Helton is waiting for first big road win


The start of November brought much of the same excitement as October for the USC football team. The Trojans turned in another impressive performance with a resounding victory over the visiting Oregon Ducks Saturday. The last five games have all followed the same script — USC’s defense shutting down an opponent’s potent offense, while putting together an impressive offensive showcase of their own.

Tal Volk | Daily Trojan Dog pound · Head coach Clay Helton has a chance for an upset win this week as the Trojans travel to Seattle to face the No. 5 Huskies. Helton’s squad has lost on the road to all three ranked opponents they have faced this season.

Tal Volk | Daily Trojan
Dog pound · Head coach Clay Helton has a chance for an upset win this week as the Trojans travel to Seattle to face the No. 5 Huskies. Helton’s squad has lost on the road to all three ranked opponents they have faced this season.

This five-game stretch has taught us many things about the Trojans: Redshirt freshman Sam Darnold is one of the best quarterbacks in college football, USC’s defense is eminently capable when they blitz and head coach Clay Helton does an excellent job of getting his team ready to play and win the games they should.

This is an exceptionally important and underrated characteristic of an elite football coach. So far, Helton has won every game this season that he was supposed to win. That is more than one can say for the previous two regimes at USC, and even the great Pete Carroll struggled in his final season with putting away inferior opponents. It is refreshing to have a team that shows up and turns in consistent performances week in and week out.

The question of whether or not Helton is competent has been answered. He is, and he has grown each week on the job. However, competent is not enough at USC. The Trojans need an elite coach, and the best coaches beat teams of equal or better talent. This coming Saturday, Helton has a chance to demonstrate he belongs in that conversation. Unless it is a blowout of epic proportions, one game won’t automatically propel him into the rarified coaching stratosphere, but it will answer questions about his big-game ability.

This game against Washington is going to be a tough one. The Huskies are an elite squad replete with plenty of talent and an excellent coach. Their front four is able to consistently generate pressure and the secondary is fast and swarming, with future NFL star Budda Baker leading that unit. Their offense is equally imposing, with a talented and accurate passer and great speed at their skill position spots.

So far this year, the Trojans have been lacking in big games. Whether or not that was attributable to Helton learning on the job, the incorrect quarterback playing or simply a barrage of miscues on a rainy Friday night in Utah, USC has a chance to rectify those mistakes and solidify their image as a premier team with a win against Washington.

Moreover, this game means a lot for Helton. It is one thing to beat .500 teams, which silences critics temporarily. It is an entirely different matter to enter hostile territory and score a victory over a top-five, undefeated squad. Helton needs this victory to prove that he is the man for the job. A win doesn’t disqualify him, but going zero for four against quality opponents on the road or at neutral sites will leave a lot of questions entering the offseason.

As good as Washington is, USC is well suited to beat them. When pressured, sophomore quarterback Jake Browning is not as poised as his incredible statistics would otherwise indicate. The Husky defense’s aggressive nature can be used against them with misdirection and screens. A well-schemed game plan combined with USC’s immense talent on both sides of the ball will yield a victory against the Huskies.

To beat them, Helton has to turn in the best coaching performance of his young career. The team can’t play the way they did against Oregon and expect a similar result. Racking up penalties in the double digits won’t work against a better foe.

Helton will need to ensure sophomore Iman Marshall and the other defensive backs opposite junior Adoree’ Jackson can handle either Dante Pettis or John Ross, as Jackson can only shadow one of the star wideouts all game long.

The offense will have to be crisper than it was against Oregon. While they did score 45 points, the Trojans left points out on the field with errant connections and missed blocks. It is weird to complain about a quarterback who completed 70 percent of his passes for 300 yards and had some major runs and improvisational passes, but Darnold was somewhat off his game against the Ducks. He will need to revert back to the form he has shown in every prior game this year, with a bit more velocity and accuracy on his throws than on Saturday.

On the bright side, sophomore running back Ronald Jones II is back to the stunning sensation he was a season ago, which adds another dimension to the offense. Additionally, the emergences of freshman wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. and sophomore wide receiver Deontay Burnett as legitimate options helps the offense have extra weapons. While only a freshman, Pittman has the hands, body type and marvelous ability after the catch that surely projects he will be the next great Trojan wide out. Burnett has always had standout speed, but has now taken his game to the next level with sure-handed receptions and precise route running.

The Trojans will need contributions from players like these as well as their stars to come back from Seattle with a victory. More than that, they will need an aggressive scheme and a coach playing to win, who doesn’t shy away from the spotlight or moment. This is Helton’s chance to cement his status as the Trojan’s coach, and I am hopeful he will be able to emphatically announce with a statement victory that he is the guy to lead the Trojans for the foreseeable future.

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