University Southern California Trojans
2018 Utah Tuesday: Notes
October 16, 2018 | Football, USC Ripsit Blog, Features
The Trojans need a win in Salt Lake City to maintain control of the Pac-12 South.
The USC injury list is long, but several key players are close to returning.
- Here is the injury report from head coach Clay Helton: CB Olaijah Griffin (out - shoulder), CB Jonathan Lockett (out - hip), DB Chase Williams (out - knee), LB Cameron Smith (held - hamstring), LB Palaie Gaoteote (held - concussion protocol), DL Brandon Pili (limited - shoulder), LB Raymond Scott (returned - finger), OL Clayton Bradley (returned - back) and OL Bernard Schirmer (returned - neck).
- Senior OLB Porter Gustin underwent "extremely successful" ankle surgery today, Helton reported. He is expected to return to full health by February.
- Fellow senior captain Cameron Smith is progressing nicely. He ran yesterday and then again today to test that strained hamstring. "He's feeling a whole lot better than he did last week," Helton said.
- Freshman LB Palaie Gaoteote IV will continue working at the Mike linebacker position behind Smith once he is cleared from concussion protocol. While Gaoteote played some outside linebacker earlier this season, he is not currently a candidate to replace Gustin because it would be too mentally taxing to play two positions, Helton said.
- A week after the Trojans ran the ball for 253 yards at Arizona, the USC offense made its plays primarily in the passing game against Colorado. "Each game feels different," Helton said about the strategy. "[OC Tee Martin] is really trying to take what the defense gives him."
- Freshman QB JT Daniels has excelled in the vertical passing game because he trusts his receivers to make plays in one-on-one situations. "We have the receivers for it and we have the scheme for it," Daniels said. "Second quarter, we threw for probably 200 yards and 3 touchdowns. It was a lot of deep balls, and a lot of completions that weren't deep balls were the checkdowns on deep ball plays."
- Daniels rallied to have one of his best games after two first quarter interceptions. "Sometimes when you're that young, you can't overcome early mistakes," Martin said. "I commend him for going out and playing like nothing ever happened and started making huge plays later on that helped us win the game. I never wavered. I never even called him to the phone."
- After its 21-point scoring binge in the second quarter, the offense managed only three points in the second half, which Helton attributed to a "lack of opportunities." The Buffaloes got the ball to begin the third quarter and had several extended drives plus a pick-six, which limited USC's possessions.
- The Trojans also had some poorly timed penalties which stalled drives. "We try to minimize mistakes that we create," LT Austin Jackson said. "For us, our issue is we create a lot of mistakes. Just keep working on eliminating those by communicating, playing hard, and we should be alright."
- USC will have to play a cleaner game against Utah's defense, which ranks No. 1 in the Pac-12. "There's a lot of seasoned guys on their front seven," Jackson said. "A lot of guys that we saw last year. They're physical, they're big, but so's our D-Line at practice. So it should be fun."
- The offensive line will have to handle the crowd noise at Rice-Eccles Stadium, one of the loudest venues in the conference. "I've never played there before, but from what I've heard, it's going to be a very loud game," Jackson said. "Me personally, I like those type of games. Those are the most fun. Hopefully it'll be like Washington State last year, but we walk out with a win."
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