I was a little bit unsure of how the game was going in the first half, but after seeing the defense step it up big time today, I feel a lot better in general about the health of the team at this point in the season.

The offense is sputtering, and JDB still seems to telegraph his passes, but we have huge playmakers in the team in DJ, Steve Smith and in this game CJ Gable. How cool was the catch for the first down by DJ jumping high in the air just beyond the marker? How cool was Steve Smith’s 4th and 2 conversion to a TD? How cool was CJ Gable in his monster runs at various points in the game? Awesome.

I was not willing to quote the turnover margin that USC had against Stanford because hey, it is after all only Stanford. But to create so many in one game against a team like Cal is worth noting.

USC kept the 35 points per game Cal to a miserly 9 and that says a lot. The defense deserves a huge pat on the back for doing that to Cal. Good stuff.

There is a reason to feel upbeat for USC Trojans.

Of course, next week is going to be a different game. So we’ll keep the celebration limited to tonight only. :-)