In and out they went, two USC quarterbacks aimlessly trading places, grasping for any semblance of rhythm or hope or something, anything in between. One drive, it was Kedon Slovis. The next, Jaxson Dart. The hope was to get the best out of both. The reality, in an ugly back-and-forth between two imploding Pac-12 foes, was that the Trojans got the best of no one.
Instead, they found themselves wandering aimlessly through the desert night, with seemingly no plan at all in Saturday’s 31-16 defeat at Arizona State. Even as the Sun Devils handed over every possible opportunity they could give the Trojans to win, USC found itself trading punts and field goals in a high-stakes game of who blinks first.
Then, on a third and long in the fourth quarter, Chris Steele blinked. The cornerback was called for defensive holding, extending a late Sun Devils drive. The next play, Rachaad White was off to the races, breaking through USC’s front on his way to a 50-yard touchdown and burying the Trojans for good with his second score of the night. He finished with 202 yards and three touchdowns.
It was Slovis who took over from there, with USC down eight and at its most desperate. But hope already had fizzled, and the sideline was lifeless. A three-and-out was the final blow.
All night, USC had stayed alive, albeit just barely, thanks to three turnovers and timely penalties from Arizona State. But as a lifeless season rolled into its final month, the Trojans (4-5, 3-4) seemed content to let it expire.
Even an All-America receiver may not have been able to save USC on Saturday night; though, neither quarterback was at his best in the absence of Drake London, whose season-ending injury cast a pall over USC’s offense that appeared impossible to overcome.
USC’s unusual rotation did it no favors. After refusing all week to disclose his plan for the quarterbacks, interim coach Donte Williams largely stuck to the same rotation he used last week in a win over Arizona, switching them out every two drives, with only a few exceptions.
Arizona State running back Rachaad White gets wrapped up by USC’s Calen Bullock and Chase Williams (7) during the first half.
(Darryl Webb / Associated Press)
It didn’t work Saturday night. Both struggled early, unable to find a rhythm, and neither had any chance to recover. Dart led the Trojans’ only touchdown drive after an Arizona State fumble and scored on a nine-yard run, but only after the Sun Devils extended the drive with two penalties. Slovis was the sharper of the two but couldn’t muster any momentum to keep drives moving. His 131 passing yards were the fewest of any game he started and completed.
USC was expected to lean on the run. But a fox that found its way onto the field in the first quarter found more room to run than Keaontay Ingram did early on.
Coming off two of the best performances of his career, Ingram was bottled up by an Arizona State front content to stack the box to stop him. Aside from a 24-yard scamper in the second quarter, Ingram had just 30 yards on 13 attempts.
Without its top option in the passing game or its emerging workhorse on the ground, USC struggled to scrounge together offense.
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