Football,f1 motorsports,NBA,Premier League

Hi Daily Fantasy Veterans and Rookies,

Week Nine delivered pretty much exactly what we expected with our Shootouts and Defensive Struggles with both of our big games, Broncos/Patriots and Colts/Giants posting 64 points, well over the Vegas lines, while our low scoring game to avoid, the Jets/Chiefs came in at only 34 points.  In our big games we had many fantasy studs, including: Tom Brady – 32 points; Gronk – 28.5; Julian Edelman – 30; Peyton – 26 points; Ronnie Hillman – 25; Demaryius – 22; E. Sanders – 28; Eli Manning – 26 (mostly in junk time but in fantasy that’s ok); Odel Beckham, Jr. – 26.6; and Andrew Luck – 33.7.  In our negative game, only Percy Harvin had over 22 fantasy points, and with the exception of Eric Decker, no player scored over 20 points.

Hopefully you had most or at least some of these studs in your lineups too and managed to avoid the fantasy busts in the low scoring games, but since this is Daily Fantasy, our teams that took us into the money are no more and we once again, will be building our team from the ground up. 

To help you set the optimal team (and hopefully take home some major cash prizes, including yet again another cool $1,000,000 first prize up for grabs in this week’s $2.5 Million Guaranteed contest) each week we look for those games that the odds makers in Vegas see as high scoring affairs, which means a lot of fantasy points should be racked up, and which should be low scoring games where the points will be hard to come by. 

To check out the first article of this series for a complete description of the strategy: CLICK HERE

We have a total of six teams on bye this week with some major Fantasy Studs, so it will be even more important this week to find those games where a ton of points will be scored and where you might find the relatively lower priced player (like Jeremy Hill last week who for only $4,000 blew up for 32 points) who could really light it up and take your roster to victory.  Teams on bye this week are: Colts; Patriots; Vikings; Chargers; Redskins; and Texans.

Here we go: Looking at Week Ten, there is a single game that meets our 50 point over/under threshold. 

Over/Under with Positive Impact on Value: TARGET PLAYERS ON THESE TEAMS THIS WEEK

For our negative game(s) we look for games under 42 points.

Over/Under with Negative Impact on Value: AVOID PLAYERS ON THESE TEAMS THIS WEEK

Basic strategy with the above information is to look for studs and lower priced value in the “POSITIVE” games and look to avoid most but not all of the players in the “NEGATIVE” games.

Now with our tools (FFC Strength of Schedule, FF Champs Defense Stats Allowed , The FFCPI and the FFC Daily Fantasy Rank Tool) primed and ready to go, we can now review our target games and make some decisions and look for value:

POSITIVE GAMES:

Chicago Bears @ Green Bay Packers:

Both of these teams are coming off a bye week so their offense studs have had plenty of time rest up and get healthy (hello Aaron Rodgers’ hamstring).  Neither of these teams have a defense that scares anybody, in week eight, the Packers allowed 44 points to Drew Brees and the Saints and Chicago gave up five TDs to Tom Brady and the Patriots, while giving up a total of 51 points.  I don’t know about all of you, but I am totally drooling over this game!

Looking at the Bears, Matt Forte has been a complete monster (especially in PPR) this year averaging 26.2 FFPG and this week he gets the Packers who are giving up an average of 153 combined yards per game to RBs this year.  He is expensive at $10,000, but if you combine him with an inexpensive QB who can get you 20 points (Sanchez ??), Forte could be your key to victory.

Jay Cutler is $7,800.  If you take out the stinker of a game he had versus Miami (9.9 points), he is averaging around 22 FFPG and worth a look against Packers who are giving up the 9^th most fantasy points to QBs.

At WR, Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffrey are averaging only 13 and 15 FFPG respectively, and in week four the Packers held them to 25 points combined (10 for Marshall and 15 for Jeffrey).  While the Packers’ secondary has been more porous of late, especially with the absence of Sam Shields (whose status is still cloudy at the time of this writing), Marshall and/or Jeffrey could have a big game, but it is tough to know which one and because of this, I would probably look elsewhere for my WRs.

At $5,600, Martellus Bennett could be a solid play, after a hot start and then a few poor weeks (he didn’t get in the end zone); he rebounded nicely against the Patriots in week eight for 21.5 points.  I like him this week.

For Green Bay, here is who you will want in your lineup:  Aaron Rodgers -  23 FFPG ($9,400); Jordy Nelson – 21.1 FFPG ($7,600); Randall Cobb – 20.5 FFPG ($7,400); Eddie Lacy – only 14 FFPG but coming off a 29 point performance against the Saints ($6,900); and if you need a low priced, but high potential player in your flex, Davante Adams continues to increase he role in his role in the offense (7 catches for 75 yards against the Saints in week eight), and at only $3,800 he provides strong potential in the Flex position.

If you don’t want to spend the budget on Rodgers at $9,400, a nice play would be to pick up a less expensive QB like Big Ben at $7,500 and then double up on Rodgers’ receivers Nelson and Cobb for only a combined $15,000 to cover the potential for Rodgers “going off” against the Bears.

Before moving on to the “negative” game, we should note that there are several games with an over/under in the 48 to 49 point range.  While they don’t meet our 50 point threshold, these games, more blowouts than shootouts, should be considered extremely “juicy”, especially with so many teams on bye this week.  Those games are: The Niners @ the Saints; the Bronco @ the Raiders; and the Panthers @ the Eagles.

Players to target are: Brees at only $8,200, that’s cheap for Brees in the DOME!; Manning at $9,700, expensive yes, but he is good for at least 3 TD against the Raiders if not more; Ingram at $5,900, the Saints have rediscovered the run and Ingram has been impressive; Hillman at $6,100 against the 29^th worst defense vs. RBs; LeSean McCoy at only $5,600 against a bad Panthers run defense and with a backup QB for the Eagles, McCoy should step up; Jeremy Maclin at $8,300, the man has 46 and 37 fantasy points in his last two games!; Demaryius and E. Sanders ($8,500 & $8,100), these guys are unstoppable; Anquan Boldin ($5,600), he is making the catches, averaging 7 catches per game in last 3 games with 2 TDs; Jimmy Graham is getting healthy and he is relatively cheap at $6,300;and  Julius Thomas is also inexpensive at $4,900 and with Wes Welker “Day to Day”, Orange Julius should get many more looks from Manning, just remember the beginning of the year when Welker was out, Julius Thomas went nuts with five TDs in the first 3 games.

Now, on to the games to avoid:

NEGATIVE GAMES: (Remember, a negative game does not mean that all players will stink and not put up fantasy numbers, it just means that there is generally better value to be had elsewhere)

We only have one game in this category this week, and it is really a story of two solid defenses versus one team that doesn’t have a running game (Bills) and one team that has a very pedestrian passing game (Chiefs).

Kansas City Chiefs @ Buffalo Bills:

The Buffalo Bills are eighth against the run and 13^th against the pass and the Kansas City Chiefs are 19^th versus the run and first against the pass.  So, what we have here is defenses that play very strongly against their opponent’s strong suit and are still very solid against the other component.

The Chiefs run Jamaal Charles and Buffalo stops the run, the Bills throw the ball to Sammy Watkins and the Chiefs are demons against the pass.  So, what do we do, well we downgrade Charles whose $6,400 salary would normally make us lock him into our lineup and we look at Sammy Watkins at $6,200 and say “maybe not this week”.  Alex Smith becomes pretty much unusable and Kyle Orton @$6,700 just seems too pricey against this defense.  I don’t think I have to mention the mess that is the Bills backfield. 

This one could easily be 17-10, just not enough points for us to spend our budget on.  If you want to take a flyer on either Charles or Watkins, I can’t say it’s an absolutely terrible move and if I had to pick one I would say go with Charles.

As for the defenses, both are pretty good plays with the Bills at $3,000 and the Chiefs at $3,400.  I would say the Bills are the safer play, with the Chiefs having a bit more upside in terms of point scoring turnovers as the Bills will most likely be passing more with their RB problems.

Well, that is it for this week, remember to do your research, look for more daily fantasy articles in the upcoming days.

If you have any questions, comments or just want to talk fantasy, hit me up on Twitter (@Beaudog2).

Good luck this weekend!!!

Beaudog

Woof!!

Hi Daily Fantasy Veterans and Rookies,

Week Nine delivered pretty much exactly what we expected with our Shootouts and Defensive Struggles with both of our big games, Broncos/Patriots and Colts/Giants posting 64 points, well over the Vegas lines, while our low scoring game to avoid, the Jets/Chiefs came in at only 34 points.  In our big games we had many fantasy studs, including: Tom Brady – 32 points; Gronk – 28.5; Julian Edelman – 30; Peyton – 26 points; Ronnie Hillman – 25; Demaryius – 22; E. Sanders – 28; Eli Manning – 26 (mostly in junk time but in fantasy that’s ok); Odel Beckham, Jr. – 26.6; and Andrew Luck – 33.7.  In our negative game, only Percy Harvin had over 22 fantasy points, and with the exception of Eric Decker, no player scored over 20 points.

Hopefully you had most or at least some of these studs in your lineups too and managed to avoid the fantasy busts in the low scoring games, but since this is Daily Fantasy, our teams that took us into the money are no more and we once again, will be building our team from the ground up. 

To help you set the optimal team (and hopefully take home some major cash prizes, including yet again another cool $1,000,000 first prize up for grabs in this week’s $2.5 Million Guaranteed contest) each week we look for those games that the odds makers in Vegas see as high scoring affairs, which means a lot of fantasy points should be racked up, and which should be low scoring games where the points will be hard to come by. 

To check out the first article of this series for a complete description of the strategy: CLICK HERE

We have a total of six teams on bye this week with some major Fantasy Studs, so it will be even more important this week to find those games where a ton of points will be scored and where you might find the relatively lower priced player (like Jeremy Hill last week who for only $4,000 blew up for 32 points) who could really light it up and take your roster to victory.  Teams on bye this week are: Colts; Patriots; Vikings; Chargers; Redskins; and Texans.

Here we go: Looking at Week Ten, there is a single game that meets our 50 point over/under threshold. 

Over/Under with Positive Impact on Value: TARGET PLAYERS ON THESE TEAMS THIS WEEK

For our negative game(s) we look for games under 42 points.

Over/Under with Negative Impact on Value: AVOID PLAYERS ON THESE TEAMS THIS WEEK

Basic strategy with the above information is to look for studs and lower priced value in the “POSITIVE” games and look to avoid most but not all of the players in the “NEGATIVE” games.

Now with our tools (FFC Strength of Schedule, FF Champs Defense Stats Allowed , The FFCPI and the FFC Daily Fantasy Rank Tool) primed and ready to go, we can now review our target games and make some decisions and look for value:

POSITIVE GAMES:

Chicago Bears @ Green Bay Packers:

Both of these teams are coming off a bye week so their offense studs have had plenty of time rest up and get healthy (hello Aaron Rodgers’ hamstring).  Neither of these teams have a defense that scares anybody, in week eight, the Packers allowed 44 points to Drew Brees and the Saints and Chicago gave up five TDs to Tom Brady and the Patriots, while giving up a total of 51 points.  I don’t know about all of you, but I am totally drooling over this game!

Looking at the Bears, Matt Forte has been a complete monster (especially in PPR) this year averaging 26.2 FFPG and this week he gets the Packers who are giving up an average of 153 combined yards per game to RBs this year.  He is expensive at $10,000, but if you combine him with an inexpensive QB who can get you 20 points (Sanchez ??), Forte could be your key to victory.

Jay Cutler is $7,800.  If you take out the stinker of a game he had versus Miami (9.9 points), he is averaging around 22 FFPG and worth a look against Packers who are giving up the 9^th most fantasy points to QBs.

At WR, Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffrey are averaging only 13 and 15 FFPG respectively, and in week four the Packers held them to 25 points combined (10 for Marshall and 15 for Jeffrey).  While the Packers’ secondary has been more porous of late, especially with the absence of Sam Shields (whose status is still cloudy at the time of this writing), Marshall and/or Jeffrey could have a big game, but it is tough to know which one and because of this, I would probably look elsewhere for my WRs.

At $5,600, Martellus Bennett could be a solid play, after a hot start and then a few poor weeks (he didn’t get in the end zone); he rebounded nicely against the Patriots in week eight for 21.5 points.  I like him this week.

For Green Bay, here is who you will want in your lineup:  Aaron Rodgers -  23 FFPG ($9,400); Jordy Nelson – 21.1 FFPG ($7,600); Randall Cobb – 20.5 FFPG ($7,400); Eddie Lacy – only 14 FFPG but coming off a 29 point performance against the Saints ($6,900); and if you need a low priced, but high potential player in your flex, Davante Adams continues to increase he role in his role in the offense (7 catches for 75 yards against the Saints in week eight), and at only $3,800 he provides strong potential in the Flex position.

If you don’t want to spend the budget on Rodgers at $9,400, a nice play would be to pick up a less expensive QB like Big Ben at $7,500 and then double up on Rodgers’ receivers Nelson and Cobb for only a combined $15,000 to cover the potential for Rodgers “going off” against the Bears.

Before moving on to the “negative” game, we should note that there are several games with an over/under in the 48 to 49 point range.  While they don’t meet our 50 point threshold, these games, more blowouts than shootouts, should be considered extremely “juicy”, especially with so many teams on bye this week.  Those games are: The Niners @ the Saints; the Bronco @ the Raiders; and the Panthers @ the Eagles.

Players to target are: Brees at only $8,200, that’s cheap for Brees in the DOME!; Manning at $9,700, expensive yes, but he is good for at least 3 TD against the Raiders if not more; Ingram at $5,900, the Saints have rediscovered the run and Ingram has been impressive; Hillman at $6,100 against the 29^th worst defense vs. RBs; LeSean McCoy at only $5,600 against a bad Panthers run defense and with a backup QB for the Eagles, McCoy should step up; Jeremy Maclin at $8,300, the man has 46 and 37 fantasy points in his last two games!; Demaryius and E. Sanders ($8,500 & $8,100), these guys are unstoppable; Anquan Boldin ($5,600), he is making the catches, averaging 7 catches per game in last 3 games with 2 TDs; Jimmy Graham is getting healthy and he is relatively cheap at $6,300;and  Julius Thomas is also inexpensive at $4,900 and with Wes Welker “Day to Day”, Orange Julius should get many more looks from Manning, just remember the beginning of the year when Welker was out, Julius Thomas went nuts with five TDs in the first 3 games.

Now, on to the games to avoid:

NEGATIVE GAMES: (Remember, a negative game does not mean that all players will stink and not put up fantasy numbers, it just means that there is generally better value to be had elsewhere)

We only have one game in this category this week, and it is really a story of two solid defenses versus one team that doesn’t have a running game (Bills) and one team that has a very pedestrian passing game (Chiefs).

Kansas City Chiefs @ Buffalo Bills:

The Buffalo Bills are eighth against the run and 13^th against the pass and the Kansas City Chiefs are 19^th versus the run and first against the pass.  So, what we have here is defenses that play very strongly against their opponent’s strong suit and are still very solid against the other component.

The Chiefs run Jamaal Charles and Buffalo stops the run, the Bills throw the ball to Sammy Watkins and the Chiefs are demons against the pass.  So, what do we do, well we downgrade Charles whose $6,400 salary would normally make us lock him into our lineup and we look at Sammy Watkins at $6,200 and say “maybe not this week”.  Alex Smith becomes pretty much unusable and Kyle Orton @$6,700 just seems too pricey against this defense.  I don’t think I have to mention the mess that is the Bills backfield. 

This one could easily be 17-10, just not enough points for us to spend our budget on.  If you want to take a flyer on either Charles or Watkins, I can’t say it’s an absolutely terrible move and if I had to pick one I would say go with Charles.

As for the defenses, both are pretty good plays with the Bills at $3,000 and the Chiefs at $3,400.  I would say the Bills are the safer play, with the Chiefs having a bit more upside in terms of point scoring turnovers as the Bills will most likely be passing more with their RB problems.

Well, that is it for this week, remember to do your research, look for more daily fantasy articles in the upcoming days.

If you have any questions, comments or just want to talk fantasy, hit me up on Twitter (@Beaudog2).

Good luck this weekend!!!

Beaudog

Woof!!

The battle in the desert turned into a one sided affair as the Arizona State Sun Devils shut down the Stanford Cardinal, 26-10.

The Sun Devils had lost to the Cardinal in their previous five meetings, and not one player on the Arizona State roster had ever experienced a win over the Stanford Cardinal. 

Arizona State came out strong, and controlled the clock from the opening whistle.  Stanford just never seemed to be in sync the entire game as Arizona State dominated the line of scrimmage. 

Sun Devils Head Coach Todd Graham had a quandary before the game, as experienced Quarterback Taylor Kelly was able to play after being injured the past few weeks, but decided to go with the hot hand of Junior Mike Bercovici.  This paid off for Arizona State as Bercovici made all the right plays, and led the Sun Devils to victory.

Here was the Good, Bad, and Ugly of the game:

The Good 

Mike Bercovici – The back-up Quarterback played a phenomenal game on Saturday night as he made all of the right plays to keep the tough Stanford defense off balance, and led the Sun Devils to victory.  Bercovici did not have the biggest statistical night, but when a first down was needed, it just seemed the Bercovici was always able to get that extra distance to keep the drive alive.  Bercovici has played extremely well in place of Taylor Kelly, and some are even starting to point towards a Quarterback controversy over who may be the best option under center for ASU.

DJ Foster – Junior Running Back DJ Foster was a dominant force on offense for the Sun Devils as he was all over the field on Saturday night.  Foster had 151 yards from scrimmage, and caused a constant headache for the Stanford defense.  Foster was coming off a few weeks were he was never able to gain much yardage, but under the bright lights in Tempe, the cream rose to the top.  Foster has tremendous skills, and has the ability to take over any game.  Look for Foster to be a major piece for the Sun Devils as they drive towards a possible PAC 12 title game.

Blake Martinez – The only bright spot for the Cardinal on Saturday night was the strong play of Junior Linebacker Blake Martinez.  As a native son of Arizona, Martinez was riled up to play against the Sun Devils who did not recruit him out of high school.  Martinez had a sack and was in on several tackles to lead the Cardinal on the defensive side of the ball. 

Arizona State Front Seven – The College Football world has been raving about the front seven of the Stanford Cardinal, but tonight that designation belonged to the Arizona State Sun Devils.  The defensive front of the Sun Devils dominated the line of scrimmage and held the Cardinal to a season low 76 yards rushing. 

The Bad

Stanford Offensive Strategy – Stanford Head Coach David Shaw has always been known to employ a conservative offensive approach, but this week was beyond conservative and it cost the Cardinal.  Stanford does not hide the fact that they have a run first approach, but this year, Stanford does not have a “Bell Cow” Running Back that can just take over a game.  This is a major hindrance for the Cardinal, as Quarterback Kevin Hogan just does not have the ability to take over a game with his arm.  Stanford did have several injuries going into the game, but that does not excuse the poor play on the offensive side of the ball.

Stanford’s Running Back Blocking Issues – Again, Stanford had major issues with its Running Backs picking up the blitz on Saturday evening.  Three separate times, Quarterback Kevin Hogan was on his back because the Running Back could not pick up the blitzing defender.  This issue caused the Cardinal to be moved out of scoring range twice, and the third time just killed a promising drive.  Last week, Coach Shaw stated that there was a focus on the blitz pick up in practice, but was soon forgotten this week. 

The Ugly

Stanford Special Teams Turnovers – The strength of the Stanford Cardinal turned into a negative for the team as return men Ty Montgomery and Christian McCaffrey both fumbled the ball on key returns.  Montgomery just seemed to be in a funk the entire game, and his fumble on the 10-yard line put the Cardinal down two scores late in the first half, and the Sun Devils never looked back.  The Sun Devils were known to have the worst special teams coverage in the PAC 12, but dominated tonight, and were a key factor for the Arizona State victory. 

The battle in the desert turned into a one sided affair as the Arizona State Sun Devils shut down the Stanford Cardinal, 26-10.

The Sun Devils had lost to the Cardinal in their previous five meetings, and not one player on the Arizona State roster had ever experienced a win over the Stanford Cardinal. 

Arizona State came out strong, and controlled the clock from the opening whistle.  Stanford just never seemed to be in sync the entire game as Arizona State dominated the line of scrimmage. 

Sun Devils Head Coach Todd Graham had a quandary before the game, as experienced Quarterback Taylor Kelly was able to play after being injured the past few weeks, but decided to go with the hot hand of Junior Mike Bercovici.  This paid off for Arizona State as Bercovici made all the right plays, and led the Sun Devils to victory.

Here was the Good, Bad, and Ugly of the game:

The Good 

Mike Bercovici – The back-up Quarterback played a phenomenal game on Saturday night as he made all of the right plays to keep the tough Stanford defense off balance, and led the Sun Devils to victory.  Bercovici did not have the biggest statistical night, but when a first down was needed, it just seemed the Bercovici was always able to get that extra distance to keep the drive alive.  Bercovici has played extremely well in place of Taylor Kelly, and some are even starting to point towards a Quarterback controversy over who may be the best option under center for ASU.

DJ Foster – Junior Running Back DJ Foster was a dominant force on offense for the Sun Devils as he was all over the field on Saturday night.  Foster had 151 yards from scrimmage, and caused a constant headache for the Stanford defense.  Foster was coming off a few weeks were he was never able to gain much yardage, but under the bright lights in Tempe, the cream rose to the top.  Foster has tremendous skills, and has the ability to take over any game.  Look for Foster to be a major piece for the Sun Devils as they drive towards a possible PAC 12 title game.

Blake Martinez – The only bright spot for the Cardinal on Saturday night was the strong play of Junior Linebacker Blake Martinez.  As a native son of Arizona, Martinez was riled up to play against the Sun Devils who did not recruit him out of high school.  Martinez had a sack and was in on several tackles to lead the Cardinal on the defensive side of the ball. 

Arizona State Front Seven – The College Football world has been raving about the front seven of the Stanford Cardinal, but tonight that designation belonged to the Arizona State Sun Devils.  The defensive front of the Sun Devils dominated the line of scrimmage and held the Cardinal to a season low 76 yards rushing. 

The Bad

Stanford Offensive Strategy – Stanford Head Coach David Shaw has always been known to employ a conservative offensive approach, but this week was beyond conservative and it cost the Cardinal.  Stanford does not hide the fact that they have a run first approach, but this year, Stanford does not have a “Bell Cow” Running Back that can just take over a game.  This is a major hindrance for the Cardinal, as Quarterback Kevin Hogan just does not have the ability to take over a game with his arm.  Stanford did have several injuries going into the game, but that does not excuse the poor play on the offensive side of the ball.

Stanford’s Running Back Blocking Issues – Again, Stanford had major issues with its Running Backs picking up the blitz on Saturday evening.  Three separate times, Quarterback Kevin Hogan was on his back because the Running Back could not pick up the blitzing defender.  This issue caused the Cardinal to be moved out of scoring range twice, and the third time just killed a promising drive.  Last week, Coach Shaw stated that there was a focus on the blitz pick up in practice, but was soon forgotten this week. 

The Ugly

Stanford Special Teams Turnovers – The strength of the Stanford Cardinal turned into a negative for the team as return men Ty Montgomery and Christian McCaffrey both fumbled the ball on key returns.  Montgomery just seemed to be in a funk the entire game, and his fumble on the 10-yard line put the Cardinal down two scores late in the first half, and the Sun Devils never looked back.  The Sun Devils were known to have the worst special teams coverage in the PAC 12, but dominated tonight, and were a key factor for the Arizona State victory. 

The USC Trojans were able to snap back from their devastating loss to Boston College with a solid victory over conference rival Oregon State on Saturday night at the LA Memorial Coliseum, 35-10.

USC showed flashes of brilliance on offense Saturday night, and their defense was dominant against an Oregon State team that many considered to contend for a PAC 12 title this season.  

Here was the Good, Bad, and Ugly from the game:

Good

USC Defense – The USC defense just seems to step up when the lights are bright.  The Trojans Defensive Unit played a fantastic game on Saturday night by holding the potent Oregon State Beavers offense to only 181 yards from scrimmage and no offensive touchdowns.  The USC defense held Oregon State’s top QB Sean Mannion at bay for the bulk of the game, and only allowed the high-flying Beavers to only 123 yards passing.   USC is quickly becoming known as a defensive powerhouse under Coach Steve Sarkisian, and will need to keep this up for a chance at the PAC 12 title.

Javorious “Buck” Allen – Junior Running Back Javorious “Buck” Allen is steadily becoming the USC Trojans top offensive weapon.  Allen carved up the Oregon State defense for 115 yards and a touchdown on Saturday night.  For USC to be successful, they need to get the ball into Allen’s hands as USC has won every game that he has rushed for over 100 yards in the game. 

Storm Woods – The only bright spot for the Oregon State Beavers was the rushing of Storm Woods on Saturday night.  Woods only had 9 carries, but he provided the most excitement for the Beavers fans with 61 yards from scrimmage.  Woods has big play ability, and needs to be a bigger piece of the Beavers offensive attack.

Amazing Hail Mary – USC provided a season long highlight moment at the end of the first half when Coach Steve Sarkisian dialed up a “Hail Mary” call with two seconds remaining.  USC QB Cody Kessler heaved a pass, and the ball just dropped into the hands of USC Sophomore Darreus Rogers for an amazing touchdown to close out the half.  This just deflated the Oregon State Beavers, and they were never able to get back into the game.

Bad

Sean Mannion – The Oregon State Senior QB was just off on Saturday night as he posted one of the worst games of his career.  Mannion has immense talent, but was constantly under pressure on Saturday night, and made a few suspect decisions that cost his team a victory.  Mannion will definitely have a chance at getting to the next level, but he has yet to play to his ability under the bright lights of a big game. 

Oregon State Secondary – The Beavers came into LA with an undefeated record and a ton of confidence.  They left a shaken group, carved up by a Trojans offense, including a last second “Hail Mary” that just broke the confidence of the Beavers.  The Oregon State Secondary allowed USC Cody Kessler to methodically drive the field for 261 yards and two touchdowns through the air. 

Ugly

Penalties – Both teams combined for 27 penalties that cost over 232 yards from scrimmage.  This sloppy play killed several drives, and took points off the board.  After the game, USC Coach Sarkisian said, “The team needs to clean it up, or it will cost us in the long run.”  Penalties have been a sore spot for the USC Trojans as they have averaged 8 penalties a game to start out this season.

The USC Trojans were able to snap back from their devastating loss to Boston College with a solid victory over conference rival Oregon State on Saturday night at the LA Memorial Coliseum, 35-10.

USC showed flashes of brilliance on offense Saturday night, and their defense was dominant against an Oregon State team that many considered to contend for a PAC 12 title this season.  

Here was the Good, Bad, and Ugly from the game:

Good

USC Defense – The USC defense just seems to step up when the lights are bright.  The Trojans Defensive Unit played a fantastic game on Saturday night by holding the potent Oregon State Beavers offense to only 181 yards from scrimmage and no offensive touchdowns.  The USC defense held Oregon State’s top QB Sean Mannion at bay for the bulk of the game, and only allowed the high-flying Beavers to only 123 yards passing.   USC is quickly becoming known as a defensive powerhouse under Coach Steve Sarkisian, and will need to keep this up for a chance at the PAC 12 title.

Javorious “Buck” Allen – Junior Running Back Javorious “Buck” Allen is steadily becoming the USC Trojans top offensive weapon.  Allen carved up the Oregon State defense for 115 yards and a touchdown on Saturday night.  For USC to be successful, they need to get the ball into Allen’s hands as USC has won every game that he has rushed for over 100 yards in the game. 

Storm Woods – The only bright spot for the Oregon State Beavers was the rushing of Storm Woods on Saturday night.  Woods only had 9 carries, but he provided the most excitement for the Beavers fans with 61 yards from scrimmage.  Woods has big play ability, and needs to be a bigger piece of the Beavers offensive attack.

Amazing Hail Mary – USC provided a season long highlight moment at the end of the first half when Coach Steve Sarkisian dialed up a “Hail Mary” call with two seconds remaining.  USC QB Cody Kessler heaved a pass, and the ball just dropped into the hands of USC Sophomore Darreus Rogers for an amazing touchdown to close out the half.  This just deflated the Oregon State Beavers, and they were never able to get back into the game.

Bad

Sean Mannion – The Oregon State Senior QB was just off on Saturday night as he posted one of the worst games of his career.  Mannion has immense talent, but was constantly under pressure on Saturday night, and made a few suspect decisions that cost his team a victory.  Mannion will definitely have a chance at getting to the next level, but he has yet to play to his ability under the bright lights of a big game. 

Oregon State Secondary – The Beavers came into LA with an undefeated record and a ton of confidence.  They left a shaken group, carved up by a Trojans offense, including a last second “Hail Mary” that just broke the confidence of the Beavers.  The Oregon State Secondary allowed USC Cody Kessler to methodically drive the field for 261 yards and two touchdowns through the air. 

Ugly

Penalties – Both teams combined for 27 penalties that cost over 232 yards from scrimmage.  This sloppy play killed several drives, and took points off the board.  After the game, USC Coach Sarkisian said, “The team needs to clean it up, or it will cost us in the long run.”  Penalties have been a sore spot for the USC Trojans as they have averaged 8 penalties a game to start out this season.

The USC Trojans were able to snap back from their devastating loss to Boston College with a solid victory over conference rival Oregon State on Saturday night at the LA Memorial Coliseum, 35-10.

USC showed flashes of brilliance on offense Saturday night, and their defense was dominant against an Oregon State team that many considered to contend for a PAC 12 title this season.  

Here was the Good, Bad, and Ugly from the game:

Good

USC Defense – The USC defense just seems to step up when the lights are bright.  The Trojans Defensive Unit played a fantastic game on Saturday night by holding the potent Oregon State Beavers offense to only 181 yards from scrimmage and no offensive touchdowns.  The USC defense held Oregon State’s top QB Sean Mannion at bay for the bulk of the game, and only allowed the high-flying Beavers to only 123 yards passing.   USC is quickly becoming known as a defensive powerhouse under Coach Steve Sarkisian, and will need to keep this up for a chance at the PAC 12 title.

Javorious “Buck” Allen – Junior Running Back Javorious “Buck” Allen is steadily becoming the USC Trojans top offensive weapon.  Allen carved up the Oregon State defense for 115 yards and a touchdown on Saturday night.  For USC to be successful, they need to get the ball into Allen’s hands as USC has won every game that he has rushed for over 100 yards in the game. 

Storm Woods – The only bright spot for the Oregon State Beavers was the rushing of Storm Woods on Saturday night.  Woods only had 9 carries, but he provided the most excitement for the Beavers fans with 61 yards from scrimmage.  Woods has big play ability, and needs to be a bigger piece of the Beavers offensive attack.

Amazing Hail Mary – USC provided a season long highlight moment at the end of the first half when Coach Steve Sarkisian dialed up a “Hail Mary” call with two seconds remaining.  USC QB Cody Kessler heaved a pass, and the ball just dropped into the hands of USC Sophomore Darreus Rogers for an amazing touchdown to close out the half.  This just deflated the Oregon State Beavers, and they were never able to get back into the game.

Bad

Sean Mannion – The Oregon State Senior QB was just off on Saturday night as he posted one of the worst games of his career.  Mannion has immense talent, but was constantly under pressure on Saturday night, and made a few suspect decisions that cost his team a victory.  Mannion will definitely have a chance at getting to the next level, but he has yet to play to his ability under the bright lights of a big game. 

Oregon State Secondary – The Beavers came into LA with an undefeated record and a ton of confidence.  They left a shaken group, carved up by a Trojans offense, including a last second “Hail Mary” that just broke the confidence of the Beavers.  The Oregon State Secondary allowed USC Cody Kessler to methodically drive the field for 261 yards and two touchdowns through the air. 

Ugly

Penalties – Both teams combined for 27 penalties that cost over 232 yards from scrimmage.  This sloppy play killed several drives, and took points off the board.  After the game, USC Coach Sarkisian said, “The team needs to clean it up, or it will cost us in the long run.”  Penalties have been a sore spot for the USC Trojans as they have averaged 8 penalties a game to start out this season.

The USC Trojans were able to snap back from their devastating loss to Boston College with a solid victory over conference rival Oregon State on Saturday night at the LA Memorial Coliseum, 35-10.

USC showed flashes of brilliance on offense Saturday night, and their defense was dominant against an Oregon State team that many considered to contend for a PAC 12 title this season.  

Here was the Good, Bad, and Ugly from the game:

Good

USC Defense – The USC defense just seems to step up when the lights are bright.  The Trojans Defensive Unit played a fantastic game on Saturday night by holding the potent Oregon State Beavers offense to only 181 yards from scrimmage and no offensive touchdowns.  The USC defense held Oregon State’s top QB Sean Mannion at bay for the bulk of the game, and only allowed the high-flying Beavers to only 123 yards passing.   USC is quickly becoming known as a defensive powerhouse under Coach Steve Sarkisian, and will need to keep this up for a chance at the PAC 12 title.

Javorious “Buck” Allen – Junior Running Back Javorious “Buck” Allen is steadily becoming the USC Trojans top offensive weapon.  Allen carved up the Oregon State defense for 115 yards and a touchdown on Saturday night.  For USC to be successful, they need to get the ball into Allen’s hands as USC has won every game that he has rushed for over 100 yards in the game. 

Storm Woods – The only bright spot for the Oregon State Beavers was the rushing of Storm Woods on Saturday night.  Woods only had 9 carries, but he provided the most excitement for the Beavers fans with 61 yards from scrimmage.  Woods has big play ability, and needs to be a bigger piece of the Beavers offensive attack.

Amazing Hail Mary – USC provided a season long highlight moment at the end of the first half when Coach Steve Sarkisian dialed up a “Hail Mary” call with two seconds remaining.  USC QB Cody Kessler heaved a pass, and the ball just dropped into the hands of USC Sophomore Darreus Rogers for an amazing touchdown to close out the half.  This just deflated the Oregon State Beavers, and they were never able to get back into the game.

Bad

Sean Mannion – The Oregon State Senior QB was just off on Saturday night as he posted one of the worst games of his career.  Mannion has immense talent, but was constantly under pressure on Saturday night, and made a few suspect decisions that cost his team a victory.  Mannion will definitely have a chance at getting to the next level, but he has yet to play to his ability under the bright lights of a big game. 

Oregon State Secondary – The Beavers came into LA with an undefeated record and a ton of confidence.  They left a shaken group, carved up by a Trojans offense, including a last second “Hail Mary” that just broke the confidence of the Beavers.  The Oregon State Secondary allowed USC Cody Kessler to methodically drive the field for 261 yards and two touchdowns through the air. 

Ugly

Penalties – Both teams combined for 27 penalties that cost over 232 yards from scrimmage.  This sloppy play killed several drives, and took points off the board.  After the game, USC Coach Sarkisian said, “The team needs to clean it up, or it will cost us in the long run.”  Penalties have been a sore spot for the USC Trojans as they have averaged 8 penalties a game to start out this season.