SCliff Notes: Victory Was Muted, but Comfortable and More USC Football News

Can’t get enough USC football? We’ve got your morning dose of all the best content from around the web concerning the men of Troy.

1st & 10:

Muted Victory…The last time I was at the Coliseum, those old gray stones were shaking with the excitement generated by the crowd, which roared and reveled at every opportunity. This time around, it just wasn’t the same. Granted, it may not be fair to compare every trip to the home of the

Trojans with that game against Stanford which also featured the first field rush in who knows how long. Still, it was notable how muted the Coliseum was even as USC offered up a fair share of exciting plays during the 35-10 victory.

In many ways, the Coliseum crowd mirrors the Trojans as a team. There’s that little something being held back because no one is quite sure what to make of USC yet.

Su’a Cravens delivered a pick six. Darreus Rogers hauled in a Hail Mary. Justin Davis broke off two touchdowns. Leonard Williams logged an emphatic sack. Even then, the crowd was tentative. Never restless (even after the Beavers returned a kick off for a touchdown), but never raucous.

In many ways, the Coliseum crowd mirrors the Trojans as a team. There’s that little something being held back because no one is quite sure what to make of USC yet. Four contests and four very different games — the blowout, the upset, the reverse upset, the comfortable but muted victory. It’s still very difficult to gauge what this team is made of.

Perhaps a key Pac-12 south match up with ASU will provide the stage to find an answer.In Other News…

• Following Saturday’s game, USC and Oregon State were two of the big movers in ESPN’s Power Rankings. The Trojans moved up from eight to three, while the Beavers dropped from ninth to dead last. (ESPN)
• Arash Markazi took the time to grade the Trojans’ performance against OSU. No surprises with the defense and rushing attack earning A’s, but special teams gets some stick. (ESPN)
• Our trio of ESPN links ends with an examination of a trio of big plays from Saturday. Garry Paskwietz singles out the two interceptions and the Hail Mary as the critical moments. (ESPN)
• Though there were plenty of performances to praise, Cody Kessler gets some love from Max Meyer and some high praise from his teammates. (Neon Tommy)
• Kyle Kensing meanwhile points out how Saturday’s victory featured highs and lows for the Trojans, who need to sort out consistency if they’re ambitions are to be fulfilled. (Bleacher Report)
• There’s more talk of improvement with Michael Lev who highlights discipline, kick coverage and offensive rhythm as the biggest areas to address. (OC Register)
• Jordan Moore has his weekly 6-Points game wrap up, which concludes with a nice highlight reel from the win. (Ripsit Blog)
• It looks more and more unlikely that Sun Devil QB Taylor Kelly will be healed up in time to face the Trojans. Matt Fitzgerald has all the updates on his foot injury. (Bleacher Report)
• As we turn out eyes towards ASU, the Vegas odds makers opened the line at 7.5, but it has since settled on a spread of 10 points for the game. (Reign of Troy)
• We also finally got a game time settled, with Fox picking up ASU-USC instead of UCLA-Utah, which will air on ESPN. That means we avoid another 7:30 kick off, but will have to brave the heat at 4:30 p.m. instead. (Reign Of Troy)

Stat of the Day:

USC leads the Pac-12 and ranks 11th nationally in interceptions. Seven different players — one from every level of the defense — have accounted for the Trojans’ seven picks this year.

Tweets of the Day: