Mondays With Mora: "Kedon Slovis Is A Concern For Me"
Mondays with Mora features ESPN and former CFB and NFL head coach Jim Mora Jr. and SI All Trojans Reporter Claudette Montana Pattison. Check back every Monday during the college football season for weekly breakdowns and analysis on USC football.
The USC Trojans traveled down to Salt Lake City, Utah to compete against the Utah Utes last Saturday. With a final score of 33-17 the Trojans came out strong specifically on defense, and stopped the Utes from scoring entirely in the second half. ESPN college football analyst Jim Mora Jr, is here to give some key takeaways from Saturdays game.
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Jim Mora Jr.'s take on USC's defense
"I think they are getting more comfortable in the scheme and understanding how they fit as individuals in the big picture of all 11, and I think that they are starting to play off of each other, understand concepts better, depend on each other more. That's really important on defense, having that chemistry, getting a feel for the guys that you're playing with, certainly communication is always key on defense. They looked more settled in on defense. I thought they tackled well, hustled to the ball a lot better. To me that is a sign of growing confidence in themselves as players and in the scheme they are playing in."
- Final Thoughts -
In Todd Orlando's third game calling the Trojans defensive plays, USC forced five turnovers on Utah and sacked Utah's QB's three times. The Trojans allowed 216 passing yards by Cam Rising and Jake Bentley and 111 rushing yards. Arguably, the biggest victory of the night by the Trojans was allowing ZERO points by the Utes in the second half.
Jim Mora Jr.'s take on USC offense
"I love the way Vavae [Malepeai] runs, I wouldn't want to tackle him. He is fun to watch. He's got a certain energy and bounce to him and toughness that I really respect. I think that their skill players have that, they have a little swagger and they deserve to they are really good players. Kedon [Slovis] is a concern for me as well but I think we need to temper our expectations a little bit and remember that he wasn't a highly ranked kid out of high school. He kinda burst on the scene last year as a freshman when called upon after the injuries and he probably surprised some people. So maybe we were over sold on him a little bit. I still think he is a really good player with a ton of upside. The issue with Kedon right now is just consistency."
- Final Thoughts -
Vavae Malepeai was the leading rusher for USC's offense on Saturday with 20 carries and 62 rushing yards. He stepped up and carried the run game as running backs Markese Stepp and Stephen Carr were out with injuries. Slovis continues to lead the Pac-12 in passing yards per game with 323.3 passing yards. On Saturday he went 24/25, threw 264 yards and had 2 TD's.
TO WATCH: The Mondays With Mora interview click the video above.
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