USC Football: Opening win leaves more questions than answers

Looking Ahead

USC was able to shake off the rust enough to outplay a Western Michigan team that may have been underestimated by the Trojan coaching staff. They may have lost some key players on offense from last season, but they didn’t go 13-0 in the regular season on accident.

More from USC Trojans

• USC Football: Pac-12 released schedule with Sept. 26 start date
• USC Trojans: PAC-12 Fall Schedule helps them out
• USC Trojans: Reggie Bush is finally welcomed back
• USC Trojans: Competition for starting QB job just got easier
• USC Football: Clay Helton retained — Winners and Losers

The fact that the Trojans allowed the Broncos to have a huge game running the ball and allowed Darius Phillips to return a kick for a touchdown shows that the USC game plan was not executed properly. They allowed Western Michigan to control the pace of the game throughout which resulted in a tired defense.

A win is a win, and now the Trojans look ahead to a showdown with 14th-ranked Stanford next Saturday in the Pac-12 opener. The Cardinal have given USC fits over the past decade, and their power running style is comparable to a Western Michigan team that the Trojans had a hard time stopping.

The USC offense proved that they have the firepower to score points at will, but the defense will have to step up if they want to compete with a Stanford team that has top caliber athletes on its roster. QB Sam Darnold will need to find his Heisman form if the Trojans want to avoid an early season slip-up.

Next: The weapons around Sam Darnold

Stay tuned here at LA Sports Hub for a preview of next week’s game and other USC football news throughout the season.