Well, I'm bored and I can't stop thinking about this game... so here's a breakdown of the USC pass defense so far this season on a game-by-game basis.
@ Cal:
The Bad - allowed a shaky Zach Maynard to post 295 yards on 25 completions (43 attempts, 58% completions, 6.8-yard average). Not only did SC allow 12 catches for 160 yards to Keenan Allen, but they also gave up 90 yards on six receptions to Cal's #2 receiver.
The Good - "forced" three interceptions and didn't surrender a score. Rees' decision making will surely be better than Maynard's, but that's not to say Tommy isn't prone to bad mistakes (obviously).
The Interesting - USC's rush defense allowed just 35 yards on 26 carries (for you non-math majors, that's a whopping 1.3 yards per carry). Cal had to throw the ball, and the Trojans knew it.
vs. Arizona:
The Bad - Nick Foles dominated the Trojan secondary in this 48-41 USC victory: 41/53 (77%), 425 yards, 4 touchdowns.
The Good - Foles, however, also completed two passes to the Trojans. That's 5 interceptions for the USC defense in their last two games alone.
The Interesting - Twelve -- count 'em -- TWELVE different players caught at least one pass in the game for 'Zona (9 of the 12 had at least three catches). TEN of those players had receptions of 10 yards or longer. However, the longest pass of the night was just 27 yards.
@ Arizona State:
The Bad - Although ASU did most of their damage on the ground (25 carries, 141 yards, 3 touchdowns for RB Cameron Marshall), the big man Brock Osweiler was an economical 25-of-32 (78%) for 223 yards and 2 touchdowns.
The Good - The secondary limited any really big plays against them; the longest pass completion for ASU was "only" 21 yards. The leading receiver in the game for the Sun Devils also only compiled 55 yards.
The Interesting - Although not as crazy a number as the 12 different receivers in the Arizona game, Osweiler spread the ball around to 8 different teammates. It's also "interesting" to note that the Condoms got stuffed 43-22 in their only loss of the season thus far.
vs. Syracuse:
The Bad - USC allowed 26 of 38 passes to be completed (68%) for 260 yards and 2 touchdowns. They also did not come away with an interception.
The Good - The game was largely in hand at 24-3 in the 3rd quarter before 'Cuse started mounting some semblance of offensive effectiveness.
The Interesting - I saw Syracuse play in person against Rutgers a couple weeks ago. It took 60 minutes plus two overtimes for the Orange to put 16 points on the board in that game. In short, they are not a very good team (despite their 4-2 record, including a win over Wake Forest). Take a look at their
results if you don't believe me.
vs. Utah:
The Bad - The experienced Jordan Wynn completed only 50% of his 46 passes, but USC still allowed 240 yards and a touchdown through the air while registering zero interceptions.
The Good - Half of the passes attempted resulted in incompletions. They only allowed the one TD through the air in a game that the defense had to win.
The Interesting - Outside of a single Utah carry for 51 yards, the Utes' run game was non-existent. It's hard to pass when your feature back is gaining only 2.8 ypc. Also, from ESPN, "Matt Kalil blocked Utah's 41-yard field goal attempt [which would have tied the game] on the final play and Torin Harris returned it for a touchdown that wasn't counted until two hours after the game ended."
vs. Minnesota
The Bad - Notre Dame beat Purdue (38-10), who beat Minnesota (45-17), who only lost to USC by the score of 19-17. This has nothing to do with USC's pass defense, but those numbers are startling if you're a Trojan fan, and encouraging for all those Irish. Forget The Good, The Interesting, and the stats... this was nearly an absolute embarrassment for USC (if you didn't know, Minnesota is 1-5 and one of the worst teams in the country).
tl;dr - In USC's last four games, they have allowed 1,201 yards through the air on a combined 117-of-166 (70.5%) passing. Those numbers include 8 touchdowns and 5 inteceptions. All of those interceptions, however, have come in the last two contests.
You can talk about star ratings, athleticism, size, etc. all you want, but the sheer numbers have shown that USC simply is not very good against the pass. If the Irish can establish at least a decent ground game and Tommy Rees throws the ball only to his teammates, then I don't see how the Trojans can match up with our offensive attack.
player on Rivals. Overrated or underdeveloped?
