Trojans look to rebound against Arizona

The Trojan football team emphasized bouncing back at practice on Tuesday following its 38-34 loss to Arizona State this weekend. USC will face No. 10 Arizona in Tucson this weekend, a crucial game if the Trojans are to achieve their goal of becoming Pac-12 South champions.

Band of brothers · Freshman wide receiver JuJu Smith said the heart-wrenching Hail Mary loss to ASU on Saturday is bringing the team closer together. Smith is averaging 41.3 receiving yards per game. – Mariya Dondonyan | Daily Trojan

Closer Through Adversity

The Trojans suffered a loss Saturday night that launched USC into unfamiliar territory for the first time this season: unranked anonymity. The Trojans have shown resilience many times already this season, and they look to do so once again.

“[It] brings us even closer as a team,” freshman wide receiver JuJu Smith said of the loss. “When you lose a game, you get frustrated, it’s as a team.”

This is certainly not the ideal team bonding activity, but the team has responded with a go-get-’em attitude and by practicing hard with the idea of redemption on their mind. Junior wide receiver and team captain Nelson Agholor stood firm in his belief that hard work in practice will show results in the game to come.

“We are handling practice and taking care of the things we can take care of today,” Agholor said. “You learn from the good and the bad. The outcome was a miscue, now you get to learn from that. It shouldn’t be a repeated mistake. Our demeanor and the way we react to it will be contagious.”

USC head coach Steve Sarkisian  highlighted the positives of the game following Tuesday’s practice.

“The beauty of football is that we get to get back on the horse,” he said. “You can have a tough loss and you get a chance to redeem yourself.”

Boom Boom Pow?

The Trojans have gotten heat for their underachieving offense and lack of highlight reel worthy plays. A big factor in this is the lack of “explosive plays.” Though redshirt junior tailback Javorius “Buck” Allen is ranked 17th in the nation with 115.2 yards per game this season, he is only averaging 5.28 yards per carry.

“There’s a lot that we’re doing really well right now,” Sarkisian said. “The explosive plays piece is something that I’d really like to improve on. Generally when you put emphasis on something as a coach, you get a return.”

Sarkisian drew attention to the Trojans’ superb ball control, pointing out that redshirt junior quarterback Cody Kessler has yet to throw an interception through five games.

The offense took blame for the lack of razzle dazzle and agreed that the team needs to make improvements on that side of the ball.

“The bottom line is we didn’t score enough points and that’s on me, that’s on the offense,” Kessler said. “If another team scores 100 points then we have to score 101. We’ve got to give our defense a better cushion.”

Injury Update

Sophomore long snapper Zach Smith has still not been cleared for play. He suffered a concussion against Oregon State and did not play against Arizona State. His presence was sorely missed as Kessler was forced to punt the ball four times, often giving ASU improved field position.

Senior safety Gerald Bowman has a deep thigh bruise and redshirt senior tight end Randall Telfer has a hip bruise. Neither injury is expected to prevent the players from participating in Saturday’s game.