What Went Wrong For USC vs. Boston College

Well folks, hold off on that playoff talk for now. A wild Saturday claimed many upset victims including USC. To keep it simple, the Trojans were punched in the mouth, early and often. BC quarterback Tyler Murphy was unstoppable, the Golden Eagles rushed for 452 yards on the Trojans defense and it was a really long night.

USC jumped to a quick 17-6 lead. Things looked relatively good out of the gate. Then, Boston College stormed back with 14 unanswered points by the half. By the second half, 14 points turned to 24 unanswered points. However, watching the game was even worse than the box score suggested. USC simply was NOT playing anywhere near the best of its ability in coach Steve Sarkisian’s first game in charge of an AP Top-10 team.

According to our Football Power Index, BC’s 37-31 win over USC last night was biggest upset this season in FBS-vs-FBS game (9% chance).

The bottom fell out. The intimidating crowd, the constant play calling blunders and simply being out-coached and overpowered led to USC’s demise. While being painful to stomach, there’s still a responsibility to further analyze what went right and wrong for USC in its loss to Boston College.