Page 4 January 4, 2018
Trojans End 2017
with Bowl Loss
By Adam Serrao
With a 24-7 loss in the Cotton Bowl last
Friday night, the USC Trojans fell in their
final game of the season and were defeated
by the Ohio State Buckeyes for the first time
since 1975. The Trojans may not have lost the
game as much as Ohio State’s defense won
it, but quarterback Sam Darnold certainly
had his share of mistakes that wound up
costing the team. While the Trojans took to
the field as this year’s Pac-12 champions, the
Buckeyes took the field looking to prove a
point. After being snubbed from the College
Football Playoff, their 17-point victory at
AT&T Stadium in Texas proved that they at
least belonged in the conversation. That same
playoff snubbing is also perhaps what gave
Ohio State the extra motivation it needed to
send the Trojans back to Los Angeles with
USC’s third loss of the season.
Throwing for 365 yards wouldn’t normally
seem like such a bad way to end a college
football season. When those 365 yards are
accompanied by three turnovers and eight sacks
in a 24-7 loss, though, that ending quickly
begins to lose its fairytale luster. “Whenever
you turn the ball over that much, it’s hard to
win games,” Darnold said at his postgame
press conference. “Just a lot of stuff where
we shot ourselves in the foot.”
That’s exactly what the Trojans did last
Friday night--shot themselves in the foot.
USC had four turnovers that led to 21 Ohio
State points, the first of which occurred on
the third play from scrimmage as cornerback
Kendall Sheffield stripped receiver Deontay
Burnett, giving the Buckeyes a one-touchdown
lead less than three minutes into the game.
As if that weren’t enough, Darnold and the
Trojans would give up plenty more before
the half. A second quarter pick-six by safety
Damon Webb that was returned 23 yards put
USC in an even deeper hole before Darnold
lost a fumble just before the half that led to
another two-play, 59-yard touchdown drive
for Ohio State. The Buckeyes would take a
24-7 lead into the half.
It was a leaky offensive line that undoubtedly
led to USC’s season-ending loss and Darnold’s
struggles in the game. A monstrous total of
eight sacks seemed to understate the amount
of times that the Buckeyes’ defensive front
was immediately in the backfield, rushing
Darnold’s hand into making a decision. The
Trojans were held scoreless in the second half
of play. The only time the team did score
on the night was after Ohio State muffed a
punt, setting Ronald Jones II and the USC
offense up in excellent field position for the
team’s only score of the game in the second
quarter of play.
All in all, Darnold’s typical inconsistency
was on display at the professional football
stadium last week. It’s obvious that the
quarterback has the ability to make the most
jaw-dropping passes in all of college football.
Even some quarterbacks in the NFL seem
incapable of making the throws that Darnold
completes to his wide receivers at times.
Just when the 6-foot-4 sophomore seems
to get rolling, though, the inconsistency
that has bothered him all season long rears
its ugly head again. He misses wide open
wide receivers and fails to take care of the
football--both of which oftentimes lead the
Trojans to having to come from behind or
in some cases even lose the game.
Darnold’s three turnovers in the game
raise his personal total on the year to 22.
That number alone is reportedly higher than
101 other FBS teams, according to Sports
Illustrated. Playing behind an offensive line
that is clearly in shambles certainly doesn’t
help his cause. Neither does taking that same
offensive line to go up against the extremely
elite pass rush of Ohio State. “Our defensive
line won that game,” Buckeyes head coach
Urban Meyer explained. “That quarterback,
we’ve got a lot of respect for him--but the
best way to disrupt a quarterback is to get
after him and we did. If you don’t let him
set his feet, you have a chance. You saw
there at the end of the game that quarterback
never set his feet.”
All of the chatter now surrounding the
Trojans, and more specifically Darnold, will
turn to questioning whether or not he’ll be
back at USC for his junior season or take
the journey into the NFL. Darnold will be
forced to make up his mind by the deadline
to declare on January 15, if he hasn’t made
up his mind already by the time this article
is published. Cases can be made for him
either staying or going, but in his own words,
Darnold has stated, “I’m really just focused
on just hanging out with my teammates for
the next couple of days. But it’s tough. I’ll
look at everything and make my decision
after that.”
On one hand, another year in college
certainly won’t hurt the maturation process
of a quarterback who clearly still needs just
a little bit more of it. On the other, an NFL
coaching staff would certainly help Darnold
in maximizing his potential. Oh, and the
millions of dollars he’d receive by signing
an NFL contract... There’s always that too. •
– Aserrao6@yahoo.com | @UpandAdam6
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