BC Football Travels to USC, Handed First Loss

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September 15, 2013 by conteconfidential

After opening the season with two wins at home, an aura of positivity has surrounded the Boston College football team, led by energetic first-year head coach Steve Addazio. Going into their matchup with the University of Southern California Trojans, who were coming off a humiliating upset loss to Washington State, the Eagles had high hopes that they would keep their undefeated season alive.

But BC came up short in their efforts to upset the Trojans and fell 35-7, making them 2-1 on the 2013 season.

In Saturday’s game, the Trojans scored just before the end of the first quarter on a five-yard pass. It capped off a lengthy 14-play possession that saw USC march 86 yards down the field. USC tailback Tre Madden received the five-yard pass, his first career scoring catch, from quarterback Cody Kessler, who threw 15-for-17 for a total of 237 yards and two touchdowns.

When compared to the Trojans’ 521 offensive yards, the Eagles’ 184 just did not hold up. Chase Rettig, starting in his 35^th straight game, completed 11 of 23 passes for 83 yards. During the Eagles’ first two games, victories against Villanova and Wake Forest, he threw for 408 yards and four touchdowns. Andre Williams, coming off of ACC Player of the Week and BC Eagle of the Week honors after rushing 318 yards in the first two games of the season, ran for just 38 yards against USC.

Addazio was pleased with the Eagles’ ability to stave off the Trojan offense early in the first quarter.

“I said all week we had to sustain their early shot, the early barrage,” Addazio said in a postgame interview. “They had their backs against the wall. I felt we kind of survived that and got going a little on offense but then we stalled. Then they went on a long drive and we didn’t really respond with an equal drive and [the game] turned.”

It was all USC from the first touchdown on, as the Trojan team added to its lead in the second quarter on an 80-yard touchdown catch by wide receiver Marqise Lee. That pass gave Kessler a total of 174 yards in the first half, besting his total in USC’s first two games: 136 yards in four-plus quarters of play.

The Trojans took heat from fans and the media for failing to throw the ball during the first two games of the season, which included a win at Hawaii and the upset to Washington State University on Sept. 7. Kessler and fellow red-shirted sophomore Max Wittek shared quarterback duties during those games, and threw for just 54 yards combined.

With USC up 14-0 at the half on Saturday, BC looked to battle back into the game.

“We felt good at the half and that we would regroup and respond,” said Addazio.

David Dudeck had the most receptions of all BC players, totaling 17 yards on four catches. (photo credit: Boston College Athletics)

As he admitted later in his postgame interview, however, that response did not materialize: “It didn’t happen. Offensively we didn’t make it happen and we couldn’t stop them. Offensively we didn’t pick up the pace.”

BC’s first possession in the second half lasted just three plays, including two incomplete passes by Rettig, for a gain of one yard, which occurred on a rush by Williams. After the ball changed possession, though, the defense stood strong. Sophomore linebacker Josh Keyes sacked Kessler to negate six yards of Trojan gains from the first three plays and force USC to punt after netting zero yards.

Acknowledging the Eagles’ offensive struggles in the second half, Addazio expressed a desire to see where his team fell short, adding, “I’m anxious to see the tape [on the third quarter] and exactly see where all the breakdowns were. USC’s scoring continued in the third quarter with Madden’s 30-yard run with 4:15 to go, and in the fourth with freshman tailback Justin Davis’ 17-yard touchdown run with 13:30 left on the clock.

Down 28-0 in the fourth, BC interrupted the string of Trojan offense with a 29-yard touchdown scored on the ground by true freshman running back Tyler Rouse. Rouse rushed for a total of 38 yards on that possession to help put the Eagles on the board, notching his first career touchdown.

USC responded on the next possession to finish off the scoring. Wittek, who came in as a substitution, finished a 75-yard drive by rushing two yards for a touchdown with 4:22 left in the fourth quarter, making the final score USC 35, BC 7.

The Eagles have extra time to rest before their next game, when they will host Florida State on Sept. 28. Addazio and his team have their work cut out for them, but can certainly respond to the struggles in order to sustain the positive atmosphere on the Heights throughout the season.

Quick Hits:

It was the first time the two teams have met since the 2009 Emerald Bowl, and only the fourth meeting all-time. USC has been victorious in all four previous matchups.

Rouse’s touchdown made him the sixth BC player to score a touchdown through the first three games of the season. It was also the longest run of his career.

Senior tight end Mike Naples had his first reception of the season when he caught a 13-yard pass in the first quarter.

Junior defensive lineman Mehdi Abdesmad tallied his first sack of the season during the second quarter when he brought down Kessler.

Go-to receiver Alex Amidon had just two receptions in the game, totaling 23 yards.

USC took 10 penalties for 100 yards in the game.

Saturday’s game was part of a home-and-home cross-conference series between the Eagles and Trojans. That series will close with a USC visiting Chestnut Hill in 2014.

By Lizzy Bayoff