NFL
By George Lopez
The USC Trojans continue BIG10 play as they travel to Minnesota to take on the Minnesota Gophers on Saturday. The Trojans are coming off a 38-21 win over Wisconsin. The Gophers are coming off a tough game, falling 27-24 to Michigan.
For the second consecutive week, the Trojans struggled on both sides of the ball in the first half. Wisconsin took a 21-10 lead at halftime. Head coach Lincoln Riley and defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn made key adjustments at halftime. The Trojans dominated the 2nd half, outscoring Wisconsin 28-0 in the second half. The Trojans will look to play a complete game against the Gophers.
Quarterback Miller Moss leads the Trojans offense. Against Wisconsin, Moss completed 30-45 passes for 308 yards with 3 touchdowns and 1 interception. Moss continues to spread the ball around, completing passes to 9 different receivers. Facing the Gophers defense, Moss will look to spread the ball to multiple receivers.
Ja’Kobi Lane led the Trojans receivers with 10 receptions for 105 yards and 2 touchdowns. Lane was able to find open space in the Badgers secondary throughout the game. Look for Lane to be a top target for Moss against the Gophers. WR Zachariah Branch had 4 receptions for 44 yards against the Badgers. Look for Branch to get more touches against the Gophers.
The Trojans did attempt 45 passes, but they maintained a balanced offensive attack. The Trojans rushed for 161 yards on 37 rush attempts. Leading the running game was RB Woody Marks, who rushed 63 yards on 19 carries. Quinten Joyner was the primary backup, rushing for 49 yards on 6 carries. Look for Marks to get the bulk of the carries with Joyner continuing to be the primary backup in the Trojans rushing attack.
Against Michigan, the Gophers were held to 38 rushing yards on 25 carries. Darius Taylor was held 36 yards on 13 carries. Taylor should be expected to get the bulk of the carries for the Gophers. Trojans defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn will look to devise a scheme to limit the Gophers rushing attack and make them one-dimensional. Look for the Trojans to show an 8-man front early in the game to contain the Gophers running attack.
Quarterback Max Brosmer leads the Gophers offensive. In the game against Michigan, Brosmer completed 27-40 passes for 258 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception. Michigan recorded 5 quarterback sacks in the game. Look for the Trojans to test the Gophers pass protection and put pressure on Brosmer to get him off his spot and force him to throw the ball earlier than he would like.
RB Darius Taylor led the Gophers with 10 receptions for 52 yards. Brosmer will look to get the ball to Taylor in the open field to allow him to use his ability as a running back. The Trojans linebackers will be a key on containing Taylor in the Gophers’ passing attack
Leading the Gophers WR are Daniel Jackson and Elijah Spencer who had 7 receptions for 58 yards and 6 receptions for 67 yards against Michigan respectively. Brosmer was able to spread the ball around against the Michigan secondary as 7 receivers had at least 1 reception. Look for Brosmer to continue to spread the ball around.
Early in the game against Wisconsin, the Trojans secondary was beaten for a long touchdown pass. The secondary did not maintain proper pass coverage technique early in the game. As the game progressed, the Trojans did a much better job eliminating the deep pass. Michigan forced Brosmer to throw underneath, taking away the deep pass. Look for the Trojans to force Brosmer to throw underneath and fly to the ball with multiple players involved in the tackle.
The Trojans will look to improve to 2-1 in conference play while the Gophers seek their first conference win of the year. Look for Coach Lincoln Riley to continue to run a balanced offensive attack to keep the Gophers defense honest. The Trojans defense will look to contain the Gophers running game and put pressure on Brosmer with their pass rush. Look for the Trojans to improve to 2-1 in the BIG10.
