Morning Buzz: USC Lacks Running Game Amid Its Explosive Plays

JONES.IDAHO.2Does it matter that USC is ranked 8th in rushing offense in the Pac-12 while it averages 46.8 points per game? Here’s my story on the search for a consistent running game a quarter into the season.

Excerpt: “USC’s running game currently provides just 33 percent of the offense . . .  Can anyone imagine USC going into a game against someone like Ohio State without a proper running game? Not when USC has the worst time of possession in the Pac-12 at less than 25 minutes per game.” Full story here

And with the focus on the running game, here’s Aca’Cedric Ware on coping with a lack of playing time and waiting to make an impact.

22 thoughts on “Morning Buzz: USC Lacks Running Game Amid Its Explosive Plays

  1. Sark is a genius. His offense is unstoppable. Did you see the numbers the offense put up against Arkansas State and Idaho? Sark is the best in the business and Pat must lock him up before one of the power schools snags him. After we stomp the Huskies all of you haters will be singing a different tune. FIGHT ON and WIN FOREVER!

  2. REALITY checks are useful,Stanford was #1,ASU #2…Washington ,similar to first 2 games a mixed bag…ND Utah and the rest will be about practice preparation and does SC have great coaching in practice and game time…I hope so…

  3. Patience is a virtue… Unfortunately few of us possess it. The running game is an important part of the game plan and tailback U is name we once embraced. Do we give up the best weapons to fire others? As long as we score who cares how?

    • Exactly. USC has the best receiving group and a three-year starter and Heisman candidate at QB and Scottie wants to run the ball more because “statistical analysis” says the team is not balanced. Jones is is averaging 8.1 yds/a, Madden is averaging 5.8 yds/a and Davis is averaging 7.2 yds/a – I’ll take those “statistics” any old day.

      • Helen, I agree with what you say, but the one stat that really concerns me is the time of possession….we need to demonstrate an ability to have sustained drives and to be able to run the ball and move the line of scrimmage, at will…BTW… whatever happened to running the wheel route with the RB’s?…that was a staple of the Norm Chow offense during the Carroll era..

  4. Scott used the word “might” six times in this article…..you MIGHT want to have someone do a better job of editing your work….

    • I’m responding not to this observation, but to your point about time of possession. I think that time of possession is a symptom, not a problem. I think that Fred’s right that the problem is line-of-scrimmage competitiveness. Is Kessler under pressure too often? When USC needs 3 yards of third down, is rushing an option that the D must worry about?

      There are many ways to succeed on offense, but the coach has to choose “his way”, get the right personnel for it, train them for the tasks required by “his offense”, and stick to the plan. Is Sark focused in that way?

      • I see your point, but I also think that time of possession is byproduct of our “high tempo” offense….and our inability to convert on 3rd down to sustain drives, and allowing teams, like Stanford to convert on 3rd down almost at will, which speaks to our DL and ineffective pass rush…..to that extent, I think time of possession is a problem, as our defense is on the field twice as long as the other teams….And to your question, Sark still has a long way to go to gain my trust and confidence…

  5. The vacation is coming to a conclusion with USC’S football schedule, and we will soon see what they are made of. If that offensive line, and running game don’t come together real soon, its going to be excuse 101 for Steve Sarkisian. The Trojans failed the only true test they had this season, and it was because of line of scrimmage play, so stay tuned.

    • C’mon, Fred…..How did Arizona State beat themselves?….. are you really going to give USC zero credit for winning that game?….ASU clearly came in with a specific game plan to blitz us like crazy and we simply took advantage of that, as well as created a few well time turnovers…..Did UCLA beat themselves against ASU?

      • Ok, well maybe ASU didn’t beat themselves, but their own mistakes made the score lopsided, and Im still not impressed with USC, but we shall see.

        • We both want the best for the team and we expect them to reach their full potential, with the assistance of good coaching….Is this the best coaching staff in the country?… far from it…..but I’m willing to ride it out until the end of this season before I start whistling the tune from Titanic……especially since there doesn’t appear to be a consistently dominant team this year, especially in the Pac-12 or the SEC…..it would be easy to dismiss a win over ND or UCLA by attributing it to their having key injuries (ND – QB, RB and DL, UCLA – Vanderdoes, Jack and Moreau), but nobody felt sorry for us when we were on sanctions…and Utah will be a huge game for us…but first, we have to play Washington tomorrow night and take care of business..

    • Yes AZ State beat themselves nobody hit that guy to make him fumble. You do realize USC had a turnover in the red zone. AZ State played the same way against UCLA completely selling out against the run and blitzing and our senior QB and line handle their business. Our run game is fine the real question is can our D-line handle their business. The Talent on front 7 on D is young and finding their way.

  6. Well, the last two times that SC beat Ohio St they didn’t have particularly strong days running the ball. How would Ohio St do, since they are averaging 140 yards less that SC in the passing game. I guess you were impressed by their performances against Hawaii, Northern Illinois, William & Mary and their last second victory against Indiana.

  7. When you have guys like Adoree and Juju on the perimeter I think you can survive without playing Stanford’s brand of FB.

  8. The talent is there but you have to teach that talent to open the holes in the running lanes for any running game to work well enough. Is Bob Connelly that kind of a coach? So far the results are mixed depending on who the opponent is.

    • Wait a minute……..Didn’t Javorius Allen run for over a 1400 yards last season with 3 freshmen starting on the offensive line ? Did they forget how to open holes, or is Bob Connelly not teaching them how to fire off the ball much like Tim Drevno had them doing last year ? And btw, have you notice how Drevno has Michigan’s offensive line blowing holes open for their running backs ? Let’s just say Connelly needs to go back to the high school ranks where he was 3 years ago.

  9. Yes it matters because we lose TOP and then back that up with a soft defense. Will cost us 2-3 games a year. Last year ASU and Utah. This year Stanford so far. Thats why hes called 7ark

    • Exactly, and fans need to know, that you will never win a championship without a running game,it’s just not going to happen.

  10. “Not when USC has the worst time of possession in the Pac-12 at less than 25 minutes per game” ?

    The number “25” is the amount of “brain” cells left in Sarkisians’ brain !

    But look at the bright side, at least we keep our Defense on the field 50+ minutes per game !!

    That way all of the Defense is in great shape and will be totally ready for the next L.A. Marathon, and that’s the most important thing…

    FightOn

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