When times get hard, sometimes the best thing to do is stay busy. Two weeks after the tragic murder of defensive back Aaron Lowe, the University of Utah is back in action on Saturday facing off against the USC Trojans at the LA Memorial Coliseum. USC has struggled to a 3-2 record with four of those games—and their two losses—being conference games. Because of this, they fired head coach Clay Helton.
UteNation recently took some time with our friend and TrojanSports publisher Ryan Young to get an in-depth take on the Trojans:
Sitting at 3-2, why has USC been so inconsistent so far in 2021?
Well, there are a few reasons for that. A couple extend back to why Clay Helton was fired -- this remains a very undisciplined team (12 penalties for 115 yards in the win at Colorado last week), and the cost of some of the recruiting misses of recent years are coming to bear. The dropoff at wide receiver -- a position in which USC has missed on most of the top local talent -- has been noticeable. Drake London is making his case as the best wideout in college football, yes, but the unit has not replaced the production lost from Amon-Ra St. Brown and Tyler Vaughns to complement him. Without as many NFL-caliber targets on the field, QB Kedon Slovis has had less to work with overall and it's showed up in the losses when the offense has stalled and he's had to force passes to London. Sophomore WR Gary Bryant Jr. and freshman tight end Michael Trigg have shown encouraging signs of emerging into larger roles that could alleviate some of that issue, but time will tell.
On defense, ultimately, I just don't think this is as talented a group as we believed going into the season. The linebacker play hasn't improved and the secondary is vulnerable against capable offenses. It doesn't seem a coincidence that USC has shut down Washington State (mostly going against a walk-on backup QB) and a woeful Colorado offense and struggled against Stanford and Oregon State. I think that is an accurate reflection of what the Trojans defense is. It will be up and down the rest of the way.
How do you feel like the team has responded to interim head coach Donte Williams, after the firing of Clay Helton?
There was nobody on staff that garners more respect from the players or could generate more buy-in than Donte Williams, so I do think they've responded. And to his credit he hasn't just kept things status quo. He's tried to change the way they do things in a number of regards, making Wednesdays full-pad practices now and at least making a more pronounced effort to create accountability (even if it hasn't totally taken hold yet). But there was a reason Helton was fired and it wasn't just about Saturdays -- Williams isn't a magician and won't be able to smooth away all the Trojans' ingrained issues. I do believe he'll get more out of this team than Helton would have, however.
Should the Trojans still be viewed as Pac-12 South favorites?
No, I don't think so. I think that title belongs to Arizona State at this point. This Trojans team is too erratic and vulnerable to run the slate. I wouldn't rule them out by any means, but I can't say they are the favorites. I think they could win or lose every remaining conference game on the schedule, except for the Arizona game.
Aside from Drake London and Kedon Slovis, who are the guys that could have big games on either side of the ball against the Utes?
Running back Keaontay Ingram, the transfer from Texas, has really come on the last two games since being put in more of a true lead back role with 203 yards and 2 TDs over that span. Aforementioned freshman tight end Michael Trigg is brimming with elite upside. A top-100 national prospect who is a physical mismatch all over the field, he started to show signs of a breakout last week with 2 catches for 51 yards, including a 46-yard TD.
On defense, edge rusher Drake Jackson had a huge game last week with 2 sacks, a fumble recovery and a pass breakup. He's trying to prove himself as a first-round draft pick and the Trojans are hoping his performance last week was the start of more to come as he had just 1 sack coming into that game.
If you were the Utah defensive coordinator, how would you stop the USC offense?
It's the same formula that has worked for many team over the last three years -- drop eight into coverage and force the Trojans to run the ball consistently. They did it last week, but it's been hit and miss all season. And without the depth of elite wide receivers, that kind of defensive approach can prove stunting to the USC pass game.
What’s the key to success for attacking the Trojans’ defense?
Also the same as it's been for the last few years -- pound the run game and test the edges, which USC often struggles to contain. This is not a great tackling team and it's had some big breakdowns in run fits that if an opponent can run consistently enough to do so at volume, there's a good chance it will break some big ones.
What’s your prediction and why?
This is a tough one to read. I don't know what to make of Utah's first four games and I don't know how the team is going to respond after this latest tragedy. For those reasons, I have to feel USC is the safer pick at home and coming off a game where it rebuilt some momentum and confidence on both sides of the ball. I'll take Trojans, 28-24.
