In their first road game of the season and its Big Ten opener, the No. 12 USC Trojans outlasted the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 42-35 at SHI Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey, to improve to 4-0.
While the Trojans’ offense was strong, as it always has been under coach Lincoln Riley, secondary concerns again highlighted USC’s close victory. The secondary struggles will certainly be a topic of discussion heading into their marquee showdown on Sept. 26 against the No. 21 Oregon Ducks at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Taking away the Trojans’ two game-changing interceptions from Prophet Brown and Christian Pierce, the Scarlet Knights moved the ball down the field consistently as Rutgers quarterback Dylan Lonergan, who threw for 252 yards and three touchdowns, connected with wide receiver KJ Duff on several plays.
Duff finished the game with seven receptions for 66 yards and one touchdown. The Scarlet Knights also had success on the ground, shortening the game and holding USC’s time of possession to 26:45. Antwan Raymond led the Scarlet Knights in rushing, recording 122 yards and one touchdown. Here’s what Greg Schiano said following the Scarlet Knights’ narrow loss to the Trojans on Saturday.
Opening Statement
“There are no moral victories. I don’t want to hear about that, that doesn’t apply. We fully expected to win this game, and it hurts that we didn’t, but we’re learning; we’ll continue to get better. There was a lot of improvement. Eventually, that improvement will be good enough,” Schiano said.
USC Trojans Offense
“Talented offense, I mean I’m not making concessions at all, but they’re very talented. They move the ball on most people. Quarterback was throwing for like an 82 percent completions. I’ve never really seen that. We need to play better, period. We made some really good plays. We need to play better consistently and we will,” Schiano said.
Toughness Against USC
“I’m really proud of our team, they work exactly. If you came to our practice, you’d say, ‘That’s a 3-0 team, it’s not an 0-3 team. The way they work and how they execute, but again, when the lights come on, we have to find a way to make those, that small margin of error. We have to find a way. And that’s my job and there’s nobody to blame but me,” Schiano said…