Darnold must keep dazzling


Want to know one play that epitomizes USC’s season thus far? Wind back the tape to about 40 seconds left in the first quarter of last week’s game against Arizona State and watch a trick play almost turn into a catastrophe, yet somehow work out.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Darnold handed the ball off to senior running back Justin Davis, whose return flip to Darnold landed on the ground. But Darnold picked it up and, while running and escaping pressure, heaved a deep ball downfield for sophomore wide receiver Deontay Burnett for a big gain.

It was an incredible play, done by a quarterback who has shown a knack for making something out of nothing. 

“From disaster to dazzling!” yelled play-by-play man Joe Davis on the FOX broadcast. At the risk of extending a metaphor far too deep, that essentially has been the Trojans’ season in a play: one long, broken-up flea-flicker — except the ball is still in the air.

If the hype surrounding Darnold now is “dazzling,” then the way USC approached the first part of its daunting schedule was the disaster — or the errant Davis flip. From making (what we now know) was the wrong choice at starting quarterback to the beatdowns the Trojans received at the hands of Alabama and Stanford, few saw the pre-season ranked No. 20 team in the nation dropping that low, that fast.

Likewise, few can see a flea-flicker coming. It starts off like any other regular play: A straight handoff from quarterback to running back, who will try to plow his way upfield — pretty standard stuff. But then the running back tosses it back to the quarterback, and everyone is caught off guard. The defense panics: “It’s going to be a pass? Who’s open downfield? What are they doing?”

This was head coach Clay Helton replacing redshirt junior Max Browne at quarterback with Darnold, a decision that had supporters and critics alike wondering what was happening. This was the gamble, the risk of throwing a redshirt freshman into the teeth of the tough Pac-12 conference and watching him crumble, but the potential for an astronomical reward — like a flea-flicker resulting in either a huge loss of yardage or a big play downfield.

Unlike his punting decisions, Helton stood firm and rolled the dice — and in came the “dazzling.” There is no metaphor here because this is literally Darnold. This is Darnold having the sense of awareness to save a turnover, and — instead of throwing it away — buy enough time to uncork a perfect throw on the run 40 yards downfield. 

For the purpose of this hypothetical universe, though, the ball is still in the air, and Burnett has not yet caught it. This is where Darnold’s career track sits at the moment, with his potential and intangibles clear as day but his sample size still small.

Against Arizona State, Darnold showed just how high his ceiling is. He moved and threw left, right and center. He slipped away from seemingly inevitable sacks like his uniform was covered in grease. He made throws in scramble mode with so much zip and accuracy that he could have been throwing from the pocket with plenty of time. He made Helton look like a genius, which is not a very easy task these days.

Besides the Utah State win, the shellacking of Arizona State was the first time USC fans walked away from a game this season feeling confident and with nothing negative to gripe about. To me, it almost felt strange, serving as a wake-up call that yes, this is the USC team we all expected to see this season — only nobody thought we’d have to wait until the fifth week and endure a 1-3 start and a quarterback change to witness it.

We are indeed in the middle of a theoretical flea-flicker, and the difficult parts — the handoff, the pass back, the potential for a turnover — appear to be over. It took a while, but the Trojans finally have the team they want out there. They have found the right quarterback, the right balance between the run and pass game, the defense that can stop a formidable offense such as ASU and — like it or not — the head coach their players generally want to play and win for.

But in sports, success can be fleeting and the good feelings will only last until the next loss. In order for this flea-flicker to be complete — for Burnett to make that diving catch — USC has to repeat last Saturday’s performance against Colorado and get back to .500. Darnold has to pick up right where he left off and continue to be the mobile, accurate, flashy quarterback that has fans salivating, and the rest of the team has to follow suit. Never mind that the Buffaloes are the ranked team and USC is not. No one has to remind this team that — by USC standards — a .500 record this late into the season is a cause for concern, much less a 2-4 record.

A loss to Colorado means the flea-flicker is looking more and more like the wrong play call; a win extends the arc on the ball making its way downfield. It’s now up to Darnold to erase the “disaster” and complete its transformation into a word that describes both the San Clemente product and a word that USC hopes will come to define this season: dazzling.

Eric He is a sophomore majoring in journalism. He is also the sports editor of the Daily Trojan. His column, “Grinding Gears,” runs Fridays.