USC offense fills the highlight reel but also needs better line play
The USC Trojans scored 56 points in their season opener against the San Jose State Spartans on Saturday night, so they weren’t terrible. However, they certainly left a lot of room for improvement.
Of particular concern is the offensive line. It did not physically overwhelm San Jose State’s defensive front. The Trojans did not sledgehammer the ball very much. The main mode of transportation for the USC offense was Caleb Williams throwing the ball, or his receivers catching the ball, or Zachariah Branch running after catching the ball in open space.
The fact that Zachariah Branch made so many electric plays, however, will give USC the knowledge that it has a solid talent base which can be improved and used more fully over the course of the season. There is a lot of room for growth on this side of the ball. The concern, though, is that if the offensive line can’t get significantly stronger and more powerful, Caleb Williams will be running for his life and might have to do too many things by himself.
Let’s look at the highlights and lowlights of USC’s offense in the first game of the new season:
MORE YOUNG GUNS MAKING AN IMPACT
Big hole behind true freshman Alani Noa on that Lloyd first down run. This is our new left guard, folks. Kid is a monster. Took the starting spot as a 17-year old kid.
— RichSC (@OriginalRichSC) August 27, 2023
GROUP EFFORT
Quinten Joyner sighting much earlier than expected but great effort from the freshman! #USC
— Alicia de Artola Castillo (@PenguinOfTroy) August 27, 2023
MORE FRESHMEN PLAYING EARLY
Freshmen WR Ja'Kobi Lane and Duce Robinson in together on the first drive as well.
— Shotgun Spratling (@ShotgunSpr) August 27, 2023
TRAVIS DYE REPLACEMENTS
Austin Jones and MasShawn Lloyd both pick up their first third-and-short opportunities of the season.
— R.J. Abeytia (@RJ_Abeytia) August 27, 2023
TIMELY PLAYS
#USC looks like #USC.
Opening TD drive. 3-3 on third down. Red Zone touchdown.— R.J. Abeytia (@RJ_Abeytia) August 27, 2023
SIX POINTS
I like this route. Hitch pulls the LB to open up the window for the slant behind him pic.twitter.com/TOS5b4wrNm
— Joe Broback (@joebroback) August 27, 2023
BAD SECOND POSSESSION
Tough look for USC’s offensive line on that 3-and-out. Kingston and Tarquin were run over on that third down.
— Ryan Kartje (@Ryan_Kartje) August 27, 2023
RELEVANT FOR USC AND CALEB WILLIAMS: LESS TIME OF POSSESSION
GAMBLING ARBITRAGE:
The new college football clock rules feel like they may be REALLY impactful in cutting out a LOT of plays + pointsWill be interesting to see the analytics, but I suspect that over/under and high point spreads may be significantly impacted and need adjusting
— Tony Altimore (@TJAltimore) August 27, 2023
LOTS OF ROTATING
Mason Murphy in to start the third drive at right tackle.
— Shotgun Spratling (@ShotgunSpr) August 27, 2023
CALEB BEING CALEB
Caleb Williams already has his first Heisman moment play of 2023. Fumbled snap into a deep touchdown pass. Spectacular.
— Steve Helwick (@s_helwick) August 27, 2023
THE USUAL (KINDA)
Well, we've got our first true dose of Caleb Williams magic. Miscommunication on snap, ball gets loose, Williams picks it up and in one motion fires a strike to a wide-open Tahj Washington for a 76-yard touchdown, his second TD pass of the day. It's 14-7 USC over SJ State in Q2
— Luca Evans (@bylucaevans) August 27, 2023
WELCOME TO THE SHOW
CALEB WILLIAMS IS A SUPERSTAR!!! pic.twitter.com/CoRoVx1WZ9
— JPAFootball (@jasrifootball) August 27, 2023
MORE ROTATIONS
Emmanuel Pregnon and Jarrett Kingston back in at the guard spots. Every drive seems to have a different offensive line.
— Ryan Abraham (@insidetroy) August 27, 2023
POISE
Zach Branch is a true freshman. Zach Branch does not *look* like a true freshman. He is ridiculously assured out there.
— RichSC (@OriginalRichSC) August 27, 2023
MORE SCORES
Austin Jones runs in a USC touchdowns. Trojans take 21-7 lead over San Jose State with 3:31 to go in Q2 pic.twitter.com/fWftDPrXVn
— Luca Evans (@bylucaevans) August 27, 2023
WAKE-UP CALL
The OL isn’t clicking in this game. Guys knifing through, guys getting pass pressure even when they’re rushing three…I doubt Josh Henson is thrilled with this.
— RichSC (@OriginalRichSC) August 27, 2023
MORE MIXING AND MATCHING
#USC OL this drive: Monheim, Quinones, Dedich, Kingston and Murphy
— Antonio Morales (@AntonioCMorales) August 27, 2023
FILE THIS ONE AWAY FOR FUTURE REFERENCE
You see a concerted effort by Lincoln Riley to keep Caleb more in the pocket. I still think you have to use read-option action on any 4th-down play where a conversion is a must; it opens up the whole O. Don’t turn Caleb into too much of a pocket guy.
— RichSC (@OriginalRichSC) August 27, 2023
LET'S SEE WHERE WE ARE 4 WEEKS FROM NOW
caleb williams lambasting his OL in the season-opener against *san jose state* is crazy. USC will obviously win this game but man, this team looks all out of place
— carlos: a pac-12 mourner (@equitybruin) August 27, 2023
SETTLING IN
MarShawn Lloyd with a crucial 16-yard gain on a 3rd-and-11 handoff.
— Antonio Morales (@AntonioCMorales) August 27, 2023
ZACH ATTACK!
Zach Branch is a cheat code. My god. #USC
— Alicia de Artola Castillo (@PenguinOfTroy) August 27, 2023
ELECTRIC
Zachariah Branch, first of many TDs. pic.twitter.com/BQms7lxB97
— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) August 27, 2023
GOOD POINT
Zach Branch is special…and I believe his brother Zion has the potential to be equally special on the defensive side of the ball. In fact…I’d get him started on that journey now, Mr. Grinch. He wears #8, if you’ve forgotten.
— RichSC (@OriginalRichSC) August 27, 2023
