USC vs. UCLA Report Card: Grading the Trojan Offense

USC was routed Saturday at the Rose Bowl by UCLA, 38-20,  as a flustered Cody Kessler and the Trojan offense struggled to break down the Bruin defense.

With just 276 yards of total offense, USC gained just 62 yards rushing, their second lowest total on the season, and 214 yards passing, which was among Kessler’s season lows.

Here’s our report card for the USC offense in week 11.

He was flustered by the pass rush. His overthrown pass to Jahleel Pinner, which was subsequently tipped and unluckily intercepted on the sideline, showcased the lack of composure he displayed.

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Kessler, as far as quarterbacks go, is a steady straight line. His highs are rarely out of this world and his lows are never all that low.

So when you look at his stat line for the UCLA game, the numbers do not look all that terrible. He completed 64.7% of his passes for 214 yards and a touchdown. He also threw an interception.

Unfortunately for USC, his passer rating of 121.41, was his third worst of the season and that number still does not fully tell the story.

Kessler was not just not good versus UCLA. He was bad.

In fact, it was probably the worst performance of his career, in perhaps the biggest game of his career to this point.

His reliance on Nelson Agholor became a problem for USC, as he ignored other options in favor of trying to hit a double teamed Agholor on multiple occasions.

He was flustered by the pass rush. His overthrown pass to Jahleel Pinner, which was subsequently tipped and unluckily intercepted on the sideline, showcased the lack of composure he displayed.