COLUMN: Wilcox needs to step up his game

The Sun Devils have Steve Sarkisian’s number — he’s 0-4 all-time against the program as a head coach.

Historically, Arizona State has averaged almost 35 points a game against Sarkisian’s teams, both at USC and Washington. USC defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox was only around for two of those losses.

Ironically, though, the Sun Devils posted the highest amount of points (53) against a Sarkisian-coached team in one of the games where Wilcox was calling the shots on defense.

Now, after dropping their Pac-12 opener to Stanford, the Trojans are forced to quickly turn around to face their first road test of the season in a hostile environment at Arizona State — a program that has not only gotten the best of USC the past couple of seasons, but also its head coach and defensive coordinator.

Great timing, right.

The Trojans aren’t in uncharted waters, though. The program has notched its first loss of the season in week three or earlier for each of the three past seasons — two of those losses coming in conference openers.

USC came into each of these games as double-digit favorites and failed to take care of business. Looking at the glass half full, though, losing so early in the season could prove to be beneficial for Sarkisian’s team because it creates a sense of urgency for the team a little sooner than most expected.

Contrary to my earlier prediction, Stanford came out to the Coliseum and not only tested the Trojans, but straight up bullied USC, while exposing holes and weaknesses in their defense in the meantime.

Justin Wilcox, you are the weakest link … for now. After allowing 41 points and over 470 yards of total offense, Wilcox’s unit can’t afford to get torched this time around and, quite frankly, it shouldn’t.

This year’s Sun Devils team is not the same offensive juggernaut it has been in years past, as it currently finds itself in the bottom-half of the FBS and Pac-12 in scoring — they’re averaging a little more than 28 points per game, while facing below-average opponents like Cal Poly and New Mexico. The only legitimate team they’ve faced so far was Texas A&M and the Sun Devils were only able to post 17 points against the Aggies.

Last year’s Arizona State teams averaged just under 37 points per game, which was good enough for 17th overall in the FBS and third in the Pac-12.

Arizona State’s offensive woes can be largely attributed to its offensive line’s struggles to protect quarterback Mike Bercovici in the pocket. Through just three games, the unit has allowed 11 sacks with nine of those coming against Texas A & M.

Hopefully, Wilcox gets the memo.

College football is a game of fine tuning and making adjustments week in and week out, but at face value, it doesn’t appear to be rocket science.

If you’re able to get pressure on Bercovici and give him a hard time, it could be a long day for the Sun Devils. It would also take a little bit of pressure off the young USC secondary, which struggled against Stanford.

Wilcox can theoretically kill two birds with one stone.

But if the defense allows Bercovici time to make plays, he is capable of posting monster numbers like the 510 yards and five touchdowns he put up against USC last season — not to mention the 46-yard “Jael Marry” he threw to win the game and break the hearts of every USC fan.

If USC is going to win, Wilcox needs to dial up more blitzes and pressure. We saw what happened last week when the defense couldn’t get to Hogan — they made him look like a god out there, while being unable to force any turnovers.

In fact, the Trojans haven’t been able to come up with any turnovers since forcing four in their opener against Arkansas State. Going on the road for the first time, it’s paramount that USC musters up at least one turnover to gain some momentum and try to take the crowd out of the game.

It’s going to be hot on Saturday night in Tempe with an expected temperature in the mid-90s around kickoff, and for Wilcox’s sake, I sure do hope that the USC defense comes out firing on all cylinders.

This game not only has the potential to be a great turnaround victory for the Trojans, but it would also give Sarkisian his first ever win against Arizona State, and perhaps provide a boost to Wilcox’s morale should the defense be able to bounce back.

A victory would also signify much-needed retribution for USC fans who’ve been haunted by memories of last year’s game against a school, whose acceptance rate is so high that not even Cody Kessler’s completion percentage (78.7 percent) — among the best in college football — can match it.

If the Sun Devils are somehow able to post 60-plus points like it did two years ago and upset USC for the third consecutive time, however, Sarkisian should just leave Wilcox behind at the airport.

Darian Nourian is a senior majoring in print and digital journalism. He is also the sports editor of the Daily Trojan. His column, “Persian Persuasion,” runs Fridays.