USC Football: 5 Things We Learned From the Trojans vs. Hawaii

Week one of USC’s Unfinished Business tour is in the books, with the Trojans recording a dominating 49-10 win over the Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors. We saw a mix of things from the Trojans, some things we really liked and others that we didn’t, but all things considered USC left us with much to ponder as we go into week two of their post-bowl ban era of football.

Here are five things we learned from the Trojans in their defeat of the Warriors:

5. The Young Trojan Defense Might Be Decent After All

A cloud loomed over the Trojan defense going into this game, as many were concerned about how this group would hold up with so many young and inexperienced guys having to fill the roles of veterans. That cloud quickly dissipated when the rookies stepped up and answered the call of duty. Sure, they faced an offense that was not nearly as menacing as others that USC will face down the stretch but for their debut, they handled themselves well.

We saw DE Morgan Breslin show that he could very well be the starter opposite senior Wes Horton. We saw freshmen Leonard Williams, Anthony Sarao, and Greg Townsend Jr. all record sacks. We saw a Trojan defensive line, featuring only one returning starter in DT George Uko (DE Wes Horton did not play, due to injury), two redshirt freshmen and a true freshman step up and effectively contain the Warriors. The defense only gave up 56 yards on the ground and a total of 244 on the night; not bad at all for a bunch of rookies.