2012 SEASON REVIEW & SUMMARY
2012 SEASON REVIEW
I'd have to categorize the 2012 season as a disappointing one. We fell apart down the stretch and I stuck with Ev McDaniel too long when I should have gone to Malcolm Moreno earlier. I thought McDaniel's experience and better current development would overcome his tendency to get picked off. I think we had enough talent to win the PAC-10 and do some damage in one of the BCS Bowl Games, but the collapse at the end just did us in.
I'm heading into the offseason seriously considering changes at the Offensive Coordinator and Lead Scout positions. I was underwhelmed by both of them this season and we'll see what's out there talent-wise.
We had a terrific recruiting year, TCY Today ranked our recruiting class 2nd in the nation behind only the University of Iowa. The changes we've wrought in academics here at USC are a real boost to our ability to bring in good players with both good athletic skills and good academics, which only increases our academic reputation ever further.
I don't expect any players to be on academic probation - for the second season in a row - which is a big accomplishment for the program. As for the three player suspensions this year, I've never been hit with so many in one season. In fact I've never had to suspend more than one player in any one season. Maybe it was something in the water. I hope it was just an aberation.
I was pleased with the way we bounced back and played in the Keystone Bowl. We played mad and we played hungry and we played extremely well. Hopefully that type of play will carry over into next season.
We lose some starters to graduation. They are seniors OG Gilbert Lucas, QB Ev McDaniel, TB Donny Cash, DE Kyle Newsome and ILB Adrian Hopper. They'll all be missed.
Finally, we had a number of players attain individual achievements this season. Below you'll find those award winners plus our team summary. See you in 2013.
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2012 University of Southern California Trojans
Individual Achievement Awards
* TB Donnell Cash (5th yr Sr.)
- PAC-10 Most Valuable Player
- PAC-10 Offensive Player of the Year
- 1st Team All PAC-10
* OG Gilbert Lucas (5th yr Sr.)
- 1st Team All PAC-10
* OT Warren Taggart (RS Jr.)
- 1st Team All PAC-10
* CB Mack Wilkins (RS Sr.)
- 1st Team All PAC-10
* ILB Adrian Hopper (5th yr Sr.)
- 2nd Team All PAC-10
* CB Tyrell Lyons (RS Soph.)
- 2nd Team All PAC-10
- Academic All PAC-10
* WR Ronald Wheeler (RS Soph.)
- Academic All PAC-10
* OG Ricky Estevez (Soph.)
- Academic All PAC-10
* S Bubba Miller (Fr.)
- Academic All PAC-10
* RB Gabe Whalen (Inc. Fr.)
- High School All-American
* WR Cole McConnell (Inc. Fr.)
- High School All-American
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The College Years
2012 Summary
The University of Southern California Trojans
Head Coach: Bear Growlz (5th yr.)
Offensive coordinator: Randy Edwards (1st yr.)
Defensive Coordinator: Bucky Riley (5th yr.)
Syndicate Coordinator: Pete Prior: (14th yr.)
Lead Scout: Daryl Hester (2nd yr.)
Record: 8-4 PAC-10: 5-3
BCS Rank: 28 PAC-10: 4th Place
Coaches Poll: 25
Fans Poll: 24
Southern California Team Rank
Rushes 493 21
Rushing Yards 2497 4
Yards Per Carry 5.06 2
Pass Attempts 323 59 (T)
Completions 181 51 (T)
Passing Yards 2645 34
Yards Per Attempt 8.18 23
3rd Down Conversions 42.1 17
Points Per Game 33.1 14
Turnovers 27 100 (T)
Turnover Margin -6 94 (T)
Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 384 39 (T)
Rushing Yards 880 3
Yards Per Carry 2.29 4
Pass Attempts 368 114 (T)
Completions 172 53 (T)
Passing Yards 2347 71
Yards Per Attempt 6.37 29
3rd Down Conversions 29.0 21
Points Per Game 20.5 39
Turnovers 21 46 (T)
Primary Formation: Flexbone Formation
Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 38 OHST (85) 9
2 35 UNH* (100) 3
5 35 at ORST (123) 6
6 31 AZST (54) 21
7 38 CALI (18) 14
9 34 WAST (67) 9
10 7 at WASH (103) 17
11 23 at ARIZ (94) 20
12 29 at STAN (43) 58
13 45 NODM (22) 55
14 21 UCLA (8) 28
16 62 vs AIRF (57) 7 ***Keystone Bowl***
Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
2 McDaniel QB 253 134 1957 7.73 9 21
14 Moreno QB 70 47 688 9.82 10 2
Team --- 323 181 2645 8.18 19 23
Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Stff YdLst
42 Cash RB 317 1708 5.38 17 77 110
21 Castillo RB 56 306 5.46 4 7 4
2 McDaniel QB 46 58 1.26 2 21 67
35 Coffey RB 34 275 8.08 4 6 9
14 Moreno QB 26 111 4.26 0 11 44
Team --- 493 2497 5.06 27 127 247
Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
7 Davison WR 81 41 761 18.5 229 6
4 Wheeler WR 58 31 731 23.5 270 8
39 Dotson FB 53 37 232 6.2 111 0
42 Cash RB 51 31 364 11.7 223 1
85 Robinson WR 31 15 291 19.4 67 3
21 Castillo RB 26 14 121 8.6 61 1
35 Coffey RB 18 9 125 13.8 47 0
Team --- 323 181 2645 14.6 1024 19
Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack TFL Ints Defn
48 Hopper ILB 74 30 0.0 20 0 3
40 Horn S 59 13 0.0 8 3 10
30 Wilkins CB 56 13 0.0 13 2 14
95 Burroughs DT 42 22 10.5 19 0 0
37 Humphrey S 34 6 0.0 10 0 9
54 Cunningham ILB 33 20 1.0 5 0 3
59 Coles ILB 31 15 0.0 3 1 1
92 Newsome DE 30 12 4.0 9 0 0
90 Strickland DE 29 14 11.5 14 0 0
56 Mascorella OLB 29 6 0.0 1 0 1
93 Morrison OLB 28 10 0.5 6 0 1
29 Lyons CB 28 11 0.5 2 6 17
98 Walton DE 22 5 9.5 11 0 0
26 Napiecek CB 21 6 1.0 2 1 5
42 Cash RB 15 0 0.0 0 0 0
Team --- 614 198 40.0 127 17 70
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