Virginia Game Impressions: 5 Ws and an H

Round Up:

The Trojans opened the 2010 home campaign by defeating the Virginia Cavaliers 17-14 in a defensive battle punctuated by penalties and mistakes.

USC quarterback Matt Barkley had 202 yards and two touchdowns passing. His Cavalier counterpart Marc Verica threw for 190 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

True freshman wide out Robert Woods caught three passes for 64 yards and senior Ronald Johnson caught five for 58 yards. But it was Jordon Cameron and Brandon Carswell who came down with touchdown catches.

On the ground the Trojans were led by Marc Tyler with 67 yards while true freshman Dillon Baxter had 49 yards on nine carries in his debut. Virginia's Perry Jones ran for 77 yards; Keith Payne added 57 yards and a touchdown.

WHEN was the game decided:

Matt Barkley evaded pressure and sneaked a pass through the Virginia secondary to Brandon Carswell for a touchdown with one second left in the first half.

The defenses buckled down and despite a late (late) score for Virginia, USC controlled the game in the second half keeping the Cavaliers from seriously challenging for the game after halftime.

WHO stood out:

The refs. It was raining yellow flags at the Coliseum. Virginia had nine for 101 yards. USC was hit with 13 for 140 yards. To put that in perspective, USC had more penalty yards than they did rushing yards. Together there were 22 flags for 241 total yards. Putting that into perspective, neither team surpassed that number in rushing or passing.

There are two issues here. The first will be addressed a little further down. The second is how the dismal display of inconsistency from the refs affected the flow of the game for both teams. Big play after big play was called back for holding penalties that could have been called on every play. Personal fouls were assessed on one tackle then not assessed on another tackle of the same type. And I have yet to hear an explanation for the call of "targeting" which took the wind out of the sails of a USC defense that was seemingly finding its groove.

The defense. Not that they looked particularly great, but with a performance so significantly better than the drubbing they received at the hands of Hawaii, the defense deserves recognition. In the secondary, Nickell Robey specifically looked more prepared to play at the college level and Shareece Wright seemed much more like the senior he is. TJ McDonald also came away with an important interception in the end zone. The defensive line looked porous at times, but they came up big in short yardage situations.

Dillon Baxter. On a night when the running game never really got going, Dillon Baxter nevertheless showcased his skill and the reason the coaches are so keen on the true freshman running back.

Stanley Havilli. Nothing new, the guy is money.

WHERE do we need to improve:

Penalties. Penalties. Penalties. Blame the refs all you want for being inconsistent and irritatingly involved in the game, but the penalties that were deserved weren't just inconvenient; they were devastating. If even a third of the penalties were wiped out, the questions about offensive troubles would be non-existent and a decent performance by the defense would have been judged even better.

Offense. Most of the articles about USC after the game said that this game proved that the defense is not as bad as suspected and the offense not as good. I disagree. This offense is far better than they showed against the Cavaliers and they will have to play with the crispness and poise that they displayed at Hawaii if the team is going to be successful. The difference between the Hawaii and Virginia games was not all about facing a stronger defense (which Virginia has). It was the penalties and the dropped passes and the overthrown balls.

Where Barkley looked like a fifth year senior against Hawaii, he looked like a freshman against Virginia. Gone was the accuracy and touch. Where Ronald Johnson looked like an all-world receiver against the Warriors, he looked unreliable against the Cavaliers. The Virginia defense presented more of a challenge certainly, but they did not make Barkley incapable of hitting a receiver accurately or his receivers from holding onto open catches.

The defense. As improved as they looked, they still looked vulnerable in some of the same places. Often it was Virginia miscues (dropped or missed passes) that stalled drives. The corners and safeties are still not playing the ball. And most importantly, the defense as a whole still looked slower that the offense they faced.

WHAT did we learn:

Dillon Baxter, who had 11 touches, will be a featured member of the offense.

WHY this game will be remembered:

It was Lane Kiffin's first home game as head coach.

It was the first time Reggie Bush's number five jersey was not featured among the other Heisman winners in front of the peristyle.

Things that made you go HUH:

I said it before but..."targeting"?

The student section seemed more crowded than at any point last season...but much less loud.

Next week:

The Trojans travel to Minneapolis for a 12:30 p.m. game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Minnesota is 1-1 and lost to South Dakota on Saturday.

Reggie the Contrite?

UPDATE: Haden changes tune.

The phrase "mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa" is a favorite of mine.

Maybe it is a product of my obsession with Latin, maybe it is my Catholic upbringing shining though but the phrase has always seemed more meaningful than a simple "I'm sorry."

It comes from the Roman Catholic prayer for confession of sinfulness and literally means "through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault."

And it was the first thing that came to mind when I saw news of Reggie Bush's apparent apology to USC AD Pat Haden:

"He's really contrite," Haden said of the 2005 Heisman winner. "He knows he made a series of mistakes. It wasn't just one mistake. It was a series of mistakes.

"He told me, 'If I could turn the clock back, I would. If I could give the Heisman Trophy back, I would.' "

Bush will likely never be able to completely repair the damage he has done to USC but his mea culpa (albeit one relayed second hand) is a very positive first step. 

And it is not because he said sorry. Or said he would give his Heisman back. It is because he admitted fault. At least by Haden's assessment, he confessed that his mistakes caused this mess.

The gesture was small and much more is needed.  But for now I'll take it. Because every reconciliation has to start somewhere.

Just call him Sheriff Kiffin

Pete Carroll may have had big balls, but Lane Kiffin is a hard ass. And I love it.

One of the biggest criticisms many had for the final year of the Carroll era was an apparent lack of discipline.

I think it's safe to say we will not be dealing with a similar problem as the Kiffin era begins.

Freshmen phenom Dillon Baxter now knows that better than anyone.

After two days of sideline punishment, Baxter was officially suspended for USC's season opener against Hawaii on Sept. 2 for violating team rules.

Presumably the suspension stems from an incident early Tuesday morning when the young running back allegedly  broke curfew and reeked of a "controlled substance."

Kiffin had this to say:

"I think this is an extremely strong message and a very severe punishment for a player that may potentially be the most-skilled player on our whole roster," Kiffin said. "Hopefully that message not only helps him but helps our team and especially our freshman class."

The punishment is harsh for certain, but it sets a much needed standard for how Trojan players are expected to behave under this new regime. It started with more disciplined practices and laps or other punitive exercises for screwing up on the field. It has now extended to off-field behavior.

No player is safe from that standard. Not even the best young player on the team.

Interestingly enough, it was new AD Pat Haden's response to the situation the shed the most light on the suspension:

"Dillon's a high-profile athlete, like we've had some other ones around here, and he wasn't doing things he was supposed to be doing, Haden said. "And so when I say Lane gets it, I think he does.

"We can't just allow this kind of behavior, particularly for a freshman when they're just getting started, so I think he's done absolutely the right thing."

"Dillon's a high-profile athlete." Did you hear that Paul Dee?

Hopefully Baxter, and every other "high-profile" athlete at USC, heard it loud and clear because the spotlights are on and the microscopes are out. They may call him the next Reggie Bush on the field, but they will not tolerate Reggie Bush-like trouble off of it.