USC prepares for a homecoming against Arizona

USC will look to snap its two-game losing streak Saturday as it faces Arizona at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for homecoming weekend. 

It’s been an up-and-down season for the Trojans who have an overall record of 3-4 and a Pac-12 record of 2-3. USC suffered a tough 31-16 loss away at Notre Dame last weekend, one of its oldest and most significant rivals. 

Despite these losses, interim Head Coach Donte Williams still feels confident about the team and the rest of the season. 

“It’s been a lot of adjustments as far as schematically and a lot more things off the field,” said Williams Tuesday after practice. “It’s been a ton of adjustments actually … We actually have the structure and the foundation in place that I would like now and make sure that we go ahead and just get the results we want on Saturday.” 

USC currently leads the Pac-12 with 2,209 passing yards averaging 444.7 yards per game. Arizona gives up an average of 362.3 yards per game. 

This game has significance for Williams, who was the cornerbacks coach at Arizona in 2016. 

Arizona has been struggling this season as well, losing all of its seven games and playing in the midst of a 19-game losing streak dating back to the 2019 season. Both teams remain unranked. 

The Pac-12 South rivals have faced off since 1916.  USC holds an overall record of 35-8 against the Wildcats. 

In 2020, USC earned a narrow 34-30 away victory in Arizona. The game was extremely close with the two teams tied 20-20 going into the fourth quarter. 

One of the highlights for USC this season has been the run game. Senior transfer running back Keaontay Ingram has been a standout on the USC offense with an average of 103 rushing yards per game over the last four games. He is ranked fourth in the Pac-12 for rushing. 

“I feel like right now, as a team, 1-0, that’s the only thing we can do, that’s the only thing that we can control at the end of the day,” said Ingram after Tuesday practice. “The best mentality is to live in the moment.”  

There have been many questions surrounding the USC quarterbacks after freshman quarterback Jaxson Dart had a record-breaking debut against Washington State, throwing four touchdowns with a 65.2% completion rate. Dart was later injured in this game and soon after underwent meniscus surgery. 

Dart was “cleared to an extent” for the Notre Dame game, Williams said, but the head coach decided to hold him out. Williams called for an open quarterback competition after the Washington State game. 

Offensive Coordinator Graham Harrell had high praise for both Dart and freshman quarterback Miller Moss. 

“They both have potential to be really special players around here so just got to keep developing them and keep improving them, and, hopefully, we can get them some action,” he said.

Junior quarterback Kedon Slovis remains the main signal caller for USC, with hopes of improving the red zone woes for the Trojans.

“We just have to go prove to ourselves that we can go be consistent and then do it at a high rate in the red zone,” Slovis said. “If we can do that and establish that, we will have a lot of confidence going forward.” 

Kickoff against Arizona begans at 4 p.m. Saturday the Coliseum.