USC vs. ASU Report Card: Grading the Trojan Offense

The USC Trojans fell to the Arizona State Sun Devils Saturday, 38-34, in a game which saw the Trojan offense once again struggle to find an end product on the field.

USC finished with 493 yards of offense and a fairly balanced breakdown of 220 rushing yards and 273 passing yards. Still, the Trojans put up a disappointing 34 points against an ASU defense which conceded 62 to UCLA the week before.

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

B-.
Cody Kessler had his worst game of the season against the Sun Devils, which says a lot about his level of performance this year. The Trojan QB had 273 yards through the air on 28-45 passing.
It’s safe to say Kessler had an off-night, as he missed throws you would expect him to hit and stood in to take three sacks despite an emphasis on his pocket awareness in practice this week.
That 62.2% completion rating was his lowest in five games, as was his 6.1 yards per attempt average. He failed to throw a touchdown for the second time this season, though he made up for that by weaving his way to the endzone for a fourth quarter TD run.
. Standout. Standout: Cody Kessler. QUARTERBACK

The Trojan running backs are difficult to grade again this week because of another Jekyll and Hyde performance.
Buck Allen averaged a paltry 2.7 yards per carry on 14 first half runs, but he followed that up with a standout second half performance as his next 15 carries yielded 110 yards and a per carry average of 7.3. Those runs included a 53-yard scamper with three minutes remaining which should have put the game to bed.

In a case of opposites, Justin Davis had 41 yards on five carries in the first half, but nine rushes in the second half produced just 30 yards.

As a duo, both USC running backs are producing just enough to avoid too much criticism, but there’s something to be desired in their ability to hit the hole early and make the most of every carry.

Allen’s contributions to the passing game, this week four receptions for 86 yards, remain a major positive.

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B

The Trojan running backs are difficult to grade again this week because of another Jekyll and Hyde performance.

Buck Allen averaged a paltry 2.7 yards per carry on 14 first half runs, but he followed that up with a standout second half performance as his next 15 carries yielded 110 yards and a per carry average of 7.3. Those runs included a 53-yard scamper with three minutes remaining which should have put the game to bed.

In a case of opposites, Justin Davis had 41 yards on five carries in the first half, but nine rushes in the second half produced just 30 yards.

As a duo, both USC running backs are producing just enough to avoid too much criticism, but there’s something to be desired in their ability to hit the hole early and make the most of every carry.

Allen’s contributions to the passing game, this week four receptions for 86 yards, remain a major positive.

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