Does USC Football Run A Spread Offense In 2016?

Does USC football run a spread offense? That was the question tossed around as preparations for the Trojans contest with Colorado began on Tuesday.

On Monday, Colorado head coach Mike MacIntyre observed that USC’s offense has changed drastically since the Trojans made their quarterback change, essentially becoming a spread offense in the course of two games.

That assertion prompted agreement and disagreement from the Trojan ranks. And undoubtedly more debate to follow.

The mobility of quarterback Sam Darnold has certainly opened up the USC offense, with a more effective zone-read adding an extra dimension.

But does that make USC a spread offense?

When asked if that was the case, the quarterback was on board with the idea.

“I think we’re a spread, but we like to run the ball a little bit more than the typical spread offense would,” Darnold said. “Yeah, I guess we’re a spread if you want to put it in literal terms.”

In literal terms, USC largely operates out of the shotgun, as most spread attacks do. The Trojans make regular use of horizontal plays, using speed to exploit mismatches on the outside.

USC is also staffed by a collection of coaches whose recent experience has been steeped in spread philosophies.

Still, Clay Helton disagrees.

The head coach noted that the new look for USC’s offense means having two runners in the backfield on any given play, forcing defenses to load the box, which has opened up passing opportunities against man coverage.

But running a zone-read doesn’t make them a spread offense, the head coach insisted.

That’s because the Trojans almost always keep the tight end on the field, instead of lining up in four wide receiver sets.

“A true spread is four-wides and no tight end attached,” Helton said. “We like to have that tight end attached.”

As Helton points out, USC also makes use of two tight end sets and occasionally deploy a fullback, formations and personnel associated with the pro-style offense.

Still, Helton’s assertion that the ability to rush for 200 yards is proof that the Trojans don’t run a spread doesn’t really hold water.

Last year, four of the top five rushing teams in the Pac-12 — Oregon, Arizona, Utah and Arizona State — run spread offenses. Stanford was alone among the top rushing teams in the Pac-12 in running a pro-style.

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Receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster didn’t exactly break the tie between head coach and quarterback, preferring to call USC’s offense “a mixture of everything.”

When it comes down to it, that might be the best way to define the Trojan offense in 2016.

By no means are they a run-first pro-style offense in the Stanford mold.

Nor are they a spread attack akin to Oregon.

They’re somewhere in between, which is perfectly fine so long as it continues to work.

“The balance right now is what I see. That’s what I saw [against ASU],” said Helton. “The marriage between the two is the reason we’re successful.”