Robert Woods had 169 yards from scrimmage as USC withstood the push from Syracuse to win 42-29. The Trojans may have been playing in an NFL stadium, but with the upper bowl closed and a light rain throughout the game, USC showed no signs of being intimidated by their surroundings. Even when the second half was delayed by almost an hour due to a passing storm, USC maintained composure throughout the game.
Robert Woods caught ten passes for 93 yards, and also ran a reverse for 76 yards. His 169 combined offensive yards makes him easily the player of the game. Woods also caught two touchdown passes.
The Trojans scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach. With the score 21-16, Matt Barkley hit tight end Xavier Grimble on an out pattern. The cornerback played off of him, allowing the end to get up the head of steam to play twenty-two yards into the end zone.
The second touchdown came Marquise Lee's way, a four yard fade route into the end zone. Lee then pulled down his third touchdown catch of the day with 5:45 left in the game as USC's receiving corp showed why they are one of the best in the country. Matt Barkley had an accurate day if not a fantastic day; 23/30 and 186 yards with six touchdown passes tying his school record.
The USC running back duo of McNeal and Redd were able to do much more for the Trojans this afternoon. Silas Redd ran for 107 yards on 15 carries while Curtis McNeal ran 67 yards on 11 yards as the two running backs did much more than the 14 carries they had against Hawaii.
USC had some difficulty with the hurry up offense in the third quarter, but they've got time to work on that before facing Oregon. Next up for the Trojans is a game in Palo Alto against Stanford, then they host California in Los Angeles.