5 Things: USC 55, Colorado 17
WeAreSC’s Erik McKinney, Greg Katz and Marc Kulkin give their 5 Things following USC’s 55-17 win against Colorado on Friday night. The victory moved the Trojans to 9-1 overall this season and 7-1 in the Pac-12, with rivalry games against UCLA and Notre Dame on the horizon.
5 Things from USC 55, Colorado 17
Player of the Game
A quarterback, a running back and a couple of defensive standouts get mentioned here. Caleb Williams threw his second interception of the season and didn’t seem to have his best stuff early. But he posted his fourth-straight game of five touchdowns as he threw for three and ran for two. Running back Austin Jones came in for an injured Travis Dye and responded with 113 total yards and a touchdown capped by a diving leap into the endzone. And the Trojan defense posted its best performance of the season, statistically. Defensive lineman Tuli Tuipulotu forced a fumble and recorded 2.5 sacks. Safety Calen Bullock had the other turnover for the Trojans, racing under a deep ball for an interception for the second-straight week.
Play of the Game
Insert sad trombone noise here. The Play of the Game is chosen by all three for all the wrong reasons. The Coliseum was quieted and the USC team was shaken when Dye stayed down on the ground following a tackle. His leg was put in an air cast and he was taken off the field on a cart, but not before the entire USC team and several members of the Colorado defense offered condolences and respect. It could be a season-changing injury for the Trojans and there’s no way to overstate how important Dye is to this USC team. No play was more impactful for the rest of the season than that one. As far as in the game itself, Tuipulotu’s sack/fumble generated big-time momentum and allowed the Trojans to stretch the lead.
Expectation Met
It was a blowout. Forgot how it started. The final score is indicative of what everybody believed would happen heading into this one.
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Surprise
Forget the blowout. Look at how it started. USC trailed 3-2 at the end of the first quarter against a Colorado team that had been dominated by just about everybody through 15 minutes this season. Opponents were averaging 128.4 offensive yards in the first quarter against the Buffs. USC had eight. Colorado had forced just 15 three-and-outs on defense all season. The Buffs got one on the first USC possession of the game.
Biggest Takeaway
The season starts now for the Trojans. USC didn’t get through this week unscathed, but neither UCLA nor Notre Dame will care about that. The Trojans have to find a way to get all three phases working together next Saturday and it won’t be easy against the Bruins. But, despite the injury to Dye, could this game serve as a launching pad to a big performance in the Rose Bowl?
