USC football searches for answers as it enters bye week

USC’s coaching unit likes to preach astir winning the mediate portion of a game, the past 5 minutes of the 2nd 4th and archetypal 5 of the third. It’s a play wherever momentum tin determination successful large waves and dictate the people of the enactment successful the 2nd half.

In Saturday’s 42-26 nonaccomplishment to Utah, the Trojans were beaten soundly successful that 10-minute stretch, outscored 21-0. It’s been a recurring themes for USC’s 3 losses this season, being outscored 49-6 successful that model successful the defeats.

Against the Utes, it each fell isolated successful a substance of 93 seconds astatine the extremity of the archetypal half.

On second-and-10 with 2:33 remaining successful the 2nd quarter, USC QB Kedon Slovis was sacked for a nonaccomplishment of eight. The adjacent play was a 2-yard completion to Tahj Washington and the Trojans had to punt aft picking up 2 archetypal downs.

“That was an accidental to instrumentality a pb earlier the half,” violative coordinator Graham Harrell said. “We needed to bash it.”

It was deflating punt, down 4 and knowing that Utah would person the second-half kickoff. But what happened adjacent made it worse.

Utah moved into USC territory successful a substance of 3 plays. Another 3 later, and the Utes faced fourth-and-1 from the USC 37. Everyone successful the Coliseum expected a tally up the gut to determination the sticks with 17 seconds near connected the clock.

But pursuing a timeout, Utah alternatively ran a flea flicker. USC went to halt the run, and the shot was lateraled backmost to QB Cameron Rising, who recovered Devaughn Vele streaking down the tract for a touchdown and an 11-point lead.

So erstwhile Utah enactment USC successful an 18-point spread connected the opening thrust of the 2nd half, it was the extremity of the Trojans’ chances connected Saturday.

“We didn’t marque the due adjustments coming retired of fractional and beauteous overmuch determination the 3rd 4th was conscionable a unspeakable 4th for america successful each aspects,” interim caput manager Donte Williams said. “The past 5 minutes of the 2nd 4th and the opening of the 3rd wherever beauteous overmuch it didn’t substance what we did — they did everything right, we did everything wrong.”

USC’s bye this coming week seems fortuitously timed. Positioned precisely six games into the 12-game season, players called it a bully reset to determination past this crippled and effort to hole immoderate of these problems.

“It’s benignant of similar a cleanable slate,” antiaircraft extremity Nick Figueroa said. “So immoderate happens, the past’s the past. You conscionable gotta look guardant and amended connected our play.”

Safety Isaiah Pola-Mao wants to spot USC bash that unneurotic aft the team’s sideline dispersed retired arsenic the nonaccomplishment progressed connected Saturday, with immoderate players sitting connected benches connected the other extremity of the tract from wherever the enactment was taking place.

“I deliberation we conscionable person to thin connected each other, not truly abstracted and not having radical going down connected the different extremity of the tract and conscionable kinda being by themselves,” Pola-Mao said. “We each request to thin connected each other.”

BRIEFLY

USC choky extremity Michael Trigg volition request a 2nd MRI performed this week to find the grade of his little limb injury, Williams said. An ACL teardrop and a breached bony person some been ruled out, but Williams said helium did not expect Trigg to instrumentality successful the contiguous future.