First-and-10: The key critiques and takeaways from USC's loss at Notre Dame
**Every Sunday, our Tajwar Khandaker breaks down the key critiques, criticisms and takeaways from USC's performance.**
USC left Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday night with a 30-27 loss and an abundance of what-ifs.
What if the referee had held his flag on the roughing the passer penalty against Palaie Gaoteote at the end of the third quarter that extended an eventual pivotal Notre Dame field goal. What if the officials had noticed Irish coach Brian Kelly on the field during the onside kick attempt at the end of the fourth quarter.
Those were the questions coach Clay Helton had in his mind as he expressed his frustration with both calls afterward.
For fans, the what-ifs extended further -- the slow start offensively, the first-half defensive breakdown as the Irish attacked USC's vulnerabilities (especially on the edges) repeatedly while averaging 11.5 yards per rush before halftime.
In an eventual 3-point outcome, there was a lot to lament.
But here are our 10 most significant takeaways, thoughts, critiques and criticisms from the loss.
1. Stepp-ing up (again)
The Markese Stepp hype train has finally left the station. After months of agitation and conjecture about the redshirt freshman’s usage, Stepp firmly put to bed any doubt as to whether or not he deserves to be a feature back for the Trojans. The bruiser was a nightmare for the Notre Dame defense all night long, moving piles up and down the field and running over defenders in gold helmets. Stepp mauled his way to 82 yards on 10 carries, along with the final touchdown of the game. Stepp has flashed star potential since spring ball -- it was only a matter of getting him the touches he needed to maximize his ability. Even though he led the team in carries outright for the first time last night, the young back still only toted the ball 10 times. That’s far too few. Hopefully the coaching staff sees the light going forward -- Stepp deserves the role of a workhorse back. Stepp is an absolute game-changer, and the Trojans offense is a different beast with him in the backfield.
2. Slovis slinging
The freshman signal-caller got off to a slow start in his first game action in weeks, but in the second half, Slovis reaffirmed the belief so many -- including myself -- have in him. Once he found his footing in the third quarter, Slovis was in control of the USC offense, dictating to the defense both from inside of the pocket and outside. Slovis showed his trademark pocket awareness time and time again, sliding up and down to avoid the Notre Dame pass rush, and showed his ability to leave the pocket and make plays on the move. Once again, he ended the night with a number of truly noteworthy throws that showcased his blend of accuracy and touch -- a gorgeous 38-yard touchdown to Amon-Ra St. Brown dropped in just the right spot, a rolling strike to tight end Erik Krommenhoek and a perfectly placed fade on third down to Tyler Vaughns to extend another touchdown drive.
I say it every week and I’ll say it again, Slovis has it within himself to be a legitimately great college quarterback. Every tool required is somewhere in his box, and only in his third full game we’re watching him learn to put them all together. Overcoming a rough start in a pressure-filled environment like the one he faced last night is a nightmare for young quarterbacks, but Slovis came out and played his best after halftime to almost steal the game back for the Trojans. Despite the outcome, I can’t help but be excited to watch him play and grow going forward.
3. Testing the tight end taboo
Throughout the game, the Irish defense made a point of focusing on smothering the Trojans wide receiving corps. Michael Pittman was double-teamed for nearly the entire game (Irish coach Brian Kelly said afterward shutting him down was the top priority), and Vaughns and St. Brown both saw bracket looks as well. Instead of forcing the ball to them outside however, Slovis decided to break an unwritten rule of the Trojan offense and started targeting his tight end. Through the final stages of the game, Slovis connected with Krommenhoek 5 times for 37 yards -- including a number of key conversions. I can’t remember the last time a USC tight end had 5 catches -- much less in one half of play. As good as the Trojans are at receiver, teams have already started to key on that position group. The willingness to run some of the passing offense through a tight end changes how defenses can attack USC completely. It’s just a shame they didn’t get to this earlier.
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4. Slovis to St. Brown
The top-heavy depth of the Trojans at receiver unfortunately means that it's rare for all three of Pittman, St. Brown and Vaughns to have big nights simultaneously. St. Brown has often found himself on the short end of that stick, hitting a nadir with a 1-catch-4-yard performance against BYU. He didn’t fare much better against Washington two weeks ago, ending up with only 31 yards on the night. This game was different story, however, as with Slovis back at quarterback he racked up 112 yards and a touchdown on 8 catches. Despite the aberration of the BYU game, Slovis and St. Brown clearly have chemistry, as evidenced by this latest performance as well as the 8-catch, 97 yard, 2-touchdown performance the receiver had in Slovis’ first start against Stanford. St. Brown offers rare route-running ability alongside his slipperiness after the catch, and when Slovis starts to look for him it tends to pay off for the Trojan offense.
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