USC vs ASU 2016: Who Were the Studs and Duds?

Oct 1, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils quarterback Manny Wilkins (right) runs the ball tackled by Southern California Trojans linebacker Uchenna Nwosu (left) during the first half at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

Who were the duds?

ASU’s Offense: USC held ASU’s potent offensive attack in check on Saturday, limiting the Sun Devils to just 75 yards rushing and 303 yards of total offense. To put that into perspective, ASU had totalled no less than 164 yards rushing  and no less than 450 total yards in any of their previous four games.

Manny Wilkins: The Sun Devil quarterback was a concern going into Saturday, with four games of experience under his belt, impressive passing stats and the ability to gash a defense with his legs. At the Coliseum, Wilkins wilted under the pressure generaged by USC’s defensive front. After starting the game reasonable well, he began to miss simple throws and couldn’t cope with the pass rush. Unfortunately for ASU, he didn’t get the chance to turn things around as he left the game with a leg injury before half time.

N’Keal Harry: ASU’s big-bodied freshman receiver had the look of a potential mismatch against the Trojan secondary, but Harry was a non-factor against USC. He had four catches for just 27 yards, 18 of which were on one catch.

Clay Helton’s Decision-Making: The Trojan head coach can hold his head high after a big win on Saturday night, but it didn’t start so well for Helton. Inexplicably, Helton opted to attempt a fourth-and-two on USC’s own 42-yard line instead of punting the ball away on the Trojans’ first possession.

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The attempt was stuffed for a loss of four yards and ASU got a short field to work on and the chance to extend their lead. Lucky for Helton, Lockett stepped in and ended the Sun Devil drive with an interception.

Rumors of USC’s Demise: Before beating ASU, the Trojans sat a disappointing 1-3 with prospects of securing the Pac-12 South title looking bleak and questions swirling around the job security of the head coach. A loss to the Sun Devils would have been the last nail in the coffin.

As it turns out, USC has more of a pulse than many believed, improving their record to 2-3 and keeping hopes of that division title repeat alive. Importantly, they secured a valuable win against a division rival, and got a bit of help from Cal, who handed Utah their first loss of the season.

It’s still a long shot for the Trojans to turn things around, but they took the first step on Saturday.