A 38-35 loss to Arizona State last week dealt a near-fatal blow to USC’s hopes of capturing the Pac-12 South Division and returning to the conference title game, placing the Trojans one game behind Utah for first place.
To make matters more difficult, the Utes are arguably the hottest team in the Pac-12 and remain in possession of the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Trojans, meaning they would likely need to drop two of their final three conference games before relinquishing their stranglehold on the division.
“Some things are going to have to go our way,” Trojans coach Clay Helton said.
The Trojans, at 4-4 overall and 3-3 in the Pac-12, also face pressure beyond the division race. After consecutive losses, they enter the final month of the season without a winning record for the first time since former coach Pete Carroll’s first season in 2001 and need to recover quickly in order to become bowl eligible.
The remaining stretch appears favorable with the disclaimer that little about the team’s fate appears certain. The Trojans begin their November schedule with a visit to Oregon State on Saturday night, facing a Beavers program that had not defeated an FBS team since 2016 before rallying for a 41-34 overtime last week at Colorado.
Most of USC’s players acknowledged feeling some pressure to turn around their season.
On Monday, in moves intended to shake up a struggling offense, Helton fired offensive line coach Neil Callaway and stripped offensive coordinator Tee Martin of play-calling duties.
“I’ve never been in anything like this before, so I don’t really know what the long term is for having a coach go,” junior receiver Michael Pittman said. “For us, we just gotta win. I’ve been feeling a sense of urgency to win. I feel like we’re going to turn things around here. We’re gonna get rolling.”
WHEN USC HAS THE BALL
The intrigue surrounding USC’s offense involves whether it might look different with a new play-caller.
It’s difficult to forecast.
“I don’t wanna give away exactly what we’re doing,” Helton said, “but every play-caller is different.”
Players didn’t indicate much would be overhauled with Helton taking over the play-calling responsibilities from Martin. The switch occurred in a matter of days.
“I’m just the player,” Pittman said. “I just play in a system, get the plays, and I run them. It’s not a big switch-up to me.”
Others were hoping for better performances from themselves.
“I can’t blame the play-caller unless every player is executing and we’re not scoring, which isn’t the problem,” freshman quarterback JT Daniels said. “Players gotta execute. That’s the first thing.”
Daniels will be back behind center at Oregon State after he missed last week’s loss to Arizona State with a concussion.
Third-string quarterback Jack Sears got the start in place of Daniels against the Sun Devils and completed 20 of 28 passes for 235 yards and two touchdowns, an effective college debut that gave the Trojans an opportunity to pull off the win.
It was the Trojans’ highest-scoring game since the first month of the season. In the days before facing Arizona State, Helton at times stressed the Trojans had put together a “Simple Simon” game plan, perhaps a template for some success over the final month.
“There were things that we did well in that last game that we want to build off of,” Helton said, “so we’re not trying to reinvent the wheel. We’re trying to do the things our kids are good at.”
WHEN OREGON STATE HAS THE BALL
In last Saturday’s high-scoring loss, USC put up points, but its rush defense was gashed against Arizona State, giving up 283 yards on the ground, the most it had allowed since the season opener.
Oregon State could take advantage.
The Beavers have been bolstered by freshman running back Jermar Jefferson, already their first 1,000-yard rusher since Jacquizz Rodgers in 2010.
Through eight games, Jefferson, a Narbonne High product, has totaled 1,034 yards and 12 touchdowns.
“He’s hitting holes,” Helton said. “For a kid that’s so young, he’s a very patient runner and explosive once he hits it. He can take it the distance. They have a lot of faith in him.”
The return of a pair of defensive captains could help the Trojans, as safety Marvell Tell is back from a one-game absence over neck stingers and linebacker Cameron Smith will return after missing most of the past three games with a hamstring strain.
In the first five games, the Trojans allowed an average of 163 rushing yards. In the three games without Smith, a senior middle linebacker, they gave up 193 rushing yards per game, including more than 200 yards on the ground in the past two losses.
Without Smith last week, defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast said there were some “misfits” with their defense against the run.
“Any time you have the quarterback of the defense leave you for a couple weeks,” Helton said, “it’s different.”
Bolstered by the return of Smith, Helton added, “Obviously it’s a security blanket when you have a guy with that many reps .”
True freshman Palaie Gaoteote, also known as “EA,” had started the past three weeks in place of Smith at the “Mike” linebacker position, which is responsible for play calls and setting the defense in the correct alignment.
“EA stepped up huge,” Smith said, “but I’ve played in the same defense for three years. It takes some normality out of what we’re doing. It’s just a little bit different. It was huge for EA to get some reps, but I think overall we were just getting out of assignment.”
While Oregon State has leaned on the ground game, led by Jefferson, it will have senior quarterback Jake Luton back behind center. Luton, who had been out since September because of an ankle injury, returned last week off the bench against Colorado to orchestrate the comeback, passing for 310 yards and three touchdowns.
