USC Trojans

One fantastic upset, one cool, calm quarterback performance and three defensive standouts highlight this week’s helmet stickers.

1. Jordan Webb, QB, Colorado: Welcome to the helmet stickers, Buffs. No team has received more grief in the past few weeks than the Buffs. But Webb threw for 345 yards on 29-of-42 passing with two touchdowns and an interception. He also scored the game-winning touchdown -- a 4-yard run with nine seconds left to shock the Washington State Cougars 35-34 and give Colorado its first victory of the season.
2. Taylor Kelly, QB, Arizona State: A strong, efficient performance from ASU’s first-year starter in guiding the Sun Devils to a 37-7 win over Utah. Kelly finished 19-of-26 for a career-high 326 yards and three touchdown passes. He also rushed seven times for 19 yards.
3. Oregon's defense: What the heck. Give 'em all a helmet sticker. The unit forced five turnovers and shut out an Arizona team that was averaging 46.3 points and more than 600 yards per game. Michael Clay led all Ducks with 13 tackles -- including two for loss -- and he also forced a fumble.
4. Scott Crichton, DE, Oregon State: This was another game in which offensive players could have been awarded helmet stickers (Markus Wheaton, Brandin Cooks, Sean Mannion), but it was the defense that was so impressive in shutting down UCLA running back Johnathan Franklin, the nation’s leading rushing heading into this game. Crichton had six tackles, including three tackles for a loss, and he recorded both of Oregon State’s sacks.
5. Morgan Breslin, DE, USC: Breslin tallied six tackles, 4.5 for loss and three sacks in USC’s 27-9 victory over Cal. Breslin became the first Trojan to get three sacks in one game since Rey Maualuga did it in the 2008 Rose Bowl against Illinois.

Saturday created another series of ripples and developments in the bowl projections, starting with Oregon State’s ascension. These are obviously works of fiction -- especially in September -- but the temptation is there to put the Beavers in the Alamo Bowl. Obviously, if they can beat Stanford, it’s a whole new ballgame, but if they fall to the Cardinal and Ducks, the question becomes: Would the Alamo take a two-loss OSU team versus -- let’s say -- a three-loss USC team (which by the way, would be the easiest way for the Ducks to get to the national championship game)? For now, we’re sticking USC in the first of the non-BCS bowls. But the soon-to-be-ranked Beavers are trending up at a fantastic pace.

Interesting call at the bottom of the projections as well. Utah showed last night that its problems aren't just on offense as the Sun Devils ripped the defense apart. So Washington gets the nod -- for now. The Huskies have five consecutive games against either a ranked team or a team that was ranked before closing out the year with the four teams occupying the bottom of the Pac-12 power rankings. We think there are six wins out there for Washington. We’re not so sure about Utah.

BCS National Championship Game, Jan. 7: Oregon vs. BCS 1 or 2
Rose Bowl Game, Jan. 1: Stanford vs. Big Ten
Valero Alamo, Dec. 29: USC vs. Big 12
Bridgepoint Education Holiday, Dec. 27: Oregon State vs. Big 12
Hyundai Sun, Dec. 31: UCLA vs. ACC
MAACO Bowl Las Vegas, Dec. 22: Arizona State vs. MWC
Kraft Fight Hunger, Dec. 29: Arizona vs. Navy
Gildan New Mexico, Dec. 15: Washington vs. MWC

LOS ANGELES -- No. 13 USC Trojans beat California Golden Bears for the ninth straight season on Saturday at the Coliseum, 27-9. Here are news, notes and quotes from the game that won't make it into our other coverage from the day:

Seven sacks

Coach Lane Kiffin likes to begin his postgame news conferences after USC wins by telling reporters what the "story of the day" was.

Sometimes, he's right on target; sometimes he's not. He was exactly right with his opening comments this time.

"I think that the game was won at the line of scrimmage," Kiffin said, pointing out that his Trojans had seven sacks to Cal's zero.

That really was the single biggest reason USC beat Cal on Saturday, the single biggest reason the Trojans were able to put last week's upset loss at Stanford behind them despite a decidedly less-than-perfect performance on offense and in the secondary.

"They came around today," defensive line coach Ed Orgeron said of his unit.

USC's linebackers have been the defense's strength over the last season-plus, and it's not necessarily any different now, but the Trojans' linemen really made the three 'backers look good Saturday.

"It's great when the linemen are rotating, staying fresh and keeping their linemen off us linebackers," said middle linebacker Lamar Dawson. "Then we can make plays."

Weakside linebacker Hayes Pullard said the linemen forced Cal quarterback Zach Maynard into some unusual mistakes.

Defensive end Wes Horton, who played at full strength for the first time this season, said the Trojans noticed in meetings this week that Cal's offensive linemen wouldn't be difficult to beat if schemed correctly.

"They were OK," Horton said. "It was a matter of creating the right moves to beat them."

Horton and fellow end Morgan Breslin certainly found them -- Breslin was credited with three sacks, the most by a USC defender since Rey Maualuga's 2008 Rose Bowl performance against Illinois.

(Read full post)

LOS ANGELES -- Here's USC coach Lane Kiffin's postgame news conference following the Trojans' 27-9 win over Cal on Saturday at the Coliseum.

He said the game was won at the line of scrimmage but admitted the way USC won wasn't as fun as the 50-0 blowout of UCLA last season. He also had some interesting comments about the return of kicker Andre Heidari and center Khaled Holmes.

See the video here:

It was over when: T.J. McDonald intercepted a Zach Maynard pass at the Trojans' 7-yard line late in the third quarter. The score was 17-9 and California was driving, but McDonald stepped right in front of the Maynard pass and thwarted the Golden Bears' scoring opportunity. The Trojans promptly drove the length of the field for a field goal to go up 20-9.

Game ball goes to: Khaled Holmes. The USC center didn’t play last week due to an ankle injury, and the Trojans' offense struggled in his absence. In this game, USC was without starting left guard Marcus Martin and the left tackle spot had a rotation between Aundrey Walker and Max Tuerk, but with Holmes back in the lineup the offense settled down and put up 488 total yards, including 296 on the ground. Silas Redd had 21 carries for 158 yards and a touchdown, while Curtis McNeal gained 115 yards on 10 carries.

Stat of the game: The Cal offense was able to gain only 250 yards of total offense in the game -- 77 rushing and 173 passing. For an offense that had seen so many explosive plays last week against Ohio State, the Bears' longest play from scrimmage today was 17 yards, and they averaged 2.1 yards per rush.

What we learned from USC: The Trojans responded from a tough loss on the road to Stanford in proper fashion with a solid victory at home. Despite the lofty offensive numbers, the Trojans could have scored a lot more, as they had three turnovers. But it’s a win USC will take as it moves to the bye week.

What we learned from Cal: The Bears were hoping to build upon the momentum of a strong out-of-conference showing last week but were reminded of the reality of where things stand in the Pac-12. This was their ninth straight loss to USC as they were able to muster only three field goals. Of course, that could be considered a positive for the Bears after struggling so much in the kicking game against Ohio State.

LOS ANGELES -- The No. 13 USC Trojans rebounded after an upset loss to Stanford last week and topped Cal at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum on Saturday, 27-9. Here's a report card for the Trojans.

PASSING ATTACK
The numbers don't reflect it, but Matt Barkley actually had an all right game against the Bears. His first-quarter interception on an end-zone fade to Robert Woods didn't look like it was his fault, and his other pick came on an unlucky tipped pass. Still, his Heisman campaign is going to take another hit after this one.

RUSHING ATTACK
Hey, look what happens when you commit to running the ball! Lane Kiffin consistently called run plays on Saturday, and Silas Redd and Curtis McNeal each rewarded his decisions, combining to flirt with 300 yards. This needs to happen every week going forward.

IN THE TRENCHES
USC's defensive line is quickly becoming a strength. The Trojans' offensive line still needs a lot of work, but it's definitely improving. Having center Khaled Holmes on the field -- even though he clearly wasn't 100 percent -- helped a lot, and defensive end Morgan Breslin is already one of USC's best players.

DEFENSE
Any time you can hold your opponent out of the end zone for 60 minutes, it's a good game. But, jeez, Cal quarterback Zach Maynard played pretty poorly in this one. There were several occasions when USC's defense left Bears receivers wide open and Maynard failed to capitalize.

SPECIAL TEAMS
Not punter Kyle Negrete's best day, and USC's kick coverage unit continued to commit penalties at a prolific rate. How good is Andre Heidari? He missed the past two games because of an injury but looked as good as always on his two converted field goal attempts Saturday.

COACHING
Could the Trojans have won this game without the services of Holmes? It seems as if they could've, and it might have been a good idea to hold Holmes out for this one to ensure his health for the rest of this year. Kiffin does deserve some credit for preventing a drop-off after last week's upset.

Stat of half: 293 total yards
The Trojans have been fairly balanced with 158 rushing yards and 135 passing yards and actually had passed the 300-yard mark of total offense for the half before Matt Barkley stumbled for a loss on USC's final play of the half. To contrast, California has 98 yards of total offense.

Player of the half: USC's defensive line
The Trojans have been able to put good pressure on Cal quarterback Zach Maynard and have three sacks by three different players (Wes Horton, Morgan Breslin and George Uko).

What’s working: USC run game
Curtis McNeal has gone over the 100-yard mark for the fifth time in his career (he has six carries for 113 yards) and Silas Redd added a 33-yard touchdown run.

What’s not working: Passing game precision
It’s not like the Trojans are having a bad day throwing the football, but it could be a lot better. Barkley has thrown two interceptions and both Robert Woods and Marqise Lee have dropped catchable long passes -- the one to Lee would have likely gone for a touchdown.

Welcome to Week 4! Join our ESPN.com college football experts as they get you ready for GameDay.

Contribute your thoughts and questions beginning at 10 a.m. ET.

Now's the time to hit us up with your best tailgate photos. Send your pictures @ESPNCFB or upload them through the chat. We can't wait to see what you're cooking up today. Here are our previous tailgates.

California's visit to USC on Saturday features two quarterbacks looking for redemption. Bears QB Zach Maynard wants to redeem himself for a three-interception performance in last season's 30-9 loss to the Trojans.

And Trojans QB Matt Barkley? He's looking to redeem a more recent performance.

You might have heard: The then-No. 2 Trojans went down 21-14 at Stanford last weekend, with Barkley throwing a pair of interceptions and no touchdown passes while getting sacked four times.

You could make a case it was the worst performance of his career, but he had a lot of help. Or, rather, little of it. His offensive line was overwhelmed by the Cardinal, so he had no support from a running game and little time to pass. A Stanford defender seemed to be in his face just about every play.

"No matter how great the quarterback is, that will affect you," USC coach Lane Kiffin said.

You also might be able to at least partially excuse Maynard for his woeful performance against the Trojans last year. Cal rushed for just 35 yards -- 1.3 yards per carry -- amid a flurry of five total turnovers.

And Maynard is not the same QB he was last year. In fact, at sixth in the Pac-12, he ranks just one spot behind Barkley in pass efficiency at present.

"I think he feels the speed of the game a little bit better," Cal coach Jeff Tedford said when asked about how Maynard is different this season. "I think he manages the game better."

USC has won eight straight against California, the Bears last winning a triple-overtime classic in 2003. They haven't won in Los Angeles since 2000. And just about all of those games were much like last year: Blowouts.

There is pressure on Tedford as the Bears try to avoid a 1-3 start. Many fans in Berkeley are frustrated with the recent mediocre turn of the program. And there is pressure on Kiffin as he tries to right a team that a week ago was viewed as the top potential foil for the SEC to win a seventh consecutive national title. Kiffin showed his stress this week when he stomped out of a post-practice news conference, apparently peeved over an innocuous question.

Health -- the improving variety -- is notable for each. It appears the Trojans will get back starting center Khaled Holmes, who sat out the Stanford loss with an ankle injury. Cal certainly should benefit from the potential return of right tackle Matt Summers-Gavin, tight end Richard Rodgers and defensive end Mustafa Jalil.

While Cal's recent history in this rivalry, particularly on the road, isn't good, the Trojans shouldn't feel safe by any stretch. The Bears showed they can go toe-to-toe on the road with an A-list foe at Ohio State last weekend, a game that included a breakout performance from speedy RB Brendan Bigelow. Further, the Bears have a tough front seven, particularly if Jalil is indeed ready to go.

If it's close, it will be interesting to see how things might stack up at kicker. USC's Alex Wood, the Trojans' backup, has yet to be allowed to attempt a field goal, while Cal's Vincenzo D'Amato missed all three of his attempts last weekend.

The USC Trojans head home this week to face a Cal team that almost pulled off an upset against Ohio State. Saddled with their first loss of the season, the Trojans look to bounce back against the Bears. USC safety T.J. McDonald took some time to chat with the Pac-12 blog for our Friday Q&A. (Warning: There are zero questions about Matt Barkley and the Heisman.)

I suppose the first and most obvious question is how has the team responded this week?

T.J. McDonald: We're responding well. We're anxious to get this taste out of our mouth, and the only way we can do that is to have good practices and play Trojan football -- the only way we know how. We have to give our best effort every play and make sure after this next game we have a better taste in our mouth.

Every time you and I have talked, you've always talked about "bigger goals" for this team. Are those goals still within reach?

TM: Definitely they are still within reach. We still have a lot that we can accomplish. We still have more to accomplish than we've had here in our recent history and the last few years. I told the defense, there are only two types of football players: those who have been beat and those who will be beaten. We're not going to win every game this year. The only thing we can do is respond and still try to accomplish all those goals we set out to accomplish before the season.

Assess your own performance against Stanford?

TM: I felt like I played OK. I played pretty good. But there are a lot of things I can do to get better. I'm never going to be satisfied, no matter what. Even if I had a four-interception game, I still would look for ways to get better. When you lose a game, you can never say you played good. I know that I gave my best effort, but there is still stuff I want to get better at and there were plays left out there I need to make.

After two weeks on the road, how good is it to be back at home?

TM: It feels good to be back on our field and back in front of our home crowd, and hopefully we go out there and play Trojan football the way we know how and get our fans rocking with us again. We've got a lot of support from our fans. That's always what you want, and you want to put on a good show for them.

You guys have a fairly veteran defense, but you're still the leader. How important was it for you to set an example this week and keep the guys on track?

TM: Very important. We just have to make sure that all the young guys know what to do. All of this stuff happened so fast to us. As far as getting all of the hype and being rated so high -- it all happened so fast. We weren't even in the AP polls before because of probation. Just because of one bad game, not a lot of guys know how to respond. The only way I know how is to come back and go even harder for the rest of the season and make sure that we know what it feels like and to never feel like that again. The only way to do that is to go out, play our butts off, and make sure that we fly to the ball and we take everything from the practice field and transfer it to the field on Saturday.

Cal was a few missed field goals away from beating Ohio State. What did you learn about them from watching the Ohio State game?

TM: They have a lot of fight in them. It was good for them because for them to come out to the Horseshoe and respond against a team like Ohio State and that atmosphere, we know they aren't going to be intimidated coming to the Coliseum. We just got to make sure we play our best game. As long as we are on our A-game -- and like I said before -- we transfer everything from the film room and everything from the practice field to the field on Saturday and play Trojan football, we'll be OK.