Oregon alum Geoff Schwartz sounds off on USC's performance

On3 imageby:Simon Gibbs09/13/21

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Former Oregon Ducks right tackle Geoff Schwartz was shocked when he woke up midway through the USC-Stanford game and saw the score.

USC, a team that went into the contest with a No. 15 ranking in the Week 2 AP Top-25 poll, watched it all slip away after a 42-28 loss to the Stanford Cardinal. Schwartz couldn’t believe what he saw.

“I passed out,” Schwartz tweeted. “Hand on remote and TV on. I didn’t expect to stay awake but … Wtf USC? Stanford could barely move the ball against KSU. And it’s not like their defense was much better. How the hell did y’all get blown out at home!?!?”

As Schwartz pointed out, it seemed like nothing went right for USC on Saturday; The Trojans are now 1-1 following a Week 1 win over San Jose State but fall behind in the Pac-12 conference standings. And perhaps Schwartz has a point, as USC fell in shocking fashion to Stanford, while Oregon pulled off a season-defining upset over Ohio State.

The USC Trojans looked to have found themselves in a hole as soon as the game began. Quarterback Kedon Slovis completed just 27 of his 42 pass attempts, good for 223 passing yards and a touchdown, but Slovis also threw an interception — one that, early in the second half, was returned 31 yards, all the way for a touchdown by Stanford’s Kyu Blu Kelly. Stanford’s rushing attack simply couldn’t get much going: with the exception of a 20-yard rush by Vavae Malepeai and a 22-yard rush by Keaontay Ingram, USC was seldom able to break 10 yards on a single rush. The offense finished the game with 185 rushing yards on 33 carries and two touchdowns, which ultimately was far from enough.

On the defensive side of the ball, things weren’t much better for USC. Tanner McKee, Stanford’s newly-named starting quarterback, had an extremely efficient first day on the job, thanks in part to USC letting him complete nearly all his passes. He ended with a completion percentage of roughly 70, good for 234 passing yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. USC’s defense simply could not stop Stanford running back Nathaniel Peat, who had 115 rushing yards and a touchdown in just six carries, highlighted by an 87-yard rush.

USC alumni sound off

Schwartz, an alum of Pac-12 rival Oregon, called out the Trojans for their poor performance, but he wasn’t the only former player to sound off. Former USC stars Matt Leinart and Keyshawn Johnson chimed in as well.

“This is just bad,” Leinart said of USC’s play. “I saw Orgeon today up close and personal and they would drop the hammer on SC. Two programs going in different directions.”

Johnson, the 1995 Pac-12 Player of the Year, tweeted on Saturday night to voice his displeasure with Clay Helton following USC’s lifeless loss to Stanford.

“I’m so pissed. I can no longer Fight On for him — Period. Embarrassing” Johnson tweeted about USC and Coach Helton.

While Helton entered 2021 with his team surrounded by promise, any hope left was squandered by the loss to Stanford. By the end of the night, it was clear that Johnson and Leinart were not the only unhappy USC fans.