Here are my top five takeaways from USC's 27-21 win at Cal.
1. Good, better, best
It’s time to stop with the posturing and put the ball in Ronald Jones II’s hands. He’s been USC’s best tailback all season, yet he’s still getting third-hand carries. Don’t get me wrong, veterans Tre Madden (5.4 yards per carry) and Justin Davis (4.9) have been productive. But don’t mistake this for 2013, when Madden and Davis were both at their USC best. You wonder if they’re getting more carries than Jones because they are older.
Interestingly, Jones twice led the team in carries under Steve Sarkisian, against Idaho and Arizona State. It doesn’t make sense, then, for Jones to continuously be the secondary ball-carrier at this point in the season. In fact, he had less carries than Madden and Davis vs. Notre Dame and Cal. Clay Helton said he was concerned about overusing Jones this past weekend after the freshman suffered a stinger in his knee on his first carry. Fair enough, although Jones showed no signs of weakness as he led the team in rushing for the fifth time.
The situation reminds me a little of 2003 when Hershel Dennis was the incumbent starter trying to hold off newcomers Reggie Bush and LenDale White. Dennis, very talented in his own right, was the feature back to begin the season but was eventually passed up by White in the second half of the year, while Bush had just one less carry than Dennis over the final five games. While the three finished within one yard of each other in yards per carry in 2003, the disparity in talent between them became obvious over time. The difference with USC's current trio is the rookie is already lapping the competition. Jones (7.6 yards per carry) is on pace to post the highest average for a USC tailback since Bush in 2005 (8.6). And yet Jones is getting only 8.7 carries a game.
That’s far too few for the best tailback the program has had since its fallen Heisman winner.
2. All hands on deck
There is a strong chance that JuJu Smith-Schuster will not play vs. Arizona because of a broken hand. JuJu has led the team in receptions in every game this season and is arguably their most indispensable player on offense. With that said, a few players have surprisingly begun to emerge alongside of him. Injuries to Steven Mitchell Jr., Darreus Rogers and Isaac Whitney, who is likely out for the season, have opened the door for Deontay Burnett, Jalen Greene and De’Quan Hampton. Each one brings something different to the table, with Burnett looking like a potential lead receiver. If JuJu isn’t available vs. Arizona, it will likely take more than one player to replace his output. The bigger issue might be what impact his absence has on Cody Kessler, who has connected with JuJu for 29.3 percent of his completions this season. That rate is similar to a year ago, when Nelson Agholor accounted for 33.0 percent of Kessler’s completions. This would be Kessler’s first ever game without either one.
3. Takeover
Maybe the most surprising development in Helton’s second stint as the interim coach is USC growing into a defensive team. The Trojans held both Utah and Cal to season lows in points while forcing seven turnovers. (USC forced six turnovers over the previous five games.) It’s fair to say the defense was the biggest reason for those wins, and it’s been a while since you could make that claim. This is, in fact, the best defense USC has played since Justin Wilcox took over as coordinator last year. The team is tackling better, it’s playing more physical and it’s making less mistakes. Cal’s three touchdown drives Saturday all required at least nine plays and 3:21 of game clock. Nothing came easy. I asked several players why the team is playing tougher than it had been earlier in the season. Su’a Cravens offered one of the better explanations.
“I think we’re tired of giving up 200 yards on the ground,” he said. “That’s never how things are supposed to be. When teams are trying to attack you on the ground to start a game off, as Cal did, you got to take it personal.”
4. The run factor
The USC defensive backs shined against Cal’s heralded passing attack. They deserve as much credit as anyone for this win. But through eight games of the season it’s become apparent that the key to beating the Trojans is by running the ball on them. Moving the chains on the ground accomplishes two things — it drains the clock and keeps USC’s offense off the field. And so we’d be remiss if we didn’t praise what the front seven has done the past two weeks. Cal and Utah combined to run for 216 yards, this after Notre Dame rushed for 214 yards just two weeks ago. Moreover, Notre Dame, Washington and Stanford all featured a 100-yard rusher vs. the Trojans. (Arizona State did as well, only that game was essentially over by halftime.) If USC is going to have any chance of winning the South Division, it’ll need to continue limiting damage on the ground. Its next four opponents all rank in the top five in the Pac-12 in rushing.
5. Just win, baby
The Trojans could have beaten Cal by 20 points. Given that they had a 17-point lead early in the third quarter, they probably should have. But to focus solely on that would be missing a significant part of the whole picture. Sometimes you just need to find a way to hold on and win football games. USC has had great difficulty doing that for the past two years. It blew a fourth quarter lead at Notre Dame and second-half leads at home vs. Stanford and Washington. Therefore, winning in Berkeley shouldn’t be taken for granted. There was a lot of good in this victory. The Trojans held a 10-minute advantage in time of possession and ran the ball about twice as many times as they threw it. For the first time all season, they didn’t score in the first quarter. For the first time in their five wins, the margin wasn't by more than two touchdowns. They had to persevere for 60 minutes on the road. The defense forced two turnovers in the second half and the offense ran out the final 3:45 of the game. In order for USC to build a championship program again, it first must develop good habits and learn to replicate them. Prevailing in a game like this is part of the journey.
1. Good, better, best
It’s time to stop with the posturing and put the ball in Ronald Jones II’s hands. He’s been USC’s best tailback all season, yet he’s still getting third-hand carries. Don’t get me wrong, veterans Tre Madden (5.4 yards per carry) and Justin Davis (4.9) have been productive. But don’t mistake this for 2013, when Madden and Davis were both at their USC best. You wonder if they’re getting more carries than Jones because they are older.
Interestingly, Jones twice led the team in carries under Steve Sarkisian, against Idaho and Arizona State. It doesn’t make sense, then, for Jones to continuously be the secondary ball-carrier at this point in the season. In fact, he had less carries than Madden and Davis vs. Notre Dame and Cal. Clay Helton said he was concerned about overusing Jones this past weekend after the freshman suffered a stinger in his knee on his first carry. Fair enough, although Jones showed no signs of weakness as he led the team in rushing for the fifth time.
The situation reminds me a little of 2003 when Hershel Dennis was the incumbent starter trying to hold off newcomers Reggie Bush and LenDale White. Dennis, very talented in his own right, was the feature back to begin the season but was eventually passed up by White in the second half of the year, while Bush had just one less carry than Dennis over the final five games. While the three finished within one yard of each other in yards per carry in 2003, the disparity in talent between them became obvious over time. The difference with USC's current trio is the rookie is already lapping the competition. Jones (7.6 yards per carry) is on pace to post the highest average for a USC tailback since Bush in 2005 (8.6). And yet Jones is getting only 8.7 carries a game.
That’s far too few for the best tailback the program has had since its fallen Heisman winner.
2. All hands on deck
There is a strong chance that JuJu Smith-Schuster will not play vs. Arizona because of a broken hand. JuJu has led the team in receptions in every game this season and is arguably their most indispensable player on offense. With that said, a few players have surprisingly begun to emerge alongside of him. Injuries to Steven Mitchell Jr., Darreus Rogers and Isaac Whitney, who is likely out for the season, have opened the door for Deontay Burnett, Jalen Greene and De’Quan Hampton. Each one brings something different to the table, with Burnett looking like a potential lead receiver. If JuJu isn’t available vs. Arizona, it will likely take more than one player to replace his output. The bigger issue might be what impact his absence has on Cody Kessler, who has connected with JuJu for 29.3 percent of his completions this season. That rate is similar to a year ago, when Nelson Agholor accounted for 33.0 percent of Kessler’s completions. This would be Kessler’s first ever game without either one.
3. Takeover
Maybe the most surprising development in Helton’s second stint as the interim coach is USC growing into a defensive team. The Trojans held both Utah and Cal to season lows in points while forcing seven turnovers. (USC forced six turnovers over the previous five games.) It’s fair to say the defense was the biggest reason for those wins, and it’s been a while since you could make that claim. This is, in fact, the best defense USC has played since Justin Wilcox took over as coordinator last year. The team is tackling better, it’s playing more physical and it’s making less mistakes. Cal’s three touchdown drives Saturday all required at least nine plays and 3:21 of game clock. Nothing came easy. I asked several players why the team is playing tougher than it had been earlier in the season. Su’a Cravens offered one of the better explanations.
“I think we’re tired of giving up 200 yards on the ground,” he said. “That’s never how things are supposed to be. When teams are trying to attack you on the ground to start a game off, as Cal did, you got to take it personal.”
4. The run factor
The USC defensive backs shined against Cal’s heralded passing attack. They deserve as much credit as anyone for this win. But through eight games of the season it’s become apparent that the key to beating the Trojans is by running the ball on them. Moving the chains on the ground accomplishes two things — it drains the clock and keeps USC’s offense off the field. And so we’d be remiss if we didn’t praise what the front seven has done the past two weeks. Cal and Utah combined to run for 216 yards, this after Notre Dame rushed for 214 yards just two weeks ago. Moreover, Notre Dame, Washington and Stanford all featured a 100-yard rusher vs. the Trojans. (Arizona State did as well, only that game was essentially over by halftime.) If USC is going to have any chance of winning the South Division, it’ll need to continue limiting damage on the ground. Its next four opponents all rank in the top five in the Pac-12 in rushing.
5. Just win, baby
The Trojans could have beaten Cal by 20 points. Given that they had a 17-point lead early in the third quarter, they probably should have. But to focus solely on that would be missing a significant part of the whole picture. Sometimes you just need to find a way to hold on and win football games. USC has had great difficulty doing that for the past two years. It blew a fourth quarter lead at Notre Dame and second-half leads at home vs. Stanford and Washington. Therefore, winning in Berkeley shouldn’t be taken for granted. There was a lot of good in this victory. The Trojans held a 10-minute advantage in time of possession and ran the ball about twice as many times as they threw it. For the first time all season, they didn’t score in the first quarter. For the first time in their five wins, the margin wasn't by more than two touchdowns. They had to persevere for 60 minutes on the road. The defense forced two turnovers in the second half and the offense ran out the final 3:45 of the game. In order for USC to build a championship program again, it first must develop good habits and learn to replicate them. Prevailing in a game like this is part of the journey.
