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

Oct 27, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; USC Trojans quarterback Sam Darnold (14) loses his helmet getting tackled by California Golden Bears linebacker Jordan Kunaszyk (59) and defensive end Noah Westerfield (33) in the first quarter at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

Who were the duds?

USC’s Turnovers: For the second-straight home game, USC had their issues with turnovers, which ultimately kept them from blowing open a game in which they dominated. While up 21-0, Sam Darnold lost the football on two-straight drives in the second quarter, leading to 10 points in favor of Cal.

The Trojans still took a 28-10 lead to the halftime break, but given that USC punted just twice, there’s no telling how much of a margin they could’ve post, while averaging 8.3 yards per carry. A Sam Darnold interception in the second half didn’t lead to points, but it marked the third time this season the Trojans have had three turnovers. Against better teams, USC cannot afford to give chances away.

Cal’s Rush Defense: The Bears came into the night ranked 125th nationally in rush defense, and USC proved why. The Trojans ran for 398 yards at an 8.3 yards per carry clip, their most since dropping 430 against UCLA in 2005.

Cal just couldn’t contain, couldn’t penetrate and constantly left furlong-wide gaps for Ronald Jones and Aca’Cedric Ware to run through. It’s no wonder lowly Oregon State ran for a whopping 474 yards on the Bears just two weeks ago in Corvallis.

Cal Receiver’s Hands: It wasn’t the best night for the Bears’ offense, scoring just 24 points, which is well below their season average of 43.7. But quarterback Davis Webb battled and was able to put together a decent night through the air, throwing for 333 yards on 34-of-53 passing. It would’ve been much more if his receivers could hold on to a few more balls.

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Demetris Robertson dropped a sure-fire touchdown on the first drive of the game, while Ray Hudson and Melquise Stovall added key drops of their own. It halted Cal’s rhythm early on and ultimately enabled USC to open a 21-0 lead.

Discipline: Thursday night’s game was a flag-a-palooza, with both teams wracking up a grand total of 20 penalties for 190 yards. USC had 13 for 125 yards themselves.

Ironically, it the was Trojans’ most-flagged night since the last time Cal visited the Coliseum. That was in 2014, also on a Thursday night, when USC had 14 penalties for 159 yards.

This year was a potpourri of all kinds of flags. There was a hold on special teams to nullify a long Adoree’ Jackson punt return, a pass inference penalty against Iman Marshall and back-to-back facemasks on the USC defense.

Against a team with a poor defense like Cal, the Trojans can skate by. But with Washington looming in two weeks, Clay Helton’s team must be more disciplined.