SCliff Notes: Trojan Run Defense Isn’t So Bad 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:

Run Defense… Michael Lev of the OC Register produced a stunning statistic Thursday night regarding USC’s run defense in 2014.

The Trojans have given up 903 yards rushing this season. Of those, 452 were gained by Boston College. The remaining 451 were gained by USC’s five other opponents combined.

We’ll add to that by reminding everyone that Boston College’s five rushing touchdowns equal the number scored by all those other teams against USC as well.

That’s ridiculous.

On the one hand, it’s ridiculously bad. USC is by far the best team Boston College had faced this year yet they put in their best performance, rushing for the most yardage, the highest average per rush and the most touchdowns against the Trojans. To be fair, the Eagles have proven themselves as formidable on the ground, but it’s pretty pathetic that even Maine, an FCS team, fared better than USC.

On the other hand, it’s ridiculously impressive. Take Boston College out of the equation and USC would be ranked sixth in rushing defense in the nation. They haven’t done that against scrubs either. Arizona State averages more than 200 yards on the ground a game. They gained 31 versus USC. Arizona averages just under 200 per game. They had 77 yards rushing versus USC.

As it turns out, the Trojans aren’t too shabby defending the run, though their 59th ranking nationally might make you think otherwise.

In Other News…

• Tre Madden’s decision is in, and it looks like the redshirt junior has decided to end his season. Opting for a medical redshirt, Madden will be back next year with another year of eligibility beyond that. (OC Register)
• In other injury news, Soma Vainuku and Ajene Harris are unlikely to play this weekend, while Leonard Williams, Adoree’ Jackson and Andre Heidari appear good to go. (Reign Of Troy)
• Scott Wolf has a position-by-position midseason review of the Trojans. (LA Daily News)
• Michael Lev also gets in on the midseason review action with some awards. (OC Register)
• Kyle Kensing joins in the midseason fun with his own positional grades. (Bleacher Report)
• Over at the Pac-12 blog, Kyle Bonagura thinks USC has the best chance to avoid falling victim to the conference’s home loss trend this weekend. (ESPN)
• Jeff Bell named Arizona @ USC the second-most exciting game in the Pac-12 thus far. (Bleacher Report)
• Leonard Williams is Todd McShay’s top prospect for the 2015 NFL draft. (ESPN)
• Where has Coach O gone? Adam Kramer found out. (Bleacher Report)
• Ready for basketball season? USC released the men’s basketball schedule poster. (RipsIt Blog)

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