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USC vs Utah State Report Card: Grading the Trojan Offense

By Alicia de Artola

Sep 10, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; USC Trojans wide receiver Darreus Rogers (1) is defended by Utah State Aggies cornerback Wesley Bailey (8) during a NCAA football game at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 10, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; USC Trojans wide receiver Darreus Rogers (1) is defended by Utah State Aggies cornerback Wesley Bailey (8) during a NCAA football game at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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USC vs Utah State provided the chance for the Trojan offense to prove they have a pulse in 2016 and they did just that, scoring five touchdowns against the Aggies.

USC’s offense didn’t score a touchdown in the season opener, but the home opener was another story.

The Trojans found the endzone five times on offense, coming away with six scores on six red zone appearances.

SEE ALSO: Grading the Trojan defense vs Utah State

Here’s how each offensive unit graded out against the Aggies:

It was an efficient performance from Max Browne in just his second ever start for USC. That’s all the Trojans needed.

Browne completed 76 percent of his passes for 182 yards and two touchdowns. He found JuJu Smith-Schuster with more regularity and threw a strike to Steven Mitchell in the back of the endzone.

The low yardage figure could be flagged as a concern, particularly as Browne seemed to short arm his longer attempts — one of which was picked off by an Aggie defender. Still, there was nothing glaringly wrong with the performance.

The Trojans made better use of Sam Darnold against Utah State, giving him several opportunities in the redzone. His first touchdown was a credit to Deontay Burnett, but the pass zipped in to Smith-Schuster for his second touchdown from 15 yards out was exceptional.

. Standout. Max Browne. QUARTERBACK. B

RUNNING BACK. A.

While USC’s run blocking still leaves something to be desired, the Trojan running backs made the most of their carries against Utah State.

Justin Davis totaled 106 all-purpose yards, fighting through the defense for an average of 4.4 yards per carry.

With Ronald Jones II limited by injury, Aca’Cedric Ware held a greater share of the carries. He scored his first career touchdown and averaged 5.2 yards per hard fought carry.

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While USC’s run blocking still leaves something to be desired, the Trojan running backs made the most of their carries against Utah State.

Justin Davis totaled 106 all-purpose yards, fighting through the defense for an average of 4.4 yards per carry.

With Ronald Jones II limited by injury, Aca’Cedric Ware held a greater share of the carries. He scored his first career touchdown and averaged 5.2 yards per hard fought carry.

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