ESPN College Football

The last two Saturdays, USC has shown a propensity for digging itself a hole and coming back. There's a good side and bad side to that:

The Good: USC has been tested twice on the road and made the necessary adjustments to come up with big wins. Offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin and quarterbacks coach Steve Sarkisian have been tested twice, and in both cases not only made adjustments but dominated the second half. (The Trojans outscored Oregon and Arizona State a combined 70-7 in the third and fourth quarters.) Let's not forget about coach Pete Carroll and the way his defense played in the second half against the Ducks and Sun Devils.

The Bad: The concern is that the Trojans don't worry about the score in the first or second quarters because they know they can win games in the second half. Measure the urgency and emotion the Trojans have played with in the second half compared to the first half, and it's like watching two different teams. There's no reason the last two games had to be as close as they were.

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider