USA TODAY International Edition
Southern Cal’s Helton seeks breakthrough
Wins have eluded coach since he got job permanently
In the face of it all, Clay Helton remained hopeful and optimistic even after Southern California’s loss to Stanford dropped the Trojans to 1- 2 for the first time since 2001.
“This is going to become a good football team,” he said Saturday night. Look at the losses, he suggested: to Alabama and Stanford, two powers in their respective conferences.
“We played two really good football teams, Alabama and Stanford, in our losses. We’ve got to learn how to win those games, and we will.”
Oh, but those losses have come by a combined 63 points — the Crimson Tide by a whopping 46 points, the Cardinal by a more understandable 17- point margin, with the latter aided by Helton’s decision to punt in the fourth quarter rather than take chances in his team’s territory.
The learning curve for any new coach is steep, even for one, such as Helton, who was promoted to the full- time job with weeks left in the 2015 season. But wasn’t the decision to choose Helton — a relative unknown with no head coaching experience — motivated by his familiarity with the roster, his knowledge of what made this team tick, his ability to hit the ground running rather than undertake a complete overhaul?
Let’s say this: Three games into the season, USC must at least address the possibility this will be a losing season. Worse yet — and yes, this is worse — it’s only fair to question Helton’s ability to right the Trojans’ path with several key conference matchups over the next month.
After all, he has given little cause for optimism. USC has lost four of its five games with Helton as full- time coach, with its win coming vs. Utah State. In two of the 12 games since Helton was promoted as the interim replacement for Steve Sarkisian, the Trojans have averaged more than 6 yards per play — a damning total, given the roster’s athleticism.
Helton is 2- 6 in games against ranked competition, including four such losses in a row. USC has gotten worse, in fact, since Helton was given stewardship of the program — from the high of running with Notre Dame in his debut and the ensuing four- game winning streak to this year’s low.
The team has no true identity. What is USC? Pass- happy, West Coast? Reliant on the run, physical up front? Quick, athletic, confident? No clear- cut vision has been on display.
And even the roster seems disheartened: “It looked like the game was over in the locker room,” USC quarterback Sam Darnold said of the halftime mood vs. Stanford. “That’s something that cannot happen.”
This weekend sends USC to unbeaten Utah, winners of six of its last seven at home. The Trojans can find a model in the Utes, which if nothing else has a concrete picture for success. In October, a road game against Arizona comes amid home matchups with Arizona State, Colorado and California.
Then there’s November: at home for Oregon, at Washington, at UCLA and at home for Notre Dame. It’ll take five wins vs. this group to reach bowl eligibility.
The team that has shown up through three games isn’t beating five of the teams left on its schedule. Could the Trojans improve? Yes, of course: USC is simply too talented to be counted out as a contender in the Pac- 12 South.
The issue is that USC has given no reason to think it will flip a switch — and not just this year, but since the day Helton was handed the keys to the program in November. So is it bad now? Yeah. But it could get worse.
“We don’t have enough time to feel sad or out,” Helton said. “We’ve got to go to work immediately. And the only way you can get rid of a bad feeling is to go win.”