COLUMN: Trojans have found identity

Nine games into the 2015 college football season, and it appears the Trojans finally have an identity.

Though not quite at the level of Stanford or Alabama yet, USC is finally back on the road to playing power football. The win over Arizona was significant for a wide array of reasons: the Trojans showed resilience after going down by 14, they won their third straight game for the first time this year, and most importantly, their performance offered a blueprint for the future success of the program.

It is still too early to say whether or not head coach Clay Helton should have his interim tag removed, but one thing is for certain, the players fight for him. Earlier this season, if the Trojans had fallen into a 14-0 hole, I don’t think they would have responded favorably. On Saturday night, they rallied behind their coach; flying to the ball on defense and attacking Arizona defenders on offense.

Helton is still learning — his use of timeouts and love for the outside bubble screen leave a lot to be desired — but he motivates his players, which means a lot. Sometimes, when you have a team as talented as the Trojans are, the only thing you need to win is for your players to play hard. I think that was the case Saturday night.

The win means a lot for the Trojans as the momentum builds going into the Colorado game. If they can avoid the trap game on a sleepy Friday night in Boulder, USC will be playing for real stakes deep into November. Though it isn’t the season many fans envisioned at the outset of the year, the team is in a much better position than even the most optimistic fan could have reasonably predicted after the loss to Notre Dame.

More important than this season, though, is the future of the Trojans program. While the glitz and glamour of the spread offense is alluring, it is very clear that the power run game is still lethally effective when employed correctly. USC doesn’t have all the assets in place, and hasn’t faced the most physical of defensive lines the last few weeks, but they have the makings for a potent recipe for success moving forward.

Saturday night demonstrated the multitude of benefits associated with a clock dominating, power running game. When JuJu Smith-Schuster left the game in the third quarter, the team had no choice but to put the ball in the hands of running backs Justin Davis and Ronald Jones. They were rewarded with a mix of power and speed, carving the Wildcats’ defense up.

Much like Chauncey Washington did many years ago, and Silas Redd did more recently,  Davis and Jones acted as closers in the fourth quarter. They were able to effectively shorten the game by taking a powerful Wildcat offense off the field for long periods of time in the late third and fourth quarter.

Jones, who is a true freshman, has the kind of acceleration the Trojans haven’t seen since Reggie Bush. While he is not in that rarified air yet, his career has the potential to be something truly special. His penchant for minor injuries that lead to him limping each week is a slight cause for concern, but they haven’t really affected his performance, so hopefully that trend continues.

Davis has finally put together a string of performances that resembles the immense potential he flashed freshman year before getting hurt. He doesn’t run so much as glide, and when there is a crease he is excellent at turning it into something extra.

Neither of these guys fit the bruising mold, but having a Lendale White isn’t necessary when the team has a powerful and large offensive line. Having a center with a lower center of gravity has done wonders for the Trojans’ run game, and maybe Khaliel Rodgers has played himself into a permanent role when all is said and done this season.

USC doesn’t need to be Arkansas. They can still involve their dynamic athletes, like they did tonight with Smith-Schuster and Adoree’ Jackson. This just makes them more explosive and hard to defend, but I honestly believe the team will be more successful over the next five to 10 years if they become the bully again. The best years of the Caroll era had excellent receivers and tight ends who put up great statistics, but the core of the team was five offensive lineman who played professionally, a veteran quarterback who was accurate and didn’t make mistakes and phenomenal running backs.

That is a recipe for success when the talent is there. Just look at Alabama or Stanford. Both of those teams are consistently in the hunt. USC can recruit more talented guys than Stanford and beat them at their own game, and ascend to the ranks of Alabama, LSU and Michigan State.

It seems the most successful people and groups go left when everyone else is going right. College football is transitioning the spread, so maybe USC should go back to its roots to find its identity. Saturday night was definitely a step in the right direction.

Jake Davidson is a junior majoring in accounting. His column, “Davidson’s Direction,” runs Mondays.