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K.J. Costello was lively and Bryce Love had his things. These things were – and will continue to be – expected for Stanford all season. The main question mark for the Cardinal is his defense after losing his best lineman in the NFL for a second year in a row.
Questions about the strength of the unit were answered when Stanford held his USC rival to zero in offensive touchdowns in a 17-3 win on Saturday in the Pac-12 championship game. Last year. It was the first time the Trojans had not scored a touchdown since opening in 2016 against Alabama, a 52-6 loss.
The cardinal may not have Solomon Thomas (drafted by the 49ers in 2016) or Harrison Phillips (Bills in 2017) or All-Pac-12 Justin Reid, Quack Meeks or former linebacker Peter Kalambayi (all in the NFL ), but it turned out to be dominant. The group lobbied USC's first-year freshman, JT Daniels.
After passing 21 of 35 for 282 yards with a touchdown in USC's first game of the season last week against UNLV, Daniels was 16th out of 34 for 215 yards without touchdowns and two interceptions this week.
There were times when Daniels, who was playing through a bruise in his throwing hand, looked like a spark for USC. With 1:18 playing before half-time and Stanford leading only 7-0, Daniels faced the Trojans fourth and second on Cardinal's 40-yard line. He was quickly dismissed by Joey Alfieri for a nine-yard loss and fumbled. Stanford responded with a five-game, 51-yard, 44-second run and a 9-yard touchdown pass from Costello to Colby Parkinson.
Later, while it was 6:36 in the game, Daniels tried to find his long-time teammate, Amon-Ra St. Brown, in third and eleven, but the pass was manhandled.
The dagger came with 2:22 left. Daniels led his most promising race of the day by completing 35- and 28-yard passes to bring the Trojans back to Stanford 15. Then, in the first period, he was intercepted by safety Malik Antoine at the goal line. Daniels launched a second interception two minutes later, which also happened at the hands of Antoine.
Stanford controlled the game from the start, leading the pack on his first possession and scoring on a six-meter run of Love. The Heisman Trophy candidate had 29 total yards and no touchdowns in San Diego State's first game last week, but he managed to reach more pace, hit hard tackles and get 22 touchdowns. 136 yards. Costello Trojans jumped from 16 out of 27 for 183 yards and a touchdown with no turnovers. He found at least six different receivers, three of which had at least four receptions.
After the match, David Shaw said on the show that his team could improve and play better, but with this convincing defensive performance, it showed that this team could be the best candidate for the Pac-12 to potentially represent the race playoffs.
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