Energetic return for Branch
He bounded out of the tunnel with his helmet, full pads and a neon green mouthguard, gait something between a skip and a frolic, putting his head down and bobbing his arms to the pregame thumps of A$AP Rocky's “Praise The Lord” across Notre Dame Stadium loudspeakers.
Pockets of USC fans, slowly trickling in from outnumbered tailgates across a waterlogged South Bend campus Saturday night, let out a faint smattering of cheers. Because the implication, from the kid's ever-electric demeanor, was clear.
Yeah, Zachariah Branch was back.
For two weeks, ever since he surprisingly didn't dress for USC-Colorado, Branch's status had been clouded. He was seen fielding punts at practice the past couple weeks, but was out again against Arizona, one of the Trojans' most dynamic weapons relegated to the sidelines.
Head coach Lincoln Riley didn't even confirm his absence was due to an injury — using vague language such as “we don't think it's long-term” — until Thursday.
“He's going to continue to need to make some jumps here to be ready for us,” Riley said Thursday.
Those jumps were made, literally and figuratively, Branch leaping in early warmups to snag a ball one-handed, youthful excitement buzzing from a freshman who'd captured the nation with four touchdowns in his first four collegiate games.
“We've got a long stretch of football ahead of us,” Riley said Tuesday, “so we're trying to, obviously ... excited to get him back when the time is, but we've got to be smart when that time is.”
USC played it conservative with Branch's usage in the first quarter on Saturday, the receiver doing band-work on his right leg with strength coach Bennie Wylie in warmups. Branch started the game at kick returner but didn't play a major role on offense until USC's third series late in the first quarter.
In the second, though, he seemingly eradicated all doubt as to his health, taking a handoff on a secondand-20 play and springing up the middle then cutting back for a 17-yard gain.
Davis earns a start
When healthy, USC's linebacker corps has remained relatively steady, transfer Mason Cobb starting alongside Tackett Curtis.
It's a formation, though, that's puzzled at times. Both the eye test and advanced metrics have indicated the returning Eric Gentry and Raesjon Davis have been productive at the inside linebacker spot in limited time.
Davis, after being a noshow against Arizona, was filling a spot in the first half Saturday next to Curtis, who played admirably, executing a couple of nice tackles after struggling slightly with physicality over the past couple weeks.
Cobb cycled in at various points throughout the first half to contribute to an overall strong USC defensive effort.
The odd man out was Gentry, who didn't make any first-half noise after earning 31 snaps against Arizona last week.
Covington out
Cornerback Jacobe Covington was in street clothes against Notre Dame, after having a game-changing pick against Arizona the previous week. Domani Jackson returned after an absence to bolster USC's secondary.