Tag: Drake London

Mock Draft Watch: PFF predicts WR in round 1

Mock Draft Watch: PFF predicts WR in round 1 to the Cleveland #Browns. Which one and who else was available? @joshkeatley16 breaks it down:

We have arrived to week nine of the NFL season and the Cleveland Browns currently sit at dead last in the AFC North, yeah that’s right the team we once considered Super Bowl contenders is firmly sitting in last place behind the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals.

Not only is Cleveland currently sitting in last place, but they are also heading into this week’s game against Cincinnati as the underdogs. Oh and the whole Odell Beckham Jr. drama has added some much-needed (sarcasm) tension to this team as well, but that’s not for me to worry about as my focus is on the upcoming 2022 NFL Draft and evaluating what the good folks at Pro Football Focus have to say about the Cleveland Browns.

USC WR Drake London carted off field after leg injury

USC wide receiver Drake London was carted off the field Saturday night after suffering a leg injury

One of the top wide receiver prospects in college football appears to have suffered a significant injury.

USC’s Drake London went down awkwardly and the end of yet another touchdown reception Saturday night against Arizona, and had to be carted off the field.

London has been dominant so far this season, putting up huge numbers for the Trojans and proving himself to be among the nation’s most talented pass-catchers. He’s projected to be one of the first pass-catchers off the board in the 2022 NFL draft.

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Notre Dame earns fourth-straight win over USC: Five Takeaways

What is your biggest takeaway from Saturday night’s win over USC?

Notre Dame and USC rekindled their relationship Saturday night as the teams met in South Bend after having to skip the annual series last fall due to the pandemic.

Notre Dame drove the length of the field on their opening drive before missing a field goal, forced a three-and-out of USC, and then drove down the field for a score.

The Irish were in control despite letting things get a bit more interesting than they’d have liked in the fourth quarter.  Here are my five instant takeaways from the — win that moves Notre Dame to 6-1.

Notre Dame vs. USC: Fourth-Quarter Analysis

Little has changed with this rivalry, and that’s a good thing.

Rivalries are when you really find out about your team. This surely was on the minds of both Notre Dame and USC ahead of Saturday’s game at Notre Dame Stadium. In the end, we saw both teams for what they were. It was Notre Dame walking out with a 31-16 victory.

The Trojans (3-4) finished what they started late in the third quarter when Keontay Ingram scored his team’s first touchdown on the second play of the quarter. There was little reason for concern at that point as the Irish (6-1) still had a two-score lead. When they marched into Trojans territory, a response to that touchdown appeared to be in order. Instead, Chris Steele took away a pass that would have set the Irish up in the red zone.

The Trojans immediately took advantage of the turnover when Kedon Slovis completed a 44-yard pass to Drake London on the first play of the possession. There was little trouble reaching the end zone after that, which happened on a 3-yard run from Darwin Barlow. However, Parker Lewis missed the extra-point kick. That could have made things interesting but for what followed.

Rather than stay disciplined, the Trojans’ defense committed a pair of 15-yard penalties. It was a particularly bad time to take them because Kyren Williams continued to add to what already had been a great night for him. Ironically, it was Tyler Buchner who finished the drive off with a 3-yard touchdown run. So much for a late surprise from the visitors.

All that was left for the defense was for Isaiah Foskey to force a fumble on a sack of Slovis on fourth down and for TaRiq Bracy to recover it. The Irish were deep in Trojans’ territory after that, but they didn’t need to score again. Just take the win and look forward to North Carolina.

Notre Dame vs. USC: Second-Quarter Analysis

Things still are going all right, at least to a point.

Much like the first quarter, the second quarter was good for Notre Dame but also could have gone a lot better. There should be some greater distance between it and USC, but that’s not how it turned out. Still, the Irish gladly will take a 17-3 lead into halftime.

On the first play of the quarter, Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa tipped a Kedon Slovis pass that ended up in the hands of Bo Bauer, who returned it 79 yards to the Trojans’ 4-yard line. A touchdown appeared to be in the books, but Jack Coan was unable to follow two short runs by the Irish with a complete pass, even as he had all the time in the world to throw and run the ball himself. Although Jonathan Doerer salvaged the drive with a 21-yard field goal, the crowd at Notre Dame Stadium voiced that it was not pleased with what it had just witnessed.

With Kyle Hamilton questionable to return after suffering a knee injury late in the first quarter, the Trojans looked to take advantage of his absence. Slovis continually called Drake London’s number, and the Trojans were able to get into the red zone with relative ease, though they were aided by a questionable roughing the passer call against JD Bertrand. With a touchdown in sight, Slovis instead threw a couple of incomplete passes. Parker Lewis kicked a 33-yard field goal to get the Trojans on the board.

Coan began the Irish’s next drive with a 29-yard pass to Lorenzo Styles, putting the offense in Trojans territory right off the bat. Another completion to Styles, a 12-yard run by Kyren Williams, and 16-yard pass to Michael Mayer gave the Irish a first-and-goal in only three minutes of possession. Williams scored on a 5-yard run two plays later, though it took a lengthy replay review to confirm it.

The Trojans moved the ball nicely again on their final drive of the first half. They even converted on fourth down not far across midfield. However, they didn’t have any timeouts by then, and the clock ran out before they were able to spike the ball in field-goal range. Hey, the Irish will take whatever gifts they can get.

Watch: Notre Dame linebacker Bo Bauer picks off USC’s Slovis

The first big defensive play goes the Irish’s way

The Trojans finally got some momentum on offense, mainly looking towards their star receiver Drake London’s way. A drive that started on their own 25-yard line saw them go down the field and end the first quarter at the Irish 23-yard line.

The first play of the second quarter would prove to be a big one for the Irish as USC quarterback Kedon Slovis was pressured by defensive end Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa and made him force a throw. Slovis’ mistake was the Irish’s gain as linebacker Bo Bauer picked off the pass and rumbled 79-yards down the field to the Notre Dame 12 yard line. Check out the pick below.

Notre Dame vs. USC: First-Quarter Analysis

This quarter was a mixed bag, but the Irish have the lead.

As is the case with nearly every rivalry game, there will be moments of frustration. Notre Dame certainly experienced some of that in the first quarter of its game against USC. Still, the Irish should be pleased with where they are at. A 7-0 lead through 15 minutes will do that.

The frustration came on the game’s opening drive. Jack Coan smoothly executed a game plan that got the Irish into the Trojans’ red zone. A drop by Kevin Austin on third-and-4 soon after derailed some of the excitement. All excitement went away when Jonathan Doerer kicked a 36-yard field-goal attempt wide right.

The Trojans were unable to capitalize on this break when they went three-and-out on a drive that began when Jayson Ademilola sacked Kedon Slovis on the first play. The Irish got the ball back and had an even better drive than the one before. A series of short gains were made possible by runs from Kyren Williams and a combination of passes from Coan and Tyler Buchner. The drive ended with the game’s first score when Coan threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Avery Davis.

The Trojans took the ball back looking like a much different offense. They went to their bread-and-butter by finding star receiver Drake London on back-to-back first-down plays. The second such play came at a hefty cost to the Irish as Kyle Hamilton went down awkwardly on his knee trying to defend the pass. He didn’t put any weight on his leg as he was helped off the field, so we’ll have to see what happens with him for this game and beyond.

Know your foe, USC: Five Trojans who could give Notre Dame problems

The Irish will have to be aware of these 5 Trojans

As we all know, wide receiver Drake London has been getting a lot of publicity recently and rightfully so. He’s fourth in the NCAA in yardage, and has four straight 100-yard games. London is an absolute monster but the Trojan’s aren’t a one-trick pony. The have lot of talent and these are five other USC players who could give Notre Dame problems Saturday night.

Tale of the Tape: Leading Receivers – Michael Mayer vs. Drake London

Don’t even think about the Irish having the upper hand here.

The leading receiver battle between Notre Dame and USC couldn’t be more lopsided. It didn’t help that Michael Mayer was held out with an injury in the last game at Virginia Tech. Even if that didn’t happen, Mayer would have done little to close the gap in this matchup. Part of it comes from him being a tight end, but mostly, it simply comes from not having the talent of a receiver that NFL scouts are watching heavily.

The Trojans’ receiver in question is Drake London, and he’s blowing away everyone in college football. As Michael Chen wrote, he’s second in the country in receiving yards a game and fourth in total receiving yards. Perhaps the best thing to watch for in terms of competitiveness will be if London and fellow NFL prospect Kyle Hamilton go toe-to-toe on a 50-50 pass from Kedon Slovis. That would be a play everyone would want to see.

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Can Notre Dame stop USC star WR Drake London?

The Irish need to key in on London this weekend

So far this year USC wide receiver Drake London has torn apart every defense he’s faced except on, Stanfords. On the year, London has 64 receptions for 832-yards and 5 scores. The yardage puts the Trojan wide receiver 4th in the country and second in the country in catches.

He’s been awesome over his last four games, each of them going over 130-yards, averaging a score each of them. How do you stop London? Well, you have to go back and look at what the Cardinal did to him, specially cornerback Kyu Blu Kelly.

After holding London to a season low 4 catches and 68-yards, he mentioned that his “mentality going in, it was gonna be a battle…. I had to go in with confidence, knowing that I could press or I could play off,” said Kelly.

That’s the key right there, will be mixing coverages, press and off, to confuse London as much as possible. Having a safety over the top, most likely Kyle Hamilton to help whichever cornerback, Cam Hart or Clarence Lewis ends up on him.

Another key will be to get pressure on Kedon Slovis and not give him time to make the proper reads. Isaiah Foskey has to continue to be a monster while Jayson Ademilola also has to pressure Slovis.

It will not be an easy task to contain London, but the Blu print is there. With a week off prior to facing the Trojans, Brian Kelly and defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman should have a good game plan to stop the star receiver. B