USC tries to hand Buffaloes first loss
The temptation at halftime of USC’s Pac-12 South showdown Saturday night against Colorado was to see all the fireworks that lit up the Coliseum scoreboard in the second quarter en route to a 21-7 lead and think the Trojans’ offense had turned a corner during the bye week, becoming a disciplined and balanced unit capable of clockwork execution.
As thrilling as it was to watch JT Daniels toss three touchdown passes — one to Tyler Vaughns and two to Michael Pittman Jr. — on the way to a ridiculous 255 firsthalf passing yards, USC’s performance was just as uneven as it had been the first five games of the season. But the Trojans simply have better players than the Buffaloes, which should come as no surprise given USC’s 12-0 all-time record against Colorado.
USC did not score on its first five possessions of the game. Daniels’ first pass was an interception. Clay Helton talks often about trying to establish offensive balance, but, after 30 minutes, the Trojans had zero yards rushing. There was the requisite unsportsmanlike conduct penalty to stall a potential
The game Saturday night did not end until after this edition’s deadline. For the result and full analysis, visit latimes.com/sports.
[USC, drive — this one by left tackle Austin Jackson — and a randomly placed 11-yard loss by Stephen Carr.
And then it was almost as if Helton and Daniels said to heck with trying to force some methodical drive that checks off all the boxes in the coaching manual. USC has been at its best this season — particularly in the second half against Washington State and during Saturday’s second quarter — when it forces the opposing secondary to stop Daniels and his talented crew of receivers.
Early in the second quarter, Colorado took a 7-0 lead on a 49-yard touchdown run by star wide receiver Laviska Shenault, who ran the ball out of the “Wildcat” formation without being touched by a USC defender.
The Trojans answered when Daniels found Vaughns for a 28-yard pass and then, on the next play, pump-faked and threw to a wide-open Vaughns down the right sideline for a 27yard touchdown.
Daniels had been working on perfecting his deep ball during the week, hoping to hit his receivers more in stride. Daniels saw Pittman with one-on-one coverage and let it fly, but he underthrew the pass. Pittman read the ball in the air, slowed up to catch it, and then breezed past a clumsy Colorado defender on the way to a 65-yard touchdown pass and a 14-7 lead.
USC’s defense, which dominated Colorado’s highpowered offense other than Shenault’s long run, got the ball right back for the offense. This time, Daniels found Pittman for a 39-yard strike down the left sideline — a connection that once again required Pittman to make a professional adjustment with the ball in the air. Two plays later, Daniels squeezed one into Pittman on a slant route for a nineyard touchdown.
The Trojans were one half from taking control of the Pac-12 South race from the 21st-ranked Buffaloes, and the Coliseum crowd serenaded them with hearty applause as they left for the locker room.