USC battles injuries ahead of Arizona State


Redshirt freshman wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. returns the ball for the Trojans in a game against Utah at the Coliseum. Photo by Brian Chin | Daily Trojan

No. 21 USC may have seen its playoff hopes dashed in a 49-14 meltdown against Notre Dame last week, but the team still has a clear goal in sight. The Trojans control their own destiny in the Pac-12 South with a 4-1 conference record. Standing in the way is a road game against a rising Arizona State team.

“Looking forward to getting on a plane and going and competing for first place in the Pac-12 South,” head coach Clay Helton said. “It’s [going to] be a great challenge in a great atmosphere against a team that’s playing really good football right now.”

At the very start, Arizona State’s season appeared to be a lost cause. In Week 1, the Sun Devils narrowly escaped with a win over New Mexico State. And in Week 2, they lost to San Diego State by 10 points. Despite its sleepwalk into 2017, Arizona State has finally found its groove with major wins over then-No. 5 Washington and Utah this month. Its resurgence has been due in no small part to major improvements on the defensive side.

Entering their clash with Washington, the Sun Devils’ defense was porous at best, giving up over 400 total yards in four of five contests to start the season (Stanford’s Heisman hopeful Bryce Love ran for 301 yards against them). Over the past two games though, Arizona State has been allowing just 147 passing yards per game and 100 rushing yards per game.

“I think they’re doing a tremendous job of playing within the system,” Helton said. “They’ve usually provided a bunch of different looks over the past couple of years. Now they’ve simplified things a little bit for their kids and they’ve gotten better each week.”

Arizona State will be tasked with defending a USC offense that remains without an identity eight weeks into the season. Much has been said about redshirt sophomore quarterback Sam Darnold’s turnover-prone play this season — he’s responsible for 17 of the team’s 19 turnovers — but the unit has also been hampered by an uneven running game. Early on, the duo of junior Ronald Jones II and freshman Stephen Carr seemed unstoppable, combining for 463 yards in the first two games.

However, during Carr’s extended absence dating back to the Washington State game, the running attack has been lackluster. Against Notre Dame, Jones was bottled up for 32 yards on 12 carries and the Trojans were forced into one-dimensional play behind the shaky offensive line. USC hopes to re-establish the ground game and take some pressure off Darnold in a tough road environment.

Carr is likely to remain out for the fourth game in a row against Arizona State, but he’s hardly the only injury-related absence USC will have to cope with this weekend. On Thursday, head coach Clay Helton offered an unfortunate update on sophomore defensive lineman Christian Rector, who injured his hand during Wednesday’s practice.

“He suffered a broken hand and will require surgery,” Helton said. “From that point he’s probably weeks out [from a return]. We’ll see how that goes after the surgery.”

While filling in for junior linebacker Porter Gustin since the Texas game, Rector has turned into a star, as he is currently leading the Pac-12 with 6.5 sacks. Now it is uncertain if he will able play another game in his breakout season, handing the Trojans yet another devastating injury. Also on the defensive side, junior nose tackle Josh Fatu (concussion) and junior outside linebacker Gustin (broken toe and bicep) are game-time decisions for Saturday after seeing limited practice reps this week.

“Right now with injuries and no bye week … it’s time to protect bodies,” Helton said. “We’re one or two injuries away from being really limited.”

With a depleted defensive front, defending Arizona State’s senior running back duo of Demario Richard and Kalen Ballege could be a challenge. Last week, USC’s front seven was trampled by that of Notre Dame, which ran wild for 377 yards and five touchdowns. Neither Richard nor Ballege is of the same caliber as the Irish’s Josh Adams, but both are experienced and powerful backs. Against Utah, the two ran for 168 yards in the Sun Devils’ physical 30-10 win.

Joining Richard and Ballege on offense is Manny Wikins at quarterback. The signal caller from Novato, Calif. has cut down on mistakes (only three interceptions this year) while increasing productivity (262.4 yards per game) during his junior year. Meanwhile, 6-foot-4 wide receiver N’Keal Harry has emerged as his favorite target, averaging 89.6 yards per game.

As USC finishes out its conference schedule, the road to the Pac-12 Championship will go through Tempe, Ariz. as both teams seek to punch their ticket to the championship game at Levi’s Stadium in December.