2007 Game 13:  USC vs. Illinois - Rose Bowl Offense Notes Date - January 1, 2008 Location - Rose Bowl Result: USC 49 - Illinois 17 Here are some offense related notes on USC's performance in the 2008 Rose Bowl versus Illinois.  I'll put up what I expect to be the final year end stats for the team in a few areas, update a few charts as well as post some pictures and short video clips from the game. With 633 yards of total offense this was by far the most impressive output of the year and the most produced since the 2005 squad. Five times that impressive team cracked the 600 yard barrier. The 2003-2004 teams by way of comparison never quite made it to that level while the 2002 squad achieved it twice. After games like this it is hard to imagine that USC was once held to 151 yards of total offense (including just one yard rushing) in Las Vegas Bowl versus Utah back in 2001. For starters here is how USC scored in the game in terms of field position and scoring.  USC scored five times starting on its side of the field and twice starting on the Illinois side of the field. How USC Scored Drive Starting Point Points Comment (Starting Field Position) Long field scoring drives 35 5 Long Field TD Drives (USC 13, 20, 28, 32, 33 Yard Line) Short field scoring drives 14 2 Short field drives for TD (Illinois 34, 43 Yard Line) Direct scores by the defense or special teams 0 No direct scores. Totals 49 7 TD's in Total You probably caught the graphic on TV towards the end of the game with USC up 42-10 in the 4th quarter but I will include it none the less. USC scored 28 points off of the four Illinois turnovers in the game. Big scoring games almost always coincide with turnovers. There are exceptions of course but this game was somewhat like the 2002-2004 Trojan defensive squads in terms of forcing turnovers and helping to score points. Let's hope this trend somehow continues in 2008 as it is an important ingredient in how USC actually scores points during the Pete Carroll era. Updated YTD Trend For Long Field Points With the 35 long field points in the game USC bumped its average up a couple of decimal points to end the season right where most years have been with the exception of 2005. There has not been much of a change in long field scores (e.g. drives starting on the USC side of the 50) comparatively speaking. The total points differential is more a factor of short field scores (after turnovers, long kick or punt returns, etc.) and scores by either special teams or the defense. I'll have a further breakdown of this in a couple of weeks including the probability of scoring from different parts of the field. For now here is a link to the current summary chart if interested (click here). This was the first season under Pete Carroll that either the special teams or defense did not score. USC 2007 Scoring Per Game & Turnover Trend On the flip side here is an updated look at USC's scoring this season on a per game basis combined with the number of USC turnovers committed on offense. For the year you can see why Pete Carroll likes to comment that it is "all about the ball". If you add the points up on offense and divide it by the number of turnovers per game it should look something like this: Average Points With 0 Turnovers - 44.0 Average Points With 1 Turnover -  40.0 Average Points With 2 Turnovers - 28.8 Average Points With 3 Turnovers - 27.3 Average Points With 4 Turnovers - N/A Average Points With 5 Turnovers - 23.0 Season Avg 2.0 Turnovers/Game - 32.6 Points Per Game Onto the Rose Bowl game. Here are some stats I compile after every game as well for comparison. Key Stats Check Category USC Comment Red Zone Efficiency 85.7% USC was 6 for 7  in the red zone. First Down (+4) Efficiency 51.2% USC was 21 for 41 in the game generating +4 yards on first down for a very good 51.2% Turnovers Lost/Gained +3 USC forced two fumbles and two interceptions while only having one interception Big Plays (+10 on runs) 10 There were 10 big runs in the game of 10 yards or more that generated 241 yards Big Plays (+15 on pass) 11 There were 11 big pass plays of 15 yards or greater in the game that generated 230 yards. Scoring Drive Conversion 46.2% USC scored on 7 of its 15 drives for a 46.2% conversion. There was also a one play drive to end the first half Average Drive Length  41 yards Average drive length was just over 41 yards and over the season average. Scoring Drive Length 64 yards Average scoring drive length in the game was 64 yards and over the season average. 3rd Down Conversion 46.6% USC was 6 of 13 on third down conversions in the game. 4th Down Conversion N/A There were no 4th down attempts in the game Sacks Generated 5 Sacks USC produced five sacks in the game with three by Rey Maualuga. Tackles For Loss 15 TFL's  USC produced 15 total tackles for loss in the game. USC Overall Offensive Stats Plays Number Yards Per Play Average Run Plays 43 344 8.0 Pass Plays 38 289 7.6 Total Plays 81 633 7.8 Illinois Base Defensive Schemes   Here is a quick look at how Illinois lined up versus several of USC's formations in the game. Against 3WR sets (Trey Right) Illinois normally left 6 in the box and walked either a linebacker or a nickelback out to cover the slot receiver and short hook area. This time it appeared to be a 4-2-5 scheme since it was 3rd and long. 4 other DB's are deep on the play Against 2TE formations Illinois stayed in a base 4-3 front and played two safeties deep in the middle of the field. Against this 4WR set (2x2) on 3rd and 20 Illinois essentially had six committed to pass defense and five men along the line of scrimmage. Against the 5WR empty backfield set on a third and short they played some sort of quarters coverage or four deep zone with 3 defenders underneath. Against this I formation set they only left six men in the immediate tackle box on first down. From behind you can see the two safeties deep on the play in the secondary. USC appeared to attack the perimeter on the run game more than the middle where teams like Ohio State did not have much success versus Illinois. Run plays off tackle and through the C and D line gaps were more prominent that through the A and B gaps. The 65 yard run by Joe McKnight came on a screen pass ruled a lateral and the 63 yard Stafon Johnson run came off of left tackle it appeared as well.  The passing game was a mix of perimeter oriented plays and some intermediate passes to the middle such as crossing routes to TE Fred Davis and some outlet passes to backs coming out of the back field. Passing Game Related Overall USC was 26 of 38 in the passing department for 289 yards and one interception. There were a lot of good short and intermediate passes in the game with yards after catch. As mentioned above the Joe McKnight play on a swing pass was ruled a lateral. If it had been completed as a forward pass play it would have shifted another 65 yards into this category. For the most part USC did not stretch the defense much beyond 20 yards on pass plays. The one deeper curl route over the middle was intercepted when the WR slipped on the play. Overall the attack had a pretty balanced mix of intermediate vertical passes in the 10-20 yard range, passes to the sidelines for horizontal stretches and attempts to get players isolated in the middle of the field on crossing routes versus the Illinois linebackers. Except for a couple of dropped passes and the aforementioned interception the plan worked well. Passing Yards & Completion % Chart For the season the passing game simply did not wind up to be the strength of the offense most games. It reached high points of 364 yards versus Stanford and 375 yards versus Arizona State.  The low points were the Nebraska, Arizona, and Cal games for passing. For the season it will finish ranked around 50th in the NCAA with 237 yards per game. That ranks in front of both LSU (55th) and Ohio State (87th) for those interested in the comparison. YPA / YPC Chart Rose Bowl USC Pass Play Examples Pass Play 1 - Joe McKnight Lateral (Technically a run play) This is technically a run play but I will list it here none the less. USC lined up in an unbalance (3x1) WR set to the wide side of the field. McKnight went in motion before the snap on a designed swing pass to the right. The Illini DE beat the USC right tackle and appeared to slightly alter the trajectory of the throw by Booty... ...Sometimes you just get lucky with the way the ball bounces and McKnight scooped up the backwards lateral. Once in open space he turned the corner and found plenty of run room. Open field he is very elusive and seems almost nonchalant at times picking his route. The Illinois cornerback Vontae Davis with the angle brought him down showing good closing speed. I could never tell if McKnight hit stop end speed or not. Pass Play 2 - David Ausberry Touchdown Here was a 5WR empty backfield set for USC inside the redzone. The protection was just good enough as LT Baker did lose his man just at the end on the play. Booty had time however and rifled one into the corner to David Ausberry on  a perfectly timed route. Pass Play 3 - Ronald Johnson Sideline catch Here was a 3WR set by USC with TE and 2WR's right (Trey right). This isolates Ronald Johnson one on one to the short side of the field. Booty had good protection and just enough time for the play to develop. Johnson caught the ball on a sideline comeback route which had thrown off the defender in man coverage. Pass Play 4 - Fred Davis Catch and Run There were a half dozen nice catch and run plays by Fred Davis and I could highlight any one of then. On this one USC motions a WR to the right to create an unbalanced situation to the wide side of the field with 3WR's. The 3WR's run routes that clear out the underneath coverage area and from the back side Fred Davis comes across the middle on the shallow crossing route. On the video clip below you can see more clearly how it cleared out the coverage for him to make a catch in open space. Stanley Havili Catch Here was the nice catch by Stanley Havili in the 3rd quarter. It came with the FB simply releasing out of the backfield and not being picked up effectively by the Illinois LB #42. Better to view this one in the video clip as well with the behind angle on TV. Overall there were a lot of good passes in the game and too many to individually clip. For those interested here is a 6 minute video clip of some of the longer pass plays (click here). Pass Histogram Here was the shape of the passing histogram in the game for USC. There were a good number of passes completed for greater than 14 yards. Most were down field throws but several were the result of good yards after catch. The clear focus for improvement next season is wide receiver route running and pass catching ability. Not having Patrick Turner in the game no doubt affected the receiving corps as well but still this is a major area for improvement for USC in 2008. Running Game The USC rush attack was the surprise of the game for me at least. I did not suspect that USC would be able to rush for 343 yards on 43 carries versus Illinois. 125 yards of that total of course came on two big runs - the play ruled a lateral to Joe McKnight and the big Stafon Johnson run in the 4th quarter. None the less even without those it was still an impressive rush attack overall. Here is the shape of the histogram for the runs in the game. Not only were there nice big runs but there were a lot of good drive sustaining four and five yard type carries as well in the middle. USC Rush Histogram Joe McKnight Run Here was a McKnight run that will be seen again in the future. USC did this a lot with Reggie Bush. Simply line up in a 4 WR (2x2) set and run either a quick delay or a draw play.  This play looked like an attempt to catch Illinois off guard with the 4WR formation and only the MLB in the immediate middle of the field. The play worked well and got Joe outside after running up behind the left guard it appeared. Once outside he picked up 13 yards or so but not enough for the first down. Teams will have to defend against this next season. Chauncey Washington Run Here was a 2TE set by USC with Fred Davis winged to the right in an H back spot. It was either a basic drive block or zone play (could not tell from the angle) for RB Chauncey Washington. Chauncey bent the play outside of Sam Baker to the left and short side of the field. The play wound up gaining 18 yards on some good hard running. Stafon Johnson Run Here is a 3WR (TE Trey) set for USC to the wide side with a single running back Stafon Johnson. It looked like another basic run play with this one initially going more up the middle. TV never gave a behind shot so I could not see the actual gap formed on the play. But somehow Johnson cleanly picked his way right through all this traffic. Once clear he bounced it outside and was off to the races for a big gain of 63 yards against what was now a very tired Illinois defense in the 4th quarter. There were other big runs in the game as well including some favorites near the end of the game by Jody Adewale and Herschel Dennis. If you are interested here is a link to a video clip of the run plays (click here). Offense by Down and Distance Run / Pass Down and Distance Situation Run Play Pass Play 1st Down 22 19 2nd & Long 9 9 2nd & Medium 1 3 2nd & Short 5 0 3rd and Long 4 5 3rd and Medium 0 2 3rd and Short 2 0 4th Down 0 0 Overall 43 38 Other Notes & Reflections: This was obviously a great win for USC to wrap up a good 11-2 season overall. Injuries to key starters, turnovers on offense, and a shortage of turnovers forced on defense once again plagued the squad at key times during the year. When John David Booty started 10 games this year the offense averaged 453 yards and 35 points per game. In recent historical terms that is quite good. Fans will have to live with the "what if" factor for this season and what might have been had the year been more injury free. The consolation prize is a 6th straight Pac-10 title (or co-title) and BCS appearance. No other team has done this over the same period of time. Starting seniors moving on include QB John David Booty, RB Chauncey Washington, TE Fred Davis, LT Sam Baker, Center Matt Spanos, and RT Drew Radovich. Sentimental favorites like Herschel Dennis, Desmond Reed, and key backups too numerous to mention will be greatly missed next season. Reports make it sound as though family related matters may induce RG Chilo Rachal to consider entering the draft as a junior as well. The presence and contribution of all these players will be sorely missed. Thanks to the incredible recruiting efforts of the entire staff, capable back ups exist at every position that should make next year success as well. On offense the upcoming QB position battle, replacing multiple members of the O-line, and ongoing WR development will move to the forefront in terms of curiosity next year. Start up the countdown clock toward August 30 at Virginia! Enjoy the off season.