USC football’s studs and duds from a woeful game vs. Arizona

USC football relied on late excellence to beat Arizona after a dud of a start

Week 2 for USC football was supposed to be all about shaking off the rust from Week 1 and moving into the next phase of the 2020 season.

Instead, it was a mirror image of the ASU game as the Trojans struggled to pull away from Arizona.

Who hit all the right notes for USC and who was off-key?

The studs for USC football vs. Arizona

Fourth-Quarter Kedon Slovis

Another week and another fantastic finish from Kedon Slovis. He completed his final 12 pass attempts for 132 yards, all on a pair of go-ahead drives late in the game. For a quarterback who’s struggled with accuracy, zip and flutter —not to mention an inconsistent offensive line— he’s shown a ton of poise, leading to remarkable consistency with the game on the line.

Stephen Carr

This is the Stephen Carr that tore Western Michigan and Stanford up in 2017 before injuries started to derail his freshman and sophomore seasons. The senior tailback was a menace for the Trojans, rushing for 81 yards on 11 carries. His 37-yard jaunt in the third quarter was one trip away from being his second touchdown of the game.

Markese Stepp

There’s a reason fans clamor for Stepp to get more carries. His performance against Arizona is why. He did a lit bit of everything, slithering through holes off tackle, streaking down the sideline for big gains and bowling over defenders to get into the end zone. His 82 yards tied his career-high, set last year at Notre Dame.

The Drakes

Both Drake Jackson and Drake London made their impact yet again for the Trojans. Jackson had a pair of pivotal sacks of Grant Gunnell, with one coming on third down to prove USC could get off the field, and the other being the final dagger in the game. For London, the Arizona game wasn’t quite as productive as his Week 1 assault on ASU, but all 68 of his receiving yards were hard-earned. He yet again dragged defenders and fought for extra yards.