USC Trojans Quarterback Miller Moss: Slow Starts 'Unacceptable' In Big Ten Play

The USC Trojans are coming off of a must-win game against the Wisconsin Badgers. Although the Trojans won, there are still issues that must be addressed.

Sep 28, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans quarterback Miller Moss (7) throws against the Wisconsin Badgers in the second half at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The USC Trojans are coming off a must-win game against the Wisconsin Badgers after the Trojans won 38-21 due to an excellent second-half performance. Coming off of a loss to Michigan, this was a crucial game and the Trojans pulled it off. The issue is that the Trojans continuously begin their games with a slow start.

With one loss already in Big Ten conference play, slow starts may not cut it each week. In week four the Trojans faced the Michigan Wolverines. Although they turned it around in the second half it was not enough to get the job done.

In week five against the Wisconsin Badgers, the Trojans pulled off the win despite being down at halftime 21-10. The team came out firing during the second half, holding the Badgers to zero points and the USC offense putting up 28 points. While the second-half adjustments that the Trojans made were great, the first half needs to be better.

Sep 28, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans quarterback Miller Moss (7) throws against the Wisconsin Badgers in the second half at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

After the game, USC Trojans quarterback Miller Moss shared his thoughts on the Trojans' first half struggles.

"It's unacceptable going forward. We've got to get that addressed," said Moss. "We just made mistakes, turned the ball over. We liked everything we had. It was just about us going and executing."

The question remains, how can the Trojans avoid slow starts? The first and most important aspect of the game that must be changed is the avoidable mistakes. The Trojans muffed punt giving the ball right back to Wisconsin, and it took the Badgers just one play to score off of that Trojans mistake. If the special teams can make clean plays, the Trojans can be more successful in the first half.

Moss will also need to be better in the first half and gain momentum early. The offensive line on the Trojans continues to be an issue, but Moss did have some time to throw before the Badgers put him under pressure in the first half. While he was making plays, Moss's interception in the first half shut down any momentum. He played well in the second half, throwing two touchdowns and running in himself for one. Moss needs to get those big plays going earlier too.

The entire Trojans offense must get the momentum going earlier. Against the Badgers, it did look as though USC was going to start early, scoring a touchdown on their first drive of the game. After that, it was a rough couple of drives for the offense. They had to punt and then Moss threw an interception and fumbled the ball in the red zone. The turnovers and red zone failures early in the game must be fixed moving forward.

Sep 28, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans quarterback Miller Moss (7) throws the ball against the Wisconsin Badgers in the first half at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

In the first half, the USC defense looked lost on the field. In the second half, they held Wisconsin scoreless and completely dominated. If Wisconsin gets it going earlier they could win the remainder of the season.

Looking forward, the Trojans will be playing the Penn State Nittany Lions on Oct. 12. This may be another game where if the Trojans start too late the game could already be lost by the first half.

Despite the slow start, the Trojans are now 3-1  back on track for the season. They only have one loss and are still in the fight for the college football playoffs. Fixing these key issues in the first half of the game will make them contenders for playoffs this season. The USC Trojans will next face the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Oct. 5. 

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