Well either USC is much much improved or Cal is not as good as we thought.
Maybe a little bit of both.
Cal went right down on their first drive, they moved the ball very well. SC's soft zone helped as well. They were threatening to score when Taylor Mays picked a Riley pass off in the end zone.
That was pretty much Cal's offense for the night. After that they just disappeared. Yes, they got a FG in the forth quarter but every time they got close the SC defense shut them down.
Matt Barkley played pretty good tonight. He had some balls sail on him but outside of the one INT that he threw he made some nice throws to Damian Williams. USC had 8 or nine different receivers catch a pass tonight. Anthony McCoy is going to be a very effect TE in the NFL. He made some catches and he made some great blocks. Joe McKnight had a great game as well he had some nice runs in the first quarter. Allen Bradford was serviceable but we also saw why he is not an effective short yardage back.
SC did what they needed to do in containing Jahvid Best. He rushed for more yards than he did last year against USC but it really did not matter...SC had his number. Cal QB Kevin Riley never got into a groove after throwing that INT in the end zone. He made a few nice throws here and there but he really never really was a threat to SC. The defense pressured him all night.
My biggest concern was USC's inability to score a TD inside the 10-yard line. They are still too conservative down there but I have hope that they will figure it out.
So, it is a great win for SC...on the road and it wasn't that crazy at all. The crowd was never in it after that first drive. I may have more tomorrow but it is the wife's birthday so it is her day!
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