Offense
Quarterbacks: B. It might've been Anu Solomon's best performance of the season, as he passed for season-highs of 352 yards, 31 completions and 46 pass attempts, along with three touchdown passes. Solomon was more accurate and decisive than he'd been in recent weeks, and even made a concerted effort early in the game to run the ball himself. He would've graded higher if not for a costly interception on an ill-advised pass attempt to tight end Josh Kern in the first half when Arizona was up 14-3.
Running backs: C-. Arizona certainly misses Nick Wilson, who's been either out or banged up in each of the last four games and missed Saturday's loss. In his stead, usual back-ups Jared Baker and Orlando Bradford combined for just 70 rushing yards on 19 carries and zero touchdowns. As a team, Arizona rushed for 60 yards, a season-low.
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Wide receivers: B+. There were still some drops, and some miscommunication between Solomon and his wideouts, but all in all, after a couple weeks of struggles the receiving core had a solid game. Seven different receivers had at least one catch, led by David Richards (nine for 86 yards and a touchdown), Johnny Jackson (eight for 89 yards) and Nate Phillips (six for 94 yards and a touchdown). A little concerning, though, was lack of production from Cayleb Jones and Samajie Grant, who had a combined 23 yards on three catches. Jones caught a late touchdown when USC had already pulled away.
Offensive line: D. Arizona's banged up offensive line, sans guards Freddie Tagaloa and Jacob Alsadek, had another rough outing. With Zach Hemmila and the inexperience Gerhard de Beer starting in their place, Arizona allowed six sacks, 10 tackles for loss and had a season-low in rushing yards.
Defense
Front seven: B. Arizona was surprisingly effective pressuring Cody Kessler, particularly in the first half, but couldn't stick it out late into the game when tackling became an issue in the fourth quarter and USC scored 21 points to put the game away, including on a 74-yard touchdown run from Ronald Jones II. Reggie Gilbert stood out, getting six tackles and nearly a sack on a quarterback hurry in the first half.
Back seven: C+. For how bad this unit had been in recent weeks, this game was certainly a step up. Jarvis McCall started opposite DaVonte' Neal, a position he held last season that had been occupied by Cam Denson and Jace Whittaker in recent weeks. McCall had five tackles and one pass break-up, and as a team Arizona held Kessler to 243 yards with 14 incompletions. Also, Arizona's secondary combined to record two sacks and five tackles for loss, with Tellas Jones leading the way with 10 tackles. On the downside, Juju Smith-Schuster had his way with the secondary, getting 138 yards on eight catches, including one particularly costly 72-yard score in the first half.
Special teams A-. Casey Skowron might've had his best game of the season, converting all three of his field goal attempts from 37, 38 and 44 yards. Drew Riggleman averaged 43.4 yards on five punts, the longest going 54 yards. In the return game, Tyrell Johnson returned after missing two games with injury and averaged 27.8 yards per kick return with a long of 56 yards.
