USC leaves little hope for rest of the season

It’s a simple fact that most sports fans are hopeless optimists. Dodger Stadium has been packed to the brim for the opening two games of the World Series in support of a team that last won it all during the Reagan administration. Tens of thousands of people pack the Coliseum week-in, week-out every year despite more than a decade passing since the Trojans’ last national title. Optimism is sports’ lifeblood, and even the most jaded fan has the slightest sliver of it.

But for the last week, it has felt like Notre Dame bled every last drop of that optimism during last Saturday’s massacre in South Bend.

Like many others, I have been almost blindly bullish when it comes to these Trojans since January. Ignoring all the warning signs for a far more challenging, target-on-your-back season to come, I basked in the Rose Bowl glory, completely convinced that the trifecta was coming in 2017: a Pac-12 championship, another victory in Pasadena and a return to the national championship.

Nearly 11 months later, and here we are. USC is still a frontrunner for the conference crown, but with the ultimate prize out of reach, the remainder of the season will only determine what sort of silver lining the program can take into next fall. Some have called for head coach Clay Helton to be fired, and others have declared redshirt sophomore quarterback Sam Darnold a bust.

I instinctively want to defend the Trojans. I want to point to Helton’s strong 22-9 record at the helm and remind everyone of what Darnold did against Texas and Utah this year. But there’s not much I can say that doesn’t ring hollow after USC last Saturday. I feel like a flat-earther: The facts are staring me in the face, but I’ve somehow talked myself into something different.

I’ve died on worse hills, though (I was convinced Blake Bortles would be a good NFL quarterback for far longer than I am proud of). What really scares me is that the nightmare may not be over. The Trojans are traveling on back-to-back weeks coming off arguably their two most taxing games this season. And like the losses at Washington State and Notre Dame, Arizona State is expected to have a sold-out crowd at its back. The Sun Devils beat then-No. 5 Washington and Utah in their last two games, and they will look to catapult themselves into the thick of the Pac-12 South race with an upset over USC.

After ASU, Arizona arrives at the Coliseum, and the Wildcats could be coming off a home win over Washington State, riding speedster quarterback Khalil Tate. Tate put up nearly 400 yards against UCLA — 148 through the air and 230 on the ground with three total touchdowns. After facing Arizona, the Trojans go to Colorado, then return home to face UCLA to wrap up the regular season. How great can you feel about any of those games? My greatest fear is when all is said and done this season, USC will have had a seven- or eight-win season with a trip to the Holiday Bowl — no different from the days of Steve Sarkisian and Cody Kessler.

There’s no bright spot to look to anymore. Darnold hasn’t hit his peak all season. The rushing attack that opened the year so promisingly has been derailed thanks to injuries. Special teams coughed up the ball and left easy points on the board in recent weeks. An intimidating defense that ranks among the nation’s best in forced turnovers got dominated in South Bend. Week-to-week improvement hasn’t been this team’s forte, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see another error-filled night in Tempe on Saturday.

It’s hard for me to believe that Helton and company will suddenly clean things up to win the Pac-12, which means that after all the fanfare, it’s just another lost season. I would say that the Trojans finally stole away all my optimism, but there is just a bit left — the hope that they will prove me wrong and win out … and win it all next year.

Ollie Jung is a senior majoring in print and digital journalism. He is also the sports editor of the Daily Trojan. His column, Jung Money, runs Fridays.