it hasn’t made him change the way he plays the game, but he hasn’t forgotten about the loss. Or the one before that. Or the one before that.
He said he returned to school for “Unfinished Business.” Stanford is included in that.
“It’s definitely a part of that,” McDonald said. “You don’t ever want to go out knowing that you never beat a team.
“It might be a little personal but you never let personal matters overcome your responsibilities so we got to make sure that we prepare the same way that we would for any other game.”
Which also means they’re trying to leave Stanford with a win no matter what it looks like. Kiffin’s bunch isn’t interested in style points, or polls, or impressing voters.
Sure, the Trojans have made a splash this season with their appearance --by their standards-- with new gloves to go with the Cardinal, Gold and Silver USC cleats and the matching socks they’ve sported on Saturdays this season. But outside of the uniform, appearance means next to nothing.
“The goal is to win the game,” Kiffin said. “That’s been the goal since football existed. “We’re trying to win games (and) at the same time stay healthy. “