It is striking how many parallels exist among USC’s first three games of the 2022 season. Yes, this Fresno State game took a sharp turn away from the Rice and Stanford games in a few key respects. First, the left tackle position is now noticeably weaker and more uncertain, though Courtland Ford is likely to play against Oregon State and hopefully shore up that position. The big concern: If he gets hurt, Bobby Haskins will not be 100 percent. He is banged up, and USC needs Ford to carry a large workload in Corvallis this coming Saturday.
Another dimension of the Fresno State game which was different from previous weeks: The opposing team’s star quarterback got hurt early in the third quarter. We’re talking, of course, about Jake Haener, who left with an injury shortly after halftime. For these reasons, grades are not as easy to arrive at.
We will tell you this much: USC’s defense hasn’t fixed some central flaws, but it keeps making timely plays in the red zone. If it can do those things one more time versus Oregon State, grades will be elevated for Week 4 … but we need to see it.
Here’s our report card for Fresno State: