What we learned about USC in its win over Stanford

Five things we learned from USC’s 13-10 victory over Stanford on Saturday:

The Trojans can win, and they can do it on the road

USC faced its first real test of the season in a Pac-12 Conference opener at Stanford. The Cardinal entered the contest on a 17-game home-field winning streak.

But USC’s Andre Heidari kicked a career-long 53-yard field goal to give USC the victory and end the Cardinal’s streak.

So what does it mean about USC?

The Trojans beat the two-time defending Pac-12 champion. They did it on the road and in a stadium in which they hadn’t won since 2008.

We learned this team has the potential to put together a special season, perhaps even a run to the Pac-12 South title and into the Pac-12 championship game.

The Trojans survived Week 1 of distractions in the form of Josh Shaw and Anthony Brown before routing Fresno State, 52-13.

Week 2 provided its own obstacles, when quarterback Cody Kessler was unable to practice after requiring a toe procedure and defensive end Leonard Williams sat out of drills because of an ankle injury.

USC is now Pac-12- and road-tested. It wasn’t pretty, but the Trojans passed.

Bend-but-don’t-break defense

USC’s defense was an afterthought in last week’s 52-13 rout of Fresno State.

But the unit was front and center on Saturday.

Stanford was inside USC’s 30-yard line nine times, but only scored twice -- once settling for a field goal.

The Trojans’ front seven are what we thought they were: strong and experienced.

Williams and linebacker Anthony Sarao made a team-best 11 tackles.

Williams and linebacker J.R. Tavai both had a sack.

And Tavai’s hit on quarterback Kevin Hogan forced a fumble that was recovered by Scott Felix to seal the victory.

Williams can play through pain, and play well

We already knew Williams could play through pain -- he did so most of last season because of a partially torn labrum in his shoulder.

But it still continues to surprise how much he can endure.

Williams injured an ankle during Tuesday’s practice and sat out Wednesday. He wore a brace on his ankle and walked with a noticeable limp.

The media was not allowed to view Thursday’s practice, so it’s unclear if Williams was able to get any on-field preparation for Stanford.

He took one rep during warmups on Saturday before going to the sideline.

But Williams played when it mattered, making 11 tackles against the Cardinal.

And in turn, he proved it will take much more than a shoulder injury or hurt ankle to keep him on the sideline.

What’s most impressive about Williams’ performance is that Stanford Coach David Shaw said before the game he would plan around how to neutralize the defensive end.

Clearly that didn’t work out.

Penalty problems

USC escaped Stanford with a win, but as I already said, it wasn’t pretty.

The Trojans were penalized 10 times for 87 yards.

Four of the penalties were personal fouls, including an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty against Coach Steve Sarkisian and a targeting call that led to the ejection of linebacker Hayes Pullard.

USC will need to play more disciplined football and reduce the penalty yards as the season continues.

Not so fast

USC’s up-tempo offense has some growing pains to work through.

Sarkisian said his goal is to run upward of 80 plays per game, but the Trojans were only able to run 59 plays for 291 yards against the Cardinal.

That’s considerably less than the 701 yards they gained in 105 plays in last week’s 52-13 victory over Fresno State.

USC was seven of 14 on third-down conversions against Stanford, which limited the Trojans’ ability to drive the field and run up the play count.

Stanford, a traditional pro-style offense, ran 68 plays.

Questions about USC? Email me at LNThiry@gmail.com or tweet @LindseyThiry and I will answer questions in a weekly USC Now mailbag