The biggest problem with USC football has nothing to do with the Trojans themselves
Does the 2022 USC football team have flaws? Of course it does. We can see that the rush defense still isn’t where it needs to be. We can see that when an opponent — even one as mediocre as Arizona State — doesn’t throw four interceptions and is able to protect the ball reasonably well, USC will give up more points and will struggle to firmly put a team away as soon as possible. ASU was still in the game when the fourth quarter began, though USC did have a two-score lead instead of the uneasy four-point edge it had at halftime.
There are some problems with USC through five games, but the biggest problem is not with the Trojans themselves. If we’re going to sit here and identify this team’s biggest overall concern, it is something the Trojans can’t control … but it has to be said, so that the players in particular are aware of reality:
USC AIN'T PLAYED NOBODY, PAWL
“They ain’t played nobody.”
The familiar mantra among college football fans and sports-talk radio callers applies to USC. This isn’t a criticism of the Trojans, but it sure is a criticism of their resume through five games. Let’s be honest about this so that we can acknowledge how much the Trojans have accomplished, and honestly assess how well they have played.
RICE MIGHT BE BETTER THAN STANFORD
Rice defeated UAB in Week 5. The Owls are 3-2 and have a decent (not great) team. Rice is better than Stanford. Rice might be better than any non-Oregon State team USC has faced, at least if we’re going to compare the Owls to the Jake Haener-less version of Fresno State.
STANFORD IS AWFUL
Colorado is the only team worse than Stanford in the Pac-12. Arizona State, whom USC defeated, looked like a semi-decent team in the first half, clearly better than the Cardinal.
Stanford is atrocious. USC can only get so much credit for beating the Cardinal by fewer than 15 points. Again, that’s not a criticism of the Trojans, but their resume just isn’t that spectacular.
FRESNO STATE JUST LOST TO UCONN
Fresno State scored just 14 points against UConn and Jim Mora Jr. without Jake Haener. The Bulldogs are toothless without their quarterback and team leader. USC played roughly half the game against Fresno State with Haener being hurt. It’s not their fault, but they didn’t play an opponent which was anything close to its best. This matters when evaluating teams and what they have done. We don’t make the rules, but we can’t avoid mentioning details such as this one.
OREGON STATE JUST DOESN'T MEASURE UP
It would have been great for USC if Chance Nolan had walked into Salt Lake City and torched Utah’s secondary, one week after the Trojans put him in jail. That did not happen.
Utah dominated Nolan instead. Clark Phillips picked off multiple passes and the Utes beat Oregon State by 26 points.
The USC win in Corvallis was and is important. That doesn’t change. However, it’s not as though the Trojans beat an elite team. They haven’t beaten an elite team yet.
THE LARGER VIEW
When we identify USC’s various team flaws, we have to put two and two together: The Trojans haven’t been exploited by a really good team which will punish USC more severely for its mistakes. Arizona State wasn’t good enough to do this. Oregon State and Chance Nolan weren’t good enough. Fresno State wasn’t good enough. Stanford definitely wasn’t good enough.
When USC coaches talk to their players, they have to keep pounding home the point that if the Trojans ever go up against an elite team, their current standard of play won’t be good enough. This is why we need to see players develop and improve. “Okay but not great” performances against Arizona State have to turn into noticeably better performances in the weeks ahead.
NOW COME THE CHALLENGES
Now the schedule gets tougher. Washington State just hammered Cal and seems to have sorted out the defensive problems it had late in the Oregon game. This is a trap game for USC with Utah just around the corner. This is the time for everyone to elevate his level of play.
PERSPECTIVE ON WASHINGTON STATE
Except four a four-minute meltdown at the end of the Oregon game, Washington State has played well over the past four weeks: at Wisconsin, home against Colorado State, home against the Ducks, home against Cal. The WSU defense has been very solid, minus those four minutes. USC has to be ready for the Cougars.
CAMERON WARD GETTING HOT
Emory Jones of Arizona State played two and a half good quarters. USC has to be ready for the challenge if Washington State quarterback Cameron Ward plays well all four quarters. Can USC win if Ward gets hot and stays hot? Obviously, USC will try to make sure Cam Ward doesn’t get on a roll, but if he does, USC might have to score 50 points to win.
THE BOTTOM LINE
USC took the best punch Oregon State’s defense could throw at the Trojans, but that Week 4 game in Corvallis did not represent the Beavers’ best punch as a full team. Chance Nolan was horrible. USC did not get the best of the Oregon State offense.
We are therefore still waiting for a game in which a USC opponent plays its best on both sides of the ball, not just one. Can the Trojans win that kind of game? It’s a big question which has not yet been answered in 2022. When the Trojans do answer that question in the affirmative, then we’ll know we have a better team on our hands.
