USC vs Oregon Report Card 2016: Grading the Trojan Offense

The match up of USC vs Oregon yielded some high scoring from the Trojan offense, but it was far from the best showing of the year.

The expectation going into Saturday was for Oregon’s defense to be overwhelmed by USC’s offense. As it turned out, that expectation was warranted as the Trojans put up 579 yards of total offense on the Ducks.

Averaging 7.1 yards per play, USC found space to move the ball both on the ground and through the air against the Ducks, though it was far from a perfect performance.

After weeks of top-class outings on offense, standards for the Trojans have only gone up.

Here’s how each offensive unit graded out against the Ducks:

It says more about the high standard Sam Darnold has set for himself than anything that a 28-of-40, 309-yard, two-touchdown performance could feel decidedly…average.

Darnold’s ability to improvise, extending plays with his legs to find receivers after a play has broken down, is a huge asset and he used it well against Oregon.

Still, the redshirt freshman lacked the zip on his short passing which made those throws so effective in prior starts. He struggled to put the right among of touch on his long ball. Again he made a mental mistake throwing a pass he shouldn’t have for an interception which nearly gave the Ducks new life. And there were several more long throws which were in danger of being picked as well.

Perhaps it is nitpicking, but Darnold has been and can be much better than he showed on Saturday. That’s a scary prospect for opposing defenses.

In his second outing as USC’s primary running back, Ronald Jones II made his case for keeping the job even when Justin Davis returns from injury.

Jones averaged 8.6 yards per carry, gaining 179 yards and scoring four touchdowns. Confidence in his homerun hitting ability restored, seven of his 20 carries went for ten or more yards. On top of that, his work to become a more complete back is clearly paying dividends as he converted two third downs on screens as a receiver.

With that kind of outing, he is forgiven the botched exchange which resulted in a fumble — one he was able to fall on without incident.

Behind Jones, USC got decent contributions from Dominic Davis and James Toland IV, making it an all-around good day for the running backs.

The somewhat unexpected duo of Deontay Burnett and Michael Pittman stole the show against Oregon.

Burnett took over as the starter in the slot for the injured Steven Mitchell, but had only had one catch in each of USC’s last two games. On Saturday, he exploded for seven receptions and 87 yards, including a touchdown, as Darnold’s favorite target.

Pittman also had his breakout performance adding four catches and 61 yards. Three of his catches resulted in USC first downs while the other yielded 21 yards on second-and-34 to set up the unlikely conversion.

Though it was a quiet day for JuJu Smith-Schuster, it was anything but for the Trojan tight ends. Taylor McNamara was second among receivers with four catches, including a touchdown. Daniel Imatorbhebhe, meanwhile, supplied one of the highlights of the season on a juggling catch for 37 yards.

On the one hand, Zach Banner and the Trojan offensive line cleared the way for 270 yards rushing and didn’t give up a sack on the night. On the other hand, the Ducks have given up an average of 273 yards rushing to teams in the Pac-12, so those numbers seem less spectacular given the normal struggles of the defense on the ground.

Moreover, offensive linemen accounted for five of USC’s 13 penalties. Nico Falah was penalized as an ineligible man downfield, while Chad Wheeler and Khaliel Rodgers each were flagged for holding. Banner himself had two holding penalties wipe out big plays of more than ten yards each.

Of course, you could cut the line some slack, especially Banner who could feel aggrieved about the legitimacy of both flags thrown his way.

All in all, USC’s line was good, but annoying inconsistent. The feast or famine nature of Jones II’s runs attests to that.

It was far from USC’s most disciplined performance of the season, with a flurry of flags going against the Trojan offense.

Nor was it USC’s most dominant performance. Despite facing a struggling Oregon defense, the Trojans weren’t at their best — something which was hidden by a 45-point outing. Unfortunately, much of USC’s problems were rooted in some questionable coaching.

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Thanks to stellar punting by the Ducks, USC was pinned within their three-yard line twice. On both drives, the Trojan coaches opted to sub in offensive linemen, leaving the offense without their first team front. In the first quarter, that nearly ended in disaster as subs Chuma Edoga and Chris Brown were beaten and Jones was pushed back perilously close to the goal line.

There were also a number of play calling headscratchers, from a designed quarterback run on second-and-16 to a counter into the overloaded side of Oregon’s defense.

On a night when USC should have had an even easier go of it due to the relative weakness of the opposition, the Trojans made it harder on themselves than they should have.