The college football season is officially underway at USC. And it didn't take long for the Trojans to bring many more questions than answers.
USC won its matchup against Fresno State, 31-23, Saturday night in the Coliseum, but lost the war as starting sophomore quarterback JT Daniels saw his season come to an end soon after it began. Daniels got off to a brilliant start and was 25 for 34 for 215 yards passing when he tried to retreat from a Bulldogs blitz and got folded up by the pressure. He tore the anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus in his right knee, ending his night and ultimately his season on the Trojans' final offensive play of the first half.
That meant USC had to turn to Kedon Slovis. It ran a very run-centric offense in the second half to take some pressure off of true freshman.
Keely Eure and Shotgun Spratling return to the USCfootball.com studio with a new episode of the Family Feud Podcast to discuss how concerned Trojan fans should be about Slovis starting for the first time against Stanford and whether there may be more pressing things that USC has to take care of even before worrying about the success of Slovis.
In this week's Stock Up/Stock Down segment, Keely and Shotgun have plenty of takeaways from the first game of the year. They look at the dynamic running back duo of Vavae Malepeai and Stephen Carr -- who combined for 190 yards rushing, more than 50 yards receiving and three touchdowns -- and the big men up front that helped paved the way for the rushing attack, including graduate transfer Drew Richmond. The Drakes are discussed as freshmen Drake London and Drake Jackson both earned starts in their collegiate debuts. The USCfootball.com duo also look at the positives and negatives from the tight end position.
Keely frowns upon the message sent by the USC coaching staff when it delivers conflicting information to the media while Shotgun breaks down the issues the Trojans had on defense against edge-rushing plays, including the struggles of talented sophomore linebacker Palaie Gaoteote.
After the first game, Keely and Shotgun have some notes from the sidelines of what they were able to observe and hear while covering the game and practices throughout the week, including Juliano Falaniko's attempt to stake claim for the Trojans like a 15th century explorer, the atmosphere in the Coliseum when safety Isaiah Pola-Mao sealed the game with an interception in the end zone and the demeanor of Slovis and Daniels on the sideline in the second half.
In the Agree/Disagree portion of the podcast, Keely questions Shotgun about the how Stanford's defense may attack the Trojans with a true freshman behind center and how the USC defense can get better in a week.
This episode of the Family Feud Podcast concludes with the questions that you emailed (familyfeudpod@gmail.com) and tweeted to us, including whether Tyler Vaughns' performance changed Shotgun's perception of the potential of "Stock Neutral," what might not have been revealed yet by offensive coordinator Graham Harrell, the length of Slovis' leash and what can the Trojans consider to be a good record for the season with a freshman at quarterback for the second year in a row.
Keely and Shotgun are looking to feature your question on an upcoming episode. Send in your Stock Up/Stock Down contenders for debate, provide an Agree/Disagree statement or a question you want answered. To potentially be featured on the show, email us at familyfeudpod@gmail.com.
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