USC Football Begins Season with a Blowout
Turnovers and Tre Madden help USC rout Arkansas St.
W
hen the Coliseum begins to empty in the third quarter, you know there’s a blowout happening, and despite some questionable offensive line play, USC took care of business in its opener by routing Arkansas St. 55–6 behind a strong running game and a turnover-thirsty defense on Saturday night.
“For the first time taking the field, I was pleased with the effort,” Head Coach Steve Sarkisian said afterward. “I was proud of the guys and how we applied the things that we’re trying to get done. We weren’t perfect, but all in all I was pleased with the effort.”
On the offensive side of the ball, the star of the night was running back Tre Madden, who ran for 106 yards on 12 carries and scored both via a 65-yard run and an 8-yard pass.
It’s been nearly two years to the date since the last time Madden surpassed 100 yards on the ground. That season, his 128-yard performance came against Arizona St. in a 62–41 loss, the fourth time in five games in which he crossed the mark.
On Saturday night, as Madden finally made his way back onto the field following a foot injury that sidelined him all of 2014, his productive performance was not in vain.
“I knew he was ready to show what he’s got since he’s been out last year,” receiver Isaac Whitney said of the tailback. “He went out there and made a statement.”
Despite the difference in position, Whitney and Madden have developed a friendship. They share a class and Whitney says the senior running back took him under his wing when he arrived. It sounds like Whitney has returned the favor already.
“I told him I knew he was about to break for a touchdown and when he scored, he came over and said, ‘Yeah, you told me I was going to break.’”
Madden’s production was followed by the rest of the running backs, who — without Justin Davis — stood out despite their youth.
“They made key plays … They gave Tre a little bit of help, and that’s really cool to see, when you have three true freshman in the backfield,” pointed out quarterback Cody Kessler. “I feel just as comfortable with any of them back there.”
Freshmen Ronald Jones II had 86 yards on the ground and a touchdown of his own, and both Aca’Cedric Ware and Dominic Davis got plenty of run as well; the former scoring a touchdown on the ground while the latter had 53 yards and a score through the air.
“All three of us are very close, you know we all have different styles” said Jones. “Dom [Davis] is more like Darren Sproles and Ced [Ware] is more like Lendale White. I think we complement each other well.”
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Yet the Trojans did not win by runs and scores alone. Due to the sporadic offensive production, the defense had to come through an inject energy onto the team; that came in the form of four forced turnovers.
An interception by Chris Hawkins, another by Su’A Cravens and two forced fumbles — one resulting in a touchdown return by freshman Osa Masina, the other by Hawkins — played a huge role in the lopsided score. Sarkisian had said before this season that he wanted more forced turnovers, and on Saturday night, the defense complied.
“As a defense, we wanted to really take away the quarterback,” said Hawkins of Red Wolves QB Fredi Knighten, whom the Trojans held to under 100 yards in both the ground and the air. “Once we took him away, it made our job much easier.
Hawkins and the defense did more than limit Knighten’s dynamic abilities; they turned pressure into turnovers and made crucial plays when necessary, experience notwithstanding.
“This was a positive game, not because we won by so much, but because we got so many young guys in the game,” Cravens said. “They were able to make so many plays.”
Cravens said Sarkisian congratulated the defense afterward, emphasizing once again how the turnover battle is indeed what typically decides games. The stat sheet backs both of them up: the Red Wolves had more time of possession by more than 10 minutes and only 108 total yards fewer than the Trojans. However, they only made two red zone trips that resulted in only six points. That’s the four takeaways speaking.
“That’s how you’re supposed to play the game,” reiterated Cravens, who also gushed over the fact that four true freshman found the end zone during the game.
As the season, kicked off, the Trojans are clearly revitalized by the influx of depth at seemingly every position, and the team has embraced the platoon system that players like safety John Plattenburg say has become “their word.”
“We played 13 true freshman tonight and had 23 players make debuts,” pointed out Sark. “That will be the plan until it goes astray.”
As both Sarkisian and Kessler said afterward, there are plenty of things to work on and fix; the score did not accurately represent some of the struggles the team had, especially on the offensive line that allowed five sacks. But with a seemingly endless reserve of both added youth and returning talent, the Trojan’s first game showed why they’re so highly regarded around the country: The players have the skill, it’s all about the collective accurately displaying it.
You can reach Sports Editor Paolo Uggetti here, or follow him on Twitter@PaoloUggetti
Highlights by Connor McGlynn, Matthew Tufts and Jodee Sullivan.
