USC defense shines in uneven win over San Jose State

Greg Johnson’s pick-six gives the Trojans much-needed breathing room for a season-opening 30-7 win over the Spartans

Adam Grosbard (OC Register)  —  LOS ANGELES — Despite a hot start and a stifling performance from the USC defense, the Trojans had little room for error early in the fourth quarter of the season opener against San Jose State.

With the offense stalling on three red-zone appearances, USC was uncomfortably ahead by nine with the ball back in the Spartans’ hands. But the short-handed defense had one more big play up its sleeve.

Senior nickel back Greg Johnson (1) stepped in front of a pass from San Jose State quarterback Nick Starkel with a wide-open field in front of him. Johnson returned the interception 37 yards for the touchdown and the room the Trojans needed to complete a 30-7 win Saturday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

“Honestly, it felt like a dream, man, something that I’ve always dreamed of,” Johnson said after the game, still clenching onto the ball from his first career pick-six. “Being from L.A. and playing in the Coliseum in front of all these amazing fans, for me to do that is just great.”

It was one of several standout plays for the defense. First was outside linebacker Drake Jackson stepping in front of a screen pass for an interception that set up a leaping, 29-yard Tahj Washington touchdown catch. True freshman safety Calen Bullock, starting in place of Isaiah Pola-Mao (health and safety), had a drive-ending tackle on third down in the first quarter.

San Jose State (1-1) never made it to the USC side of the field in the first quarter, and only did so in the second after Ben Griffiths was forced to punt out of the Trojans’ end zone. USC (1-0) held the Spartans without a third-down conversion in seven first-half attempts.

And when the Spartans were threatening to cut into USC’s 16-point lead in the fourth quarter, USC responded with a red-zone stand, with Jayden Williams coming up with a goal-line pass breakup and the Trojans forcing a long pass on fourth down to turn the ball over on downs.

USC did it all despite a litany of injuries that left starters Jackson, Chris Steele (hamstring) and Nick Figueroa (AC joint) on the bench for much of the second half.

“Hell yeah, man, it felt great just to know we can rely on everybody,” Steele said. “I’m very proud of everybody. I’m proud of the growth that we’re making as a defense. It’s going to be really exciting, we’re just going to keep getting better week by week.”

The defense’s play helped cover for an uneven performance from the USC offense.

The Trojans scored on their first two drives to build a 10-0 lead. The run game was able to get moving, with newcomer Keaontay Ingram and Vavae Malepeai combining for 114 yards on 19 first-half carries. Ingram broke a couple of outside runs that elicited oohs and aahs from the Coliseum crowd of 54,398.

The offseason churn in the air attack, though, was evident. After completing 12 of his first 14 attempts, quarterback Kedon Slovis finished the second quarter 1-for-7 for just 3 yards. Washington and Drake London each made four catches in the first half, but no other receiver got involved as Slovis relied instead on Malepeai and tight ends.

By game’s end, London caught 13 passes Saturday, a career-high for the junior receiver.

USC ended the first half with a lost fumble, three punts and a field goal.

The offense continued its struggles after halftime, opening the third quarter with two punts before making it to the red zone to start the fourth. But a sack, a short completion to London and a Slovis keeper were not enough to set up first-and-goal, and USC had to settle for the third Parker Lewis field goal of the game.

“Not our best day,” said Slovis, who finished the game 25-for-36 for 263 yards and two touchdowns. “Had some good things but again we just got to finish more drives.”

But the defense was there to pick the offense up, with two turnovers turning to 14 points. The plan heading into the game was to make San Jose State one-dimensional and USC did that, limiting the Spartans to 68 rushing yards on 19 carries.

And though the Trojans didn’t record a sack, it was clear their pressure affected Starkel as he rushed several passes.

For a program that’s been defined by its offense in recent seasons, the uplifting performance by the defense — holding an opponent to the fewest points the Trojans have surrendered in five years — was a significant role change.

“That’s what we’re here for. As a team, as a whole, that’s our job,” Steele said. “As a defense, we’re supposed to hold our offense down when they’re not doing necessarily what they think should be doing, and vice versa.”

ocregister.com

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