Big-play day propels USC, 55-3

Trojans erase embarrassment of Penn State

By Greg Keraghosian
Sports Editor

CHAMPAIGN, Ill.--Just call them the USC Raiders.
They may not have had the nicknames or penalty yards of the teams Al Davis used to field, but when it came to the vertical passing game in Saturday's 55-3 thrashing of Illinois, the Trojans strikingly resembled the team that used to play in the Los Angeles Coliseum.
Meanwhile, a defense that had allowed Curtis Enis more rushing yards (241) than any USC team had ever yielded held the Illini to just 88 yards on the ground before 56,504 very quiet Memorial Stadium fans.
Altogether, it was hardly the kind of effort the No. 19 Trojans (1-1) gave in their 24-7 loss to Penn State two weeks ago.
"They were all embarrassed when they came home and saw how poorly we had played back there," USC Coach John Robinson said. "They weren't going to do that again."
The scoring was not only drastically different than the season opener--so were the individual performances.
Cases in point:
* USC receiver Billy Miller, catchless against the Nittany Lions, caught three passes for 67 yards.
* Cornerback Ken Haslip, burned several times in the first game, was far more consistent and made his first career interception.
* An offensive line that kept quarterback Brad Otton scrambling throughout the Lions game didn't allow a sack.
The game didn't even seem like it would get ugly until well into the first half. With 4:02 left in the first quarter, Illinois (0-2) led, 3-0. But after taking over at their own 5-yard line, the Trojans struck.
Receiver Chris Miller blew past cornerback Trevor Starghill down the right sideline, caught Otton's pass, cut left and romped into the end zone for an 84-yard score.
"I felt a lot of pressure, and I think a lot of the other guys did too," Otton said. "Once Chris scored, it really took a load off everyone's mind and we were just able to relax."
Miller finished with 155 yards on three receptions. But that wasn't all.
In the closing moments of the first quarter, he blocked an Illini punt. Prentice Hill picked up the ball and took it in for a touchdown to put USC ahead, 14-3.
That was the precursor to the deluge. Miller's touchdown catch wouldn't even be USC's longest touchdown play of the night. Late in the fourth quarter, freshman R. Jay Soward scored from 97 yards out. It was not only Soward's first collegiate catch, but the longest play from scrimmage in school history.
USC's deep passing didn't begin or end with those two plays, either. The team also had receptions for 58, 25, 24 and 22 yards. Otton's 301 passing yards (all in the first three quarters, as he was removed before the fourth) came on just 12 completions.
Coaches and players would later say the deep-throwing strategy had much to do with Illinois' defense.
USC tried so hard to establish the run in the first quarter that at one point, eight of nine plays were on the ground. But with the Illini stacking the line of scrimmage to stop it, the Trojans had little success there. USC averaged just 3.3 yards per carry in the first half.
But the reason USC was already ahead 24-3 was that Illinois' plan of single-coverage on the left side in the secondary was burned repeatedly.
"(The Illini) have about an eight or nine-man front," said Mike Sanford, USC wide receivers coach. "They used their safeties a lot against the run, which affected our running game. But when you do that and you take a guy out of coverage you've got a great chance to go deep on them."
On defense, the Trojans didn't allow much of anything to a punchless Illinois offense that has now gone 12 straight quarters without a touchdown.
Running back Robert Holcombe, coming off of a 1,000-yard season, could manage just 47 yards on 14 carries. Quarterback Scott Weaver threw 22 more times than Otton did but had 103 fewer yards. He was also picked off three times.
Asked if the Illini unit was that bad, USC defensive tackle Darrell Russell said, "We're that good, that's what I think. I think Illinois is a good team but we stayed disciplined and everybody did their job--nothing more, nothing less."
USC can now hope that the real Trojans were in Champaign, not New Jersey and that the team's "stage fright," as Robinson called it, is dispelled.
"That's what we tried to do," USC defensive tackle Matt Keneley said. "(Defensive Coordinator Keith) Burns was just telling us to cut loose. We have nothing to lose, we're on the road ... just go out and play."