Hobbled Trojans make short work of Arizona

This season of USC football has seen many backups step up due to injuries, and Saturday’s 41-14 win over Arizona was no different.

Sophomore linebacker Kana’i Mauga — who started in place of injured sophomore Palaie Gaoteote IV — posted 13 tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and an interception off Arizona freshman backup quarterback Grant Gunnell deep in Arizona territory.

“He [was] just being so special on our special teams, and that’s what Kana’i is, just a true teammate doing whatever is called upon to help the team win,” head coach Clay Helton said. “And then he’s called upon to be the starter tonight. And lo and behold, an interception and tackles everywhere. It was like unleashing somebody that was just waiting for his chance.”

Perhaps just as surprising was the effort of freshman running back Kenan Christon, who entered the game after injuries to junior Stephen Carr and redshirt freshman Markese Stepp. The former California high school sprinting champion broke free for two long touchdowns — a 55-yarder and a 30-yarder — which added to Arizona’s demoralizing deficit.

Carr and Stepp were just two of six Trojans to leave the game due to injury. Most notably, sophomore safety Talanoa Hufanga went to the locker room after sustaining a shoulder injury at the end of the first quarter, while freshman defensive end Drake Jackson was spotted wearing a boot on the sidelines after injuring his ankle in the third.

“It does hurt us a lot … We’ve fought and we’ve gave it everything we have every gameday out, and personally I pray for them to get better,” redshirt freshman cornerback Isaac Taylor-Stuart said. “Stuff happens like that, that’s the game of football. It did hurt the soul, but we’ve gotta keep on, move on to the next one.”

The Trojan defense was already short four starters — redshirt senior defensive end Christian Rector, redshirt sophomore nickel back Greg Johnson, Gaoteote and sophomore cornerback Olaijah Griffin. Freshmen Max Williams and Dorian Hewett filled in at nickel back and cornerback, respectively, assisting the defensive effort with solid coverage.

Helton said he will have updates about the status of the Trojans’ injured players Monday.

Despite the defensive injuries, the team was able to contain dual-threat senior quarterback Khalil Tate. Tate was sacked six times and threw for just 47 yards before he was benched early in the third quarter.

Helton said Clancy Pendergast’s defense studied how NFL teams defend athletic quarterbacks to prepare to face Tate.

“We wanted to keep him bottled up,” Pendergast said. “We’ve seen a lot of him over the years. We know what kind of player he is, and the guys really just zeroed in and focused on what we needed to do.”

The Trojan offense also minimized errors, allowing the team to win the turnover battle for the first time since last season’s opener against UNLV. USC’s only turnover came when redshirt junior running back Quincy Jountti, who came in after Stepp’s departure, fumbled the ball away. After Jountti lost the ball, Mauga promptly intercepted Gunnell to give possession back to the Trojans. Arizona also muffed a punt and fumbled, resulting in two early USC scores.

Freshman quarterback Kedon Slovis took a while to get going but ended the game with 232 yards and two touchdowns. Despite his solid numbers, Slovis admitted he could have played better, especially in the first quarter.

“A lot of that’s on me,” Slovis said of the Trojans’ slow start. “I didn’t do my job and wasn’t very disciplined and missed a lot of opportunities, but I think the biggest thing was just not making those mistakes worse and turning the ball over. That kept us in the game, and our defense did a great job getting us the ball back.”

The offensive effort was further aided by senior wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr., who displayed his athleticism by carrying an Arizona defensive back into the end zone for USC’s first touchdown. He also came back to catch an underthrown pass for a 54-yard reception that set up the Trojans’ third touchdown of the game.

In the short week ahead of Friday’s game against Colorado, the Trojans will have little time to get healthy and are counting on Saturday’s contributors to step up again against the Buffaloes.