Does the 2022 USC football team have flaws? Of course it does. We can see that the rush defense still isn’t where it needs to be. We can see that when an opponent — even one as mediocre as Arizona State — doesn’t throw four interceptions and is able to protect the ball reasonably well, USC will give up more points and will struggle to firmly put a team away as soon as possible. ASU was still in the game when the fourth quarter began, though USC did have a two-score lead instead of the uneasy four-point edge it had at halftime.
There are some problems with USC through five games, but the biggest problem is not with the Trojans themselves. If we’re going to sit here and identify this team’s biggest overall concern, it is something the Trojans can’t control … but it has to be said, so that the players in particular are aware of reality:
USC AIN’T PLAYED NOBODY, PAWL
“They ain’t played nobody.”
The familiar mantra among college football fans and sports-talk radio callers applies to USC. This isn’t a criticism of the Trojans, but it sure is a criticism of their resume through five games. Let’s be honest about this so that we can acknowledge how much the Trojans have accomplished, and honestly assess how well they have played.
RICE MIGHT BE BETTER THAN STANFORD
Rice defeated UAB in Week 5. The Owls are 3-2 and have a decent (not great) team. Rice is better than Stanford. Rice might be better than any non-Oregon State team USC has faced, at least if we’re going to compare the Owls to the Jake Haener-less version of Fresno State.
STANFORD IS AWFUL
Colorado is the only team worse than Stanford in the Pac-12. Arizona State, whom USC defeated, looked like a semi-decent team in the first half, clearly better than the Cardinal.
Stanford is atrocious. USC can only get so much credit for beating the Cardinal by fewer than 15 points….
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