Ranking the Trojans

I generally agree with RoJo’s gut reactions, but I’m more optimistic about the Trojan defense and more disgusted about the USC’s penalty problem. However, my reaction is more detailed and more arbitrary.

I spun my Wheel ‘O Ranking Systems and it landed on the Mohs Hardness Scale after briefly flirting with the Richter Scale.

The Mohs Hardness Scale is an ordinal scale from 1 to 10, so it’s surprisingly effective for ranking players.

So without further ado: Ranking the Trojans.

Quarterback Matt Barkley: 8 - Topaz

To be fair, Barkley does get graded on a curve to an extent. He is a freshman, and he is playing in Notre Dame Stadium as a 19-year old. So given that, he played outstanding. He had maybe 4 or 5 throws that were poor decisions or poorly thrown, and there were 3 or 4 stunning throws that were extraordinarily impressive. Barkley’s ability to throw into confusing zone blitzes was a concern at the beginning of the season, but he’s pretty much shredding any zone that’s thrown out at him, throwing balls into soft spots in the zone before his receivers even break into them.

Of course, his line speaks for itself: 19 for 29 for 380 yards, with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception on a tipped (but still badly thrown) ball. He averaged 13.1 yards per attempt and 20 yards per completion. No Trojans quarterback has ever thrown for as many yards in Notre Dame Stadium as Barkley did, and that list includes two Heisman winners (Leinart and Palmer) and the color commentator for Barkley’s latest game, Pat Haden.

Offensive Line: 6 - Orthoclase Feldspar

The O-Line turned in yet another middling performance. The pass protection was generally good, but gave up three sacks against a front seven that had only sacked their previous five opponents nine times.

The run blocking was decent, allowing for 3.7 yards per carry, but that figure is far beneath the Trojan’s lofty expectations this year - previously the Trojans were averaging over four. And this effort came against a defense that was allowing more than four yards per carry heading into the game.

Receivers: 9 - Corundum

The receivers carved up the Notre Dame secondary.

Anthony McCoy had a huge game, catching 5 balls for 153 yards. He was a huge matchup problem for the Irish defense with his size and speed. His 153 receiving yards were the most in USC history without a touchdown.

Damien Williams was outstanding, as well, with 4 receptions for 108 yards. He ran excellent routes and was able to get yards after the catch.

Brice Butler was great outside the box score, catching only 2 balls for 32 yards, but making lots of key blocks downfield for the Trojans.

David Ausberry was a non-factor. He’s been having a rough time at USC after being a heralded recruit; at some point he’s going to have to make his presence felt.

Ronald Johnson’s first game back from a broken collarbone didn’t go according to script - he looked lost at times, dropped a pass, and was generally ineffective. Look for him to bounce back against Oregon State and then be very effective stretching the Duck defense in Eugene the week after OSU.

Running Backs: 13 - Stafon Johnson (slightly harder than Diamond)

The Trojan backfield clearly misses Stafon Johnson, especially in the red zone. Allan Bradford is a good option, but he has been unable to duplicate Stafon’s nose for the endzone. The backs were held to mediocre (by their standards) results - McKnight had 19 carries and averaged 3.2 yards; Bradford carried 9 times with a 5.6 yard average. And those two got almost all the carries - Marc Tyler and C.J. Gable were nowhere to be seen.

Special Teams: 4 - Fluorite

USC didn’t miss a field goal and nailed all the extra points. On the other side, Armond Armstead’s blocked extra point was huge - were Jimmy Clausen able to score the touchdown at the end of the game, they would have needed an extra point to tie and a two-point conversion to win.

The punting was shaky, though. Even with the improbable 59-yard punt after the bad snap, Jacob Harfman still only average 38 yards per punt. That’s really, really bad. And only one punt fell within the Domer 20 yard line. Another lackluster effort.

Notre Dame dominated the kickoffs. The Trojan kickoff coverage allowed over 20 yards per kickoff return. The special teams unit really misses David Beuhler. And from the other side of the tee, USC averaged less than 15 yards per return. That’s not good for the field position game and makes the offense’s job a lot harder.

Defensive Line: 8 - Topaz

Everson Griffen and Nick Perry are absolutely abusing offensive tackles right now - they’ve had 14 sacks between them this season for a defense that leads the nation in sacks. The defense held the Irish to 2.6 yards rushing and harassed Jimmy Clausen all game long, sacking him five times. Armond Armstead played well moving from end to tackle in his return to the lineup.

Linebackers: 9 - Corundum

The linebackers looked great. Galippo had 9 tackles, Michael Morgan took down 6 Irish, and Malcolm Smith had 5 wrap-ups. The backers had great range, going from sideline to sideline effectively. I think Galippo, wearing number 54, might earn the right to increase his number to 55 next year.

Secondary: 5 - Apatite

The secondary faced its best passing attack of the season and didn’t perform up to their usual standards. Golden Tait carved up the secondary, catching 8 balls for 117 yards and 2 TDs. Robby Parris chipped in with 9 catches for 92 yards. All other receivers only had 8 catches for 76 yards - the Notre Dame offense really came down to Jimmy Clausen throwing to Tait and Parris.

It’s clear the secondary really misses Shareece Wright, who is academically ineligible. He’s the Trojans’ best cover corner, and having Wright on Tait instead of Josh Pinkard would be a significant upgrade.

However, the secondary was able to stop the Irish on four straight plays at the end of the game to seal the victory.

Bottom Line: The Trojans played well for three quarters and let the Irish come back in the fourth. Penalties (especially of the stupid personal foul variety) were a significant contribution to the Trojan woes in the fourth quarter. Some were rather illegitimate - Taylor Mays had a late hit on a man who was still in bounds - but others were perfectly warranted. These need to be cleaned up if we want to win in Eugene.