USC Trojans' Fast Tempo Ranks No. 1 in College Football

The USC Trojans ran 95 offensive plays in their season opening victory over the Arizona State Sun Devils.

Bri Amaranthus | Nov 11, 2020

The USC Trojans ran 95 offensive plays in their season opening victory over the Arizona State Sun Devils. That quick tempo ranks USC as No. 1 in plays per game in all of College Football.

Although the Trojans have only played one game, USC second-year offensive coordinator Graham Harrell is very happy with the results. Last season, USC averaged 71.8 plays per game.

“I love 95 plays a game for sure,” Harrell said. “The more the better for us I think, but we did a pretty decent job at times playing with good tempo. Lots of plays are fun and good for us.”

No. 20 USC wants its defining trait for 2020 to be its explosive offense... And the Trojans are off to a record-breaking start. USC sophomore quarterback Kedon Slovis, the 2019 Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year, completed 40 passes against the Sun Devils, breaking the USC game record for completions.

Eliminating turnovers will be a point of emphasis for the Trojans in their second game of the season against Arizona. The Trojans totaled four turnovers in their season opener; three fumbles and one interception.

[READ: 10 Things to Know: USC Trojans vs. Arizona Wildcats]

[READ: How (RB) Vavae Malepeai Feels About Fumbling In The RedZone]

“We gotta take care of the football,” Harrell said. “We moved the football all day long, so I was confident that we could continue to do that. It just came down to taking care of the football and finding a way to get into the end zone.”

One area of growth... Harrell praised Slovis' ability to refrain from forcing big plays that proved to result in turnovers last season.

“I think that’s a good sign for us,” Harell said. “I would imagine a lot of people’s goal would be to get soft and try to take away explosives and when they do that you gotta be disciplined enough not to turn the football over and check it down.”

USC (1-0) travels to play Arizona (0-0) on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2020 at 12:30 p.m. PT.

For more USC news visit www.alltrojans.com. Follow us on Twitter

Published Nov 11, 2020

BRI AMARANTHUS

Bri Amaranthus is an Emmy-winning sports reporter with over 12 years of experience in television, radio, podcasting, and digital sports journalism. She has been with Sports Illustrated for four years, providing breaking news, exclusive interviews, and analysis on the NFL, college sports, and the NBA. Prior to joining SI, Bri hosted NBC Sports Northwest's prime-time television show, where she also served as the Oregon beat reporter and created content covering both the NBA and college sports. Throughout her career, Bri has achieved significant milestones, including covering major events like the NBA Finals, NFL playoffs, College Football Playoff, NCAA Basketball Tournament, NFL Draft, and the NFL Combine. She earned a D1 scholarship to play softball at the University of San Diego and won two state softball titles in high school in Oregon. In addition to her Emmy win for NBC's All-Star Coach special, she has received multiple Emmy nominations, highlighting her dedication and talent in sports journalism