USC hosted Rutgers on Friday night in a half-filled Los Angeles Coliseum. We can all be honest and admit that USC football was not the main attraction on Friday in the City of Angels. The Dodgers stole the show with an epic win in the 10th inning of Game 1 of the World Series against the New York Yankees. The Los Angeles Lakers trailed the Phoenix Suns by 19 points and roared back to win. USC’s game against Rutgers was, by comparison, relatively uneventful and quiet.
It’s just the way the Trojans and Lincoln Riley wanted it to be.
USC had enough of the drama and last-minute fingernail-biting of the previous few weeks. Against Michigan and Minnesota and Penn State and Maryland, USC allowed a game to come down to a handful of plays in the final minutes of regulation. Against Penn State, the Trojans went into overtime. This team didn’t want to have an exciting, dramatic game. The Trojans needed to put an opponent to bed well before the final minutes. Given that this Rutgers game started after 8 p.m. in Los Angeles, getting to bed early was important for USC. The Trojans weren’t perfect, but they were definitely better in their victory over Rutgers. Let’s go to the report card and hand out our USC football grades:
OFFENSIVE LINE GRADE — B
We aren’t going to give this group an A for trucking Rutgers, but we’re also not going to give a C. The line was better. It battered an inferior defensive line. The Trojans did their job — nothing more or less. This group will get an A when it plays a complete game against a better defensive line.
MILLER MOSS — A-MINUS
Miller Moss is a good quarterback. He isn’t a great one. He was always going to need help from his teammates. See what happens when the teammates help their quarterback? The offense rocks and rolls. I hope we all learned something about Miller Moss: He’s not the problem. When his offensive line does its job, Moss can shine. We said this the entire offseason. Maybe the calls for Jayden Maiava can quiet down now.
WOODY MARKS — A
Marks has been one of USC’s best players all season long. In this game, he got rewarded with multiple touchdown carries and a lot of touches. Good for him. Marks should be a fine NFL player. This game will be front and center on his film collection.
MAKAI LEMON — A
Makai Lemon was a home-run hitter for USC on a night when Freddie Freeman hit an iconic grand slam for the Dodgers. Lemon made the huge splash plays this offense had been lacking. It was a welcome sight.
D’ANTON LYNN — B-PLUS
USC’s defense was missing several starters. This was a MASH unit against Rutgers. Lynn had to be strategically astute, and he was. He knew Rutgers’ quarterback could not throw accurate downfield passes, so he focused on the ground game. It was a wise decision which revealed Lynn’s obvious football wisdom. This was a smart plan which forced Rutgers to do the things it didn’t want to do.
DEFENSIVE LINE — B-MINUS
Given how many injuries this defensive line was carrying, the group did a respectable job, holding its opponent to just 20 points in the first three and a half quarters. No one should have expected a suffocating performance with so many starters unavailable. This wasn’t spectacular, but it was fundamentally competent.
LINEBACKERS — B-PLUS
Without Eric Gentry, USC’s linebacker room isn’t whole, but the guys who played on Friday made a lot of sure tackles and responded well after Rutgers pulled within 28-20 in the third quarter. The linebackers made sure this game was not close in the fourth quarter. That’s progress.
SECONDARY — C-PLUS
USC was missing virtually its whole starting secondary. The Trojans were fortunate Rutgers could not throw the ball downfield. Hopefully, multiple players will be healthy for Washington next week.
LINCOLN RILEY — B
Riley carved up a bad defense. He did what he was paid to do. That’s all we have to say about tonight. Riley’s true test as a head coach will come in December, when he will need to make a decision about Josh Henson (we think Henson needs to be fired unless he has a clear-cut plan to improve recruiting and portal acquisitions). Riley will also need to recruit Mater Dei better and find ways to prevent Oregon from getting the best players on the West Coast.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC football report card for drama-free win over Rutgers
