Overall it’s no better than a push for Trojans
They bounce back with solid victory, but Edoga is ejected after shoving ref.
Shame had turned to anger, and anger had calcified into resolve by USC’s second game, on Saturday. The Trojans had had enough: an embarrassing seasonopening loss to Alabama and a parade of off-the-field incidents, from the disturbing to the banal. They hoped their first home game, against Utah State, would provide a respite. It did — for almost two minutes. The peace was ruptured by left tackle Chuma Edoga, who, at the end of the first drive of the game, grappled with an official, then swung his arms and gave him a shove. The official, umpire Rick DiBernardo, ripped out his flag. For a moment, it hung over Edoga, and USC, like a cloud. Shortly after it fell to the turf, Edoga was ejected and, muttering an expletive, he trudged off the field.
A week had passed, and, it seemed, nothing had changed.
But Utah State proved a forgiving adversary. And USC, despite the early cracks, did not crumble. Instead, it departed with an easy win, 45-7, and a modicum of stability.
“It’s not perfect,” Coach Clay Helton said. “But a 45-7 win in the Coliseum, we’ll take.”
It was Helton’s first win as the full-time head coach, and it was badly needed. USC (1-1) began its season with a 52-6 loss to Alabama in which its offensive line was shredded. And it had been battered by incidents including, but not nearly limited to, two sexualassault investigations, a player suspended for stomping on an opponent’s groin and a fight during practice. The anger lingered. “I guess the professional response would be that we moved on after we watched the film. But it definitely stays with us,” quarterback Sam Darnold said.
Helton said he felt like the week “creeped along.”
“It felt like four hours in that locker room this morning,” he said.
USC responded with a performance that was less overpowering than unrelenting. Still, it outplayed Utah State in all facets of the game. The Trojans led in first downs, 29 to 13. They rushed for 178 yards.
USC’s quarterbacks, Darnold and starter Max Browne, threw their first touchdown passes; each had two in all. USC scored once on special teams — Adoree’ Jackson’s 77yard punt return — blocked a punt to set up a touchdown and led 31-0 before surrendering its first touchdown.
Afterward, receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster skipped up the tunnel and into USC’s locker room. A week after catching just one pass against Alabama, and days after throwing punches at teammates at practice and brooding off the field, Smith-Schuster’s temperament had improved.
He’d caught seven passes, two of them for touchdowns, for 56 yards. He was targeted sufficiently during the game, though he did not feel he was targeted adequately after the game — his first news-conference query did not come until a full five minutes into the session.
“Thank you for asking me a question,” he told a reporter, smiling. “I thought I wasn’t going to get one today.”
Then, he said, “This was a game for us to bounce over and show that one game doesn’t define our team.”
Smith-Schuster’s unshackling freed the rest of the offense. Darreus Rogers finished with seven receptions for 82 yards, both career highs. Ten Trojans caught passes. Steven Mitchell Jr. and Deontay Burnett reached the end zone.
But it was USC’s defense that showed the most promise. Utah State managed just 49 yards rushing in 26 attempts. Devante Mays, whom Helton deemed an NFL-caliber running back, rushed for 24 yards in eight carries.
“A stellar game defensively,” Helton said.
But, Darnold cautioned, “The end score doesn’t really show a lot of our struggles.”
Some sloppiness festered along the offensive line. Edoga’s early absence did not help.
Edoga had become enraged when a Utah State linebacker shoved him at the end of a play, and took off for the defender. When DiBernardo intervened, Edoga became confrontational.
“He’s got to be smarter,” Helton said. “There’s no excuse. We’ve got to make great decisions. That can cost you a game.”
Before Edoga walked to the locker room, right tackle Zach Banner found him and “told him it’s bull crap,” Banner said. He said Edoga realized that his conduct was unacceptable.
“I definitely don’t want Coach Helton getting a bad rap,” Banner said. “It’s not Coach Helton. It’s definitely not.”
USC’s next opponent, Stanford, which relaxed with a bye week, allows little room for such errors. The Cardinal pummeled the Trojans twice last season, largely by bullying them in the trenches.
How close was Saturday’s rout to a performance worthy of such an opponent?
“Not very close,” said left tackle Chad Wheeler, who played with an injury after Edoga’s departure.
But, said Helton, “We needed it as a football team, to get a bad taste out of our mouth.”