USC vs. Virginia Tech Date - August 29, 2004 Location - Landover Maryland, Fed Ex Stadium Result - USC 24 Virginia Tech 13 Here are some summary notes and brief statistics from the USC versus Virginia Tech game that started off the 2004 season. The original notes were taken at the actual time of the game and now I am combining them with some additional data and pictures. Hence sections of the following game summary are of course written with the obvious benefit of 20/20 hindsight. USC beat Virginia Tech 24-13 in a game that was even closer than the final score indicated to open the 2004 season and start their undefeated run to the national championship. At the time of the game USC was ranked #1 in many polls to start the year and Virginia Tech was not in the 25 in most polls. However in 2004 Virginia Tech finished the year at 10 wins and 3 losses and were ranked #10 in the final AP poll and #7 by Jeff Sagarin. On opening night however this all made for a highly motivated Hokie team looking to pull off an upset win on national television. Indeed Virginia Tech gave USC all it could handle most of the game leading 10-7 late into the 3rd quarter. In addition Virginia Tech was positioned to score in the 4th quarter before a questionable pass interference call on the offense stalled a promising Hokie drive. USC scored a touchdown soon after the penalty on the exchange of possessions on a short drive, and then added a field goal in the closing minutes after a Virginia Tech fumble on their side of the field. In hindsight this game is a good example of how a single play or two can make or break a game and have a major impact on the entire season. If USC had lost this game and still won out the Trojans likely would have been shut out of the title game as undefeated Oklahoma and Auburn would have then squared off for the title. Fortunately for Trojan fans that whole line of conjecture is a moot point. Rather than recap the newspaper reports let's take a look at some items I try to check at the end of most games to isolate some of the keys to the game. I'll divide the game up into several categories for some cursory analysis. How USC Scored Drive Starting Point Points Comment Points off of drives starting on the Trojans 20 yard line or less 7 1 Drive of 86 yards sustained for TD Points off of drives starting between the Trojans 20 and the 50 yard line 7 1 Drive of 67 yards for sustaind for TD Points off of drives starting inside the opponents 50 yard line 10 1 TD and 1 FG starting inside of opponents 50 yard line. Both off turnovers. Totals 24 3 TD's and 1 FG in the game. For the second year in a row in the opening game USC struggled to move the ball and score points when forced to travel the length of the field. Only 7 points were produced by the Trojan offense on a single 86 yard drive when forced to start inside their 20 yard line. USC added seven more points on a 67 yard dive and added 10 points (the main difference in the game) on short field drives by virtue of two costly turnovers by Virginia Tech that put USC in Hokie territory. Key Stats Check Category USC Virginia Tech Red Zone Efficiency* 0% 100% First Down (+4) Efficiency 41.7% 46.4% Turnover Margin +2 -2 Big Plays (+12 on runs) 1 7 Big Plays (+16 on pass) 5 5 Overall Scoring Drive Conversion 4 of 11 for 36.4% 3/12 for 25% Average Drive Length 33.9 yards 24.5 yards Scoring Drive Length 50.75 yards 62.33 yards 3rd Down Conversion 6/14 for 42.9% 5/13 for 38.4% 4th Down Conversion 0/1 for 0% 0/0 Sacks Generated 4 Sacks 2 Sacks Tackles For Loss 9 TFL's 6 TFL's USC was technically 0% in terms of red zone efficiency as a Ryan Killeen missed a field goal on a snap inside the Virginia Tech 20 yard line. All other USC scores came on strikes from outside the 20 yard line. USC was +2 in the turnover department and the two Virginia Tech turnovers lead to 10 USC points on short field drives. In closely matched games the turnover battle is usually the decisive elements and that certainly was the case in this game. USC produced six big plays in the game using the criteria above.  In comparison Virginia Tech had 12 plays of over a dozen yards rushing and sixteen yards receiving. The big plays of the game for USC were a 23 yard run by LenDale White on the rushing side and in particular three pass plays to Reggie Bush that resulted in touchdowns. I will highlight those below with some pictures from the game. USC scored on 4 of 11 of its drives for a 36.4% conversion rate which is on the low side for the Trojans by about 5 to 6 percentage points. Eleven drives is also a couple of drives shorter than average as both teams took large amounts of time off the clock on several drives. The average drive length for USC was 33.9 yards and the scoring drive length was 50.75. Both are roughly what is about average for USC during the 2003-2004 period. Third down conversion was fairly normal 42.9% and the Trojan offense failed on its only 4th down and short attempt on a failed pass play. The defense was again a major deciding factor in the game as time wore on with the turnovers as well as the 4 sacks of the quarterback and 9 tackles of losses. Bryan Randall the Hokie QB gave USC fits in the first quarter in particular breaking off runs to the outside and rushed for 87 yards in the first quarter. Eventually he wound up the game with 82 yards as the Trojan defense stiffened and several sacks took yards off his rush totals. The USC defense stiffened however as the game wore on and stopped the Hokie offense. As far as defensive adjustments USC MLB Lofa Tatupu shadowed Randall more closely as a spy on many plays after the first quarter as the announcers mentioned on TV. Additionally the defensive ends for USC played with greater containment to the outside after getting beaten several times in the first quarter. Also fatigue and conditioning likely played a factor as the USC defense asserted itself more as the game wore on. USC Offensive Stats Plays Number Yards Average Run Plays 29 101 3.48 Pass Plays 29 272 9.38 Total Plays 58 373 6.43 USC had a balanced attack for the game with 29 rushes for 101 yards and 29 pass plays for 272 yards. Most of the Trojan rush yards were gained by LenDale White as he ran 15 times for 78 yards and a 5.2 yard average. Reggie Bush chipped in with 27 yards on 9 carries. Virginia Tech did a nice job of stopping the USC run game overall however with good discipline on defense and good pursuit speed. Only one big run play was recorded by USC in the game when LenDale White shed a couple of tacklers on a third and one play and broke away for 23 years. In the passing game Matt Leinart started off shaky with only 8 of 16 passes completed for 102 yards in the first half. During the second half he found his rhythm and finished the game 19 of 29 for 272 yards. The tide of the game unfortunately really turned on a questionable offensive pass interference call late in the game against a Hokie wide receiver around the USC 10 yard line. Even as a die hard USC fan I have to agree with the TV announcers that it was a very dubious call with the benefit of replay. Instead of scoring to take the lead in the fourth quarter the Hokies drive stalled after the penalty. After a couple big defensive plays by USC the Hokies gave back the ball to USC. With a sudden huge momentum shift USC went on the attack and scored in short order finding Reggie Bush isolated against a linebacker who did not have the speed to cover him. Overall in the game Reggie Bush was the major offensive weapon for USC as he lit up the Hokie defense for 5 catches 127 yards and three touchdowns. The USC offense fell well short of its 2003 averages of 41 points per game and 441 yards of total offense but give credit to Frank Beamer and a well prepared and motivated Virginia Tech squad. USC Offensive Formation & Yardage Direction Summary I Formation Yards Gained Left Yards Gained Middle Yards Gained Right Total Yards Run 36 13 18 67 Pass 58 0 4 62 3 WR Formations Run 9 -1 10 18 Pass 13 59 52 124 2 TE Formations Run 0 1 0 1 Pass 0 36 29 65 4 WR Formations Run 11 0 3 14 Pass 0 9 0 9 5 WR Run 0 0 0 0 Pass 0 13 0 0 Totals Run 56 13 31 101 Pass 71 117 85 272 127 130 116 373 There are multiple sub-categories under each of these headings but for simplicity I will lump them in these five groups for study. Under the I Formation for example there are cases were the formation shades the fullback either to the strong side or the weak side of the formation (with respect to the tight end). With the 3 WR sets there is often the case where the receivers are all to one side (Trips right, etc.) or line up in some sort of 1x2 or 2x1 alignment. Then there is of course motion, field position, and location on the hash marks, and other factors to consider but I won't go into that level of detail. Here you can see what an opponent has to worry about with USC. It is a pro style offense that does use multiple formations, personnel groups, and attacks all directions of the field. 129 yards were produced out of the I Formation for example with a very even 67 to 62 yard split coming on runs and pass plays. As usual the 3WR sets were the formation that produce the most pass yards for USC with 124 yards in total. This was followed by the 2TE alignment pass plays with 65 yards and the I Formation play action type pass plays or dumps to the fullback with 62 yards. Rushing wise only the I Formation had much success with LenDale White in particular making several good runs. Out of this formation USC gained 67 of its 101 rushing yards in the game. The Virginia defense did a good job overall of stopping the USC rush attack limiting the Trojans to 3.48 yards per carry on average. In terms of directional balance USC did find ways to attack all portions of the field. 127 yards were gained to the left, 130 yards to the middle, and 116 yards were gained to the right side of the field. Offensive by Downs & Run versus Pass Downs Runs Passes Total 1st 9 15 24 2nd 14 5 19 3rd 6 8 14 4th 0 1 1 29 29 58 As you can see from this breakdown USC relied more upon pass plays that run plays on first down. This was the opposite from a year ago when USC opened the season with Matt Leinart as a new starter versus Auburn. With more confidence and experience USC threw more on first down and let Leinart attempt to make some plays. Second down was mainly a running down by a margin of 14 to 5. Third down was an even split between run and pass but this of course depends entirely upon the distance remaining for first down. Down 1st Runs 1st Passes 2nd Runs 2nd Passes 3rd Runs 3rd Passes 4th Runs 4th Passes Attempts 9 15 14 5 6 8 0 1 Yards 10 164 45 42 45 67 0 0 Average 1.11 10.9 3.21 8.4 7.50 8.38 0.0 0.0 As you can see by this further breakdown the Trojan offense had success in different situations. Virginia Tech did a tremendous job against the first down run plays of USC allowing only 10 yards on 9 carries for a mere 1.11 yard average. The Trojans had mixed success on second down run plays and relatively good success on average on third down run plays. Passing wise USC enjoyed about equal success in terms of yards per attempt on all downs. However the majority of the passing yards in total were gain on big first down plays that resulted in 164 yards and several touchdowns. USC Offense by Situation Down Situation Run Pass 1st Long 9 15 Medium 0 0 Short 0 0 2nd Long 11 3 Medium 2 2 Short 1 0 3rd Long 1 6 Medium 1 2 Short 4 0 4th Long 0 0 Medium 0 0 Short 0 1 Total 29 29 This table breaks down the offense by situation and how USC attacked Virginia in general. In order to get specific we'd need to study this in conjunction with both formation and the type of play called that level of information is not prudent to post on the internet. USC favored the pass plays on first and long by a margin of 15 to 9. Conversely on second down and long (7-10 yards) USC favored the run by a margin of 11 to 3 yards. Third and long was a clear passing down as normal by a ratio of 6 to 1. 3rd and short (1-3 yards) was a clear rushing down for the Trojans by a margin of 4 to 0. USC tried a pass play on its only 4th and short attempt of the game which failed. Pictures and Highlights Defensive Related Plays - Randall Run Example 1 Here is one of the early plays where Hokie QB Bryan Randall ran for 21 yards. The strength of the alignent was to the right with the tight end and twin receivers set to that side. USC lined up with six men on the line of scrimmage and eight men in the box. Only one safety was deep on the play. The play was an option run to the left and short side of the field however. The play was a bust for USC right away as Frostee Rucker the defensive end to that side of the field allowed his opponent to get outside of him and reach his outside shoulder. Once that happened outside containment was lost on the play. Here is a picture on the replay from the back side that shows how the USC defender #90 Rucker was unable to maintain containment to the outside on this option play. In addition USC linebacker #6 Matt Grootegoed slipped on the play and had no chance to get over in time from his LB spot. This left Randall with clear sailing room to the corner. Defensive Related Plays - Randall Run Example 2 Here is an earlier play where Randall got loose for a 23 yard gain. This time it came with Randall lined up under center with a single back and 2 TE's. The play lookd to be a pass by design on 3rd and five with max protection but Randall spotted no one open and saw a big gaping hole open to his left on the play. The USC defensive end to the outside at the top of the screen is #95 Travis Tofi on this play and not Frostee Rucker. Randall tucked the ball away and made for the outside slipping through the Trojan defense with no real problem. Randall picked up the first down with ease and then cut upfield for about another dozen or so yards. At the end of the first quarter Randall had 87 yards rushing. The rest of the game however USC's defense played better containment and Lofa Tatupu acted as a spy much of the rest of the way. Randall finished the game with 82 yards rushing as sacks in the 4th quarter brought down his total run yardage. Offensive Formations & Highlights I Formation Set - LenDale White's 23 Yard Run Play Here is an eight picture sequence of the only big run play over 12 yards in the game by USC. It came out of the straight I Formation with Steve Smith coming in motion. The down was 3rd and one yard so Virginia Tech had packed 8-9 men on the line of scrimmage. The play looks like it is going no where right from the start. At this stage there were three Virgina Tech Defenders in position to shut down the play for no gain. LenDale White split the defenders with help from tackle Sam Baker. However it still looked like the Hokies would stop USC short of the first down. Amazingly however LenDale White shakes free of the tackle and spins off and over the first down marker. The play should have been stopped here for a short gain at the most... However White makes the next defender miss as well... Finally he is force out of bounds but only after a 23 yard gain on a play that looked like it was going nowhere. Credit the player on this run for tremendous effort. 3 WR Formation & Reggie Bush 1st USC TD Play Here is first Trojan score of the game. It comes out of a 3 WR set with 2 receivers set left and Reggie Bush in the back field. A key factor in the play was the Hokies decision to blitz two linebakers on the play. On 3rd and 10 it was an obvious passing down for the Trojans. Leinart read the blitz and either by design or by decision dropped the ball off to Reggie Bush on a short middle screen play. With half the Hokie defense well into the USC backfield Reggie Bush was now isolated in open space with a lead blocker as well. Reggie made a nice burst and a cut in the middle of three Virginia defenders... ...and it was off to the races for a 29 yard touchdown run and the first score of the game. USC tried this play again later in the game but Virginia Tech was not blitzing and it went for no gain. 3 WR Set and 2nd Reggie Bush USC TD Play This was the second USC score.  The Trojan staff put Reggie in different positions during the game eventually hoping to get him lined up one on one versus the secondary. On this first and 10 play he was split out wide to the left and wound up against Virginia Tech's Jimmy Williams who was converted from Safety to Corner for this season. Matt Leinart recognized that he had one on one coverage with Bush and that there was not going to be help over the top in time from the deep safety to that side of the field. Williams ran with Reggie for a couple of strides but was no match for the speed of Bush one on one. Reggie caught the ball near the goal line with no one close on the play. He went untouched into the endzone for his second score. 2 TE Formation & Reggie Bush 3rd USC TD Pass Play Here is the final Reggie Bush score late in the game to seal the win. Leinart had found Steve Smith in the middle of the field for a 46 yard gain on the previous play to put USC in scoring position.  On this play the Trojans lined up with Reggie Bush offset in the backfield to the right in 2 TE formation with split receivers. One of the TE's motioned from right to left on the play. It appears that Virginia Tech was in Cover 1 defense in the secondary with a safety moving across to mirror the motion of the TE. Whatever the case Reggie Bush was left isolated against a Hokie linebacker on the play and ran some sort of a wheel type route out out of the back field. Steve Smith was the Trojan receiver split out to the right and breaks inside after the snap effectively cutting off the linebacker charged with getting out on Reggie Bush... Either due to #2 Steve Smith's block or just getting his own feet tied up the defender trips and stumbles and Reggie is off to the races with only one safety deep on the play to provide help.  Fron the end zone angle you get a nice view of Reggie catching the ball and the Va Tech linebacker beat in the background. Reggie trots into the endzone un touched on the play... ...for this third touchdown of the evening.  This one sealed the victory for USC in the 4th quarter. Other Notes & Reflections: This was the game where USC coaches learned only days before the game that star receiver Mike Williams would not be eligible for the season. Williams had applied for the NFL draft as an underclassman only to later be denied the possibility of early entry by a legal ruling. Williams would be forced to sit out an entire year and then enter the draft. In preparation for this possibility USC did practice with Dwayne Jarrett taking most of the first team reps the week before. However Dwayne Jarrett, Steve Smith, and Chris McFoy together combined only for 8 catches and 87 yards as a wide receiver group in the game. The sudden loss of Williams no doubt affected the receivers and USC offense in this opening game. On a brighter point this game was certainly a break out evening for Reggie Bush on the national level. USC fans had seen glimpses of his promise at times in 2003. However on this stage Reggie burst onto the national scene with three exciting touchdowns. Reggie Bush carried the ball 9 times for a mere 27 yards and 3.0 yard average. In the passing game he shined however adding 127 yards on just 5 catches exploiting match ups against slower linebackers and converted safeties that were ill equipped to cover him. Pete Carroll commented after the game that the close call was perhaps a blessing in hindsight. It forced USC to realize that teams were not going to simply lie down against them. This helped set the tone for the remainder of the 2004 season.