Tag: usc san jose state

Youth movement: USC played a lot of true freshmen against San Jose State

USC played a lot of true freshmen. It’s a good move for the future, but also a sign of the need to get guys some reps.

The new faces on the USC Trojans’ 2023 roster sure didn’t waste any time waiting to make an impact. One of the true freshmen expected to play a major role was five-star wide receiver Zachariah Branch. He did that and much more with a receiving score and a kickoff returned for a touchdown.

With the game out of reach by the latter stages of the third quarter, Lincoln Riley was able to utilize some freshmen and get a look at some different players. This is a huge plus for this team. The Trojans entered what will eventually become a grueling season in hopes of a Pac-12 title.

Here are the USC freshmen who played against San Jose State, courtesy of Chris Trevino of 247Sports:

What Lincoln Riley and USC players said after sloppy Week Zero win

Get quotes from all the main players, plus head coach Lincoln Riley, after #USC won but played far short of its best.

USC shouldn’t panic after its first game of the season, but there is plenty for the Trojans to be concerned about after a not-that-good defensive performance against San Jose State.

Alex Grinch did not make the grade … again.

We noted that “No one could honestly say that Alex Grinch coached a good game in his 2023 season debut as USC defensive coordinator. Blitzes on 3rd and 22 and in other specific situations were baffling, given that USC didn’t need to sack the quarterback; it just needed to get off the field.

“When USC’s defense has an opponent in third and long, it just needs to get off the field. Get the stop. Give the ball back to Caleb Williams and Zachariah Branch, and get on with the game. That’s it. It doesn’t have to be fancy or special.”

Let’s see what Lincoln Riley and various USC players said after a season opener in which a lot of rough edges emerged for the Trojans:

USC – San Jose State photo gallery

College football is back! Game day returned to the L.A. Coliseum! Take in the pictures from a beautiful late-summer evening. #USC

The USC Trojans did everything they were expected to in the Week Zero game against the San Jose Spartans.

Caleb Williams dazzled and looked every bit like a realistic favorite to win the Heisman Trophy again. Dorian Singer scored a touchdown, and Austin Jones ran for two scores. However, this was the Zachariah Branch show. The true freshman electrified the Coliseum en route to a 56-28 victory on Saturday.

Trojans football (and college football, for that matter) returned, and what a sight it is.

Here are some of the best photos from the Trojans’ opening weekend victory over San Jose State.

They say there are no preseason games in college football, but 2023 USC proves otherwise

#USC coaches want to get a lot of player evaluations on film. These are player development games, not season-defining battles. Those will come later.

There are technically no preseason games in college football. Games being played in Week Zero count in the regular season standings. They aren’t exhibitions. Yet, in a larger and more expansive sense, the 2023 USC Trojans are in a position to treat the first few games of their season as preseason games in a few obvious ways.

Preseason games in the NFL are all about giving many players a chance to play so that the starters and the composition of the roster can be more fully established. The starters don’t need to play a lot; the focus shifts primarily to backups and to position battles for higher spots on the depth chart (and to simply make the 53-man roster).

We can look at USC’s season opener against San Jose State and see that the Trojan coaching staff was treating this game as a preseason game. Plenty of coaches will roll out a starting lineup for the season opener, making occasional substitutions but wanting to establish continuity and a clear rhythm among 11-man units. This was not that. This was something quite different for USC.

The purpose of all these shifting and shuffled lineup combinations was to get more players a chance to play, and to give the coaches more film on more players. The staff will have a lot to evaluate, which can then translate to the practice field. USC wanted to get a lot of evaluations on a lot of players, instead of giving a smaller number of players extra experience and a bigger workload.

Let’s go into the details of how fully USC treated San Jose State as a preseason game:

USC coaching staff made a clear choice to play more players instead of sticking with one set lineup

USC’s coaches made a lot of mistakes against San Jose State, but this was their best decision by far, and it’s an important piece of context.

USC had a lot of rough and ragged edges in its season-opening win over San Jose State. Yes, Alex Grinch’s performance as defensive coordinator rates as significant cause for concern. Even though it’s only the first game of the season, Grinch made some plainly bad decisions which can’t be accepted or tolerated. We can put that out there and acknowledge it without anyone thinking we’re trying to ignore or minimize that particular problem. It’s a genuine concern and we’re not afraid to say that directly.

However, the main reason no one should hit the panic button just yet is that the coaches — for all the mistakes they made — nailed one part of their responsibilities for this game: They played a lot of different players. This is the whole point of scheduling a cupcake game for the season opener. Against LSU or Florida State or Alabama, USC would need to find its best players and stick with them. Against San Jose State, with Nevada next week, USC did not have to worry about overextending its starters, who will need to be kept fresh over the course of the full season. This was indeed a game in which to give everyone meaningful snaps. This meant USC won by 28 points instead of 42 or 49.

That’s fine. That’s perfectly fine. It’s not USC’s job to cover the Vegas point spread. It’s the Trojans’ job to develop players so that they’re ready and healthy for the biggest games of the season. Playing more players achieved that goal, and it’s something to keep in mind as we go forward.

Here are some of the notes from commentators and reporters during the game, which underscore just how many lineup combinations the USC coaches used:

USC offense fills the highlight reel but also needs better line play

Caleb Williams and Zachariah Branch did their thing, but the offensive line and running game need work.

The USC Trojans scored 56 points in their season opener against the San Jose State Spartans on Saturday night, so they weren’t terrible. However, they certainly left a lot of room for improvement.

Of particular concern is the offensive line. It did not physically overwhelm San Jose State’s defensive front. The Trojans did not sledgehammer the ball very much. The main mode of transportation for the USC offense was Caleb Williams throwing the ball, or his receivers catching the ball, or Zachariah Branch running after catching the ball in open space.

The fact that Zachariah Branch made so many electric plays, however, will give USC the knowledge that it has a solid talent base which can be improved and used more fully over the course of the season. There is a lot of room for growth on this side of the ball. The concern, though, is that if the offensive line can’t get significantly stronger and more powerful, Caleb Williams will be running for his life and might have to do too many things by himself.

Let’s look at the highlights and lowlights of USC’s offense in the first game of the new season:

Alex Grinch did not reduce the fears of USC fans in Trojans’ season opener

Grinch made some basic coaching mistakes, though he might have felt he could get away with them vs San Jose State.

No one could honestly say that Alex Grinch coached a good game in his 2023 season debut as USC defensive coordinator. Blitzes on 3rd and 22 and in other specific situations were baffling, given that USC didn’t need to sack the quarterback; it just needed to get off the field.

When USC’s defense has an opponent in third and long, it just needs to get off the field. Get the stop. Give the ball back to Caleb Williams and Zachariah Branch, and get on with the game. That’s it. It doesn’t have to be fancy or special. Blitzing invites the possibility that if the blitz doesn’t get home, the opposing quarterback (in this case, San Jose State’s Chevan Cordeiro) can scramble for 28 yards.

Not having everyone back to defend against the long pass creates the possibility of a coverage bust just before halftime. Instead of having eight guys back in coverage and having at least two centerfielders who will shut off any deep ball, Grinch pressed and created a situation in which a San Jose State receiver got behind a USC defensive back. That never, ever should happen. Grinch made some big mistakes, and USC fans were right to be disappointed.

Correction: They might not be disappointed because they weren’t expecting much to begin with.

Let’s look at the night which unfolded for the USC defense. There were some good plays and encouraging moments, but there were too many situational breakdowns for anyone to feel especially good about the season opener on this side of the ball:

USC vs. San Jose State: Stream, injury reports, and broadcast info for Aug. 26, 2023

Get full TV, radio and streaming information for #USC vs San Jose State.

USC opens its 2023 football season against San Jose State.

We told Mountain West Wire that “The lingering concerns are all on the defensive side of the ball. As long as Caleb Williams and center Justin Dedich are healthy the whole season, the offense should roar. The offense should score at least 30 in every game this season. You’re probably not going to see a 17-point clunker akin to last year at Oregon State. This is a complete offense with a generational talent at quarterback and an elite play-caller at the controls on the sideline.”

The focus this season is on one side of the ball. As we said to Mountain West Wire, “It’s all about Alex Grinch’s defense. Grinch’s one really good season as a defensive coordinator at Oklahoma was in 2020, the pandemic year. We all know that was a weird year in terms of what teams and coaching staffs were able to do. Grinch benefited from other teams’ lack of practice and preparation. He simply has to deliver the goods, or he should be gone. We will see if USC can get 3-and-outs instead of relying on turnovers the way it did last year. It’s prove-it time in Los Angeles.”

Get all the information you need below on how to watch this game or listen on the radio:

Trojans Wire talks to Mountain West Wire about USC-San Jose State opener

We talked to our friends at @MWCWire. Want the San Jose State angle on this game? Follow Mountain West Wire!

The good folks at Mountain West Wire are covering San Jose State this weekend. They reached out to us and asked for our thoughts on USC and Saturday’s season opener.

Mountain West Wire asked us, “How do you see this game playing out?”

Our answer: “San Jose State will probably make some big plays early in the game. It could be a wild and crazy first quarter. USC’s defense might finally settle in midway through the second quarter, and the Trojans could begin to pull away after halftime. USC’s offense is simply not going to be stopped by San Jose State or any other opponent without a truly elite defense. USC 59, SJSU 21.”

For Mountain West Wire’s San Jose State story page, keep this link handy throughout the weekend.

Mountain West Wire has a Week Zero preview podcast up for you to enjoy.

Mountain West Wire offers odds and predictions for Week Zero games involving Mountain West teams. San Jose State is joined by Hawaii and San Diego State on the gridiron this Saturday.

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Alex Grinch evaluates San Jose State QB Chevan Cordeiro before Week Zero clash

Cordeiro is the preseason 2023 Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year, as @MWCWire knows. Alex Grinch is impressed.

San Jose State brings a talented quarterback into the Los Angeles Coliseum for the 2023 season opener on Saturday.

Spartan quarterback Chevan Cordeiro, a transfer from Hawaii, was voted the preseason 2023 Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year. He is talented, but more than that, he is agile. That’s what struck USC defensive coordinator Alex Grinch when he was asked about San Jose State’s signal-caller during game week:

“Real slippery, can make a bad play good,” Grinch said. “If you’re surprised by it (running quarterbacks) in this day and age in college football, shame on you.

“It’s our expectation every single week. It doesn’t make it any easier to defend. The ability to get yards downfield, just extend plays, man it thins you out in every which way. It’s easy to say spy a guy and all that stuff. That means you’re not rushing as many as you’d like to rush or you’re not putting as many guys in coverage. It gives you major fits. It always has, and always will.”

We will see how well USC can contain Cordeiro as a runner while also making sure his scrambling doesn’t lead to a busted coverage and a big downfield pass play for San Jose State.

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