Its been reported at pretty much all the places by now, but here’s my take:

USC’s young team were so pumped up early in the game with the crowd and playing at Autzen stadium for the first time that they tried too hard. The receivers, the defense, heck, even Leinart. That explains the penalties, the bad throws and most importantly, that turnover in the end zone.

Dwayne Jarrett was completely off in the first 1.5 quarters. And being the stud of the team, it caused a lot of problems in the offensive rhythm.

Luckily, they have enough smarts to wake up after a jolt. The second quarter was much better in terms of execution. But still, they should have scored a TD before the half, where they had to settle for a field goal.

But the best execution of the offense was the third quarter where suddenly they started playing like the Trojans we know. Throw at will, run through the holes, and let Bush do his thing. Can someone explain how he is able to cut so many times on a play? I doubt if that is going to work in the NFL, but that is one of the reasons why I love college football. Such exciting plays by such exciting playmakers.

So 45 unanswered points later, USC has another ‘W’ in the bag. The next stop is also a dangerous one. Though I must admit, I feel that USC is probably better off against ASU because they are not known to be a defensive team. Yes, they will score pretty much like the Trojans, but if the Trojan defense can do just a little bit more than the Sun Devils', I think the pressure will get to their offense and they will falter.

But again, ASU has not been beaten yet and they have been putting up big points. And they will be playing at home. So it is going to be a nail-biter. Thankfully, I will be able to see it before starting my vacation on Sunday.