The Boston College Eagles weren't given much of a shot against the 9th-ranked USC Trojans on Saturday night, but the Eagles gave USC fits and ended up pulling off the 37-31 upset in Chestnut Hill. Tyler Murphy rushed for 191 yards on only 13 rushing attempts, including this 66-yard scamper with 3:30 left to clinch the game for the home team.
USC vs. Boston College final score: 3 things we learned from the Eagles’ huge 37-31 upset win
The Eagles pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the young season, 37-31 over 9th-ranked USC.
GIF credit: ESPN
USC looked like they would have the upper hand early, and jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter. The Eagles didn't give in though, and the rushing offense paved the way to the tune of 453 yards and five touchdowns. Tyler Rouse, Sherman Alston, and Jon Hilliman all chipped in with at least one score, in addition to Murphy, who barely had to throw the ball himself.
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Cody Kessler played fairly well, but the problem for the Trojans was their complete lack of a running game. Buck Allen led the team with 31 yards on 15 carries, and that's simply not enough against a team with everything clicking like BC had on Saturday.
Three things we learned
1. Boston College is a doormat no longer. Steve Addazio was brought in at BC to scrape the program off the floor and get it moving in the right direction. They were able to break through into a bowl game in 2013, but did so almost entirely on the legs of the nigh-superhuman running back Andre Williams. With Williams in the NFL now, there was some question as to how the Eagles would fare, and as tonight showed, they will be fine.
2. What in the world is USC’s offense? The Trojans have been inconsistent with the ball this year, to put it mildly. They lit Fresno State on fire in the opener to the tune of 52 points, but understandably struggled with Stanford in a tough 13-10 win last Saturday. They could only muster 337 yards against Boston College, which presents a troubling sign of things to come in Pac-12 play. Which offense is the real one?
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3. Speaking of, what about USC’s rushing defense? BC uncorked a robust 8.4 yards per carry. That’s simply not good enough, not for a team with as much high-end talent as USC.
They are still have depth problems, but they have to be better if they want to win the Pac-12 South and hang with a team like Oregon, let alone offenses like Arizona State’s and Arizona’s.
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