Scouting Report: UCLA at USC
In last year’s game against USC, the Trojans came away with a 36-14 victory at the Rose Bowl. Sam Darnold threw for 267 yards and gained an extra 49 on the ground. (DAILY BRUIN FILE PHOTO)
By Vikram Sairam
Nov. 16, 2017 7:20 p.m.
It’s that time of year again.
This time, the Bruins will travel down to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in the annual crosstown rivalry between UCLA and USC in the battle for the Victory Bell.
The Trojans have taken the last two matchups by convincing double-digit margins, in what has been a recent rise for their program amid harsh sanctions imposed by the NCAA for violations across multiple sports from 2005-2010.
The Bruins – winners of five games with two games left – are trying to scrape their way to a bowl game.
If they fail to reach six wins this season, that will make two straight years without a bowl game, which hasn’t happened to UCLA football since the 1989 and 1990 seasons.
Coach Jim Mora has been the main target for the Bruins’ troubles.
Fans and donors alike organized airplanes to fly banners around the Rose Bowl on Saturday calling for athletic director Dan Guerrero to fire Mora. Junior quarterback Josh Rosen called the movement “something stupid that costs an unnecessary amount of money.”
So despite what seems to be a David and Goliath matchup, there’s a lot to play for on both sides here. USC is looking to match the three-peat UCLA pulled on them from 2012-2014, while an upset win for the Bruins could save Mora’s job and maybe even the season.
Here’s a breakdown of USC’s offensive and defensive schemes ahead of the matchup at the Coliseum on Saturday.
USC’s offense
Base formation: Spread
Run/pass ratio: 52/48
Strengths: veteran offensive line with strong balance between run and pass
Weaknesses: playing down to their opponents
X-factor: quarterback Sam Darnold
The matchup everyone’s been dying to see all year is finally here – Sam Darnold vs. Josh Rosen, the potential top-two quarterbacks in this year’s draft class.
A lot of analysts see Darnold as the better of the two for his gritty play and ability to run. That’s not to say he’s not an avid passer; he’s sixth in the country in passing yards and 10th in passing touchdowns.
The San Clemente, California, native is also coming off back-to-back 300-yard games against Arizona and Colorado, picking up five total touchdowns and just one interception during the two-game stretch.
Though he’s been a little overshadowed by Darnold, tailback Ronald Jones II is quietly having one of the best years in college football. The tailback is currently 10th in the country in rushing with seven performances for at least 110 yards and 5.0 yards a carry.
The junior out of Texas also has 15 scores to his name on the year. He’s a shifty back who relies on his elusiveness and ability to break tackles in space. Below is a clip against Colorado last week that really demonstrates his skill set.
Jones II has also gotten more carries because his dynamic true freshman backup Stephen Carr has missed five games this year due to injury. Carr was an explosive speedster who made people miss. He put up 119 yards on just 11 carries as he did against Stanford.
However, Aca’Cedric Ware has budged his way into the rotation after a breakout performance against Arizona, in which he rushed for 122 yards on 14 carries and a score. That being said, Jones II was still the leading rusher of that game, finishing just six yards shy of 200 on the ground and three scores against the Wildcats. Watch Ware below.
The injury bug spread to the offensive line, with starting guard Viane Talamaivao shut down out early in the season as well. He boasted a staggering 32 career starts by himself, and the other four starters on the line – Chuma Edoga, Nico Falah, Chris Brown and Toa Lobendahn – are all at least juniors who combine for 40 starts total excluding this season’s games.
Tackle/guard Jordan Austin hadn’t made a start prior to this season, but has been filling in for Talamaivao. UCLA should look to attack the right side as the redshirt junior has still been adjusting to his new role in recent weeks.
Now, it wouldn’t be a complete offensive scouting report on the offense without mention of USC’s wide receivers.
Deontay Burnett leads an extremely talented group with 911 receiving yards on the season on top of nine touchdowns. Burnett’s average of 13.2 yards a catch is – believe it or not – actually the lowest average of their top-five receivers.
Tyler Vaughns and Steven Mitchell Jr. are a formidable freshman-senior duo that have combined for over 1,100 yards receiving on 81 catches and eight touchdowns. Tight end Tyler Petite only has 20 grabs on the year but averages 14.6 yards a catch along with three receiving touchdowns. Here’s a clip of Vaughns scoring two weeks ago.
Check out this impressive diving catch by Mitchell on a deep touchdown two weeks ago.
In essence, this offense is loaded with talent and athleticism all around. From the offensive line to the skill positions, Darnold has a plethora of weapons at his disposal and should have ample time to get the ball where he wants.
Jones II could be in for a career day against a defense that is on track to be one of the worst in program history in terms of rushing yards allowed.
If they want a shot at this game, UCLA’s defense will need to harass Darnold early and live with medium-yardage runs. Jones II has only had three performances of fewer than 110 yards rushing, and one came in a 38-10 blowout win against Oregon State in which, he still had 79 yards on 6.6 yards a carry and a score. So expect him to get his share regardless.
However, both of USC’s losses were Darnold’s lowest passing totals of the season by a fair margin with the exception of his win against Cal on Sept. 23. So if they can prevent Jones II from garnering too many big runs and force Darnold to make difficult throws – UCLA has a shot with a Rosen-led offense.
USC’s defense
Base formation: 3-4
Blitz tendency: medium
Strengths: lock down cover corners
Weaknesses: inconsistency through four quarters
X-factor: linebacker Cameron Smith
This is one of the best USC defenses in the last couple years – talentwise at least.
Sure, this group is allowing 26.5 points per game, but that includes a game against No. 9 Notre Dame, who put up 49, and matchups against offensive fire powers in Arizona and Washington State – who put up 35 and 30, respectively.
Even so, this defense has playmakers all around.
Defensive lineman Rasheem Green has six sacks in his last six games played. At 6-foot-4 and 275 pounds, he was one of the nation’s most sought-after recruits out of Junipero Serra High School in nearby Gardena, California.
Malik Dorton and Josh Fatu join Green in a three-lineman scheme forming a stout pass rush. Green leads the Trojans with eight sacks and Fatu isn’t far behind with seven. Christian Rector has also been a pleasant surprise for them on the defensive line, with seven and a half sacks on the year as a redshirt sophomore.
Speaking of sought-after recruits, USC was able to obtain the nation’s No. 1 cornerback prospects in both 2015 and 2016 in Iman Marshall and Jack Jones, respectively. Both have thrived in starting roles the last two seasons, but Marshall has missed the last four games with a sprained MCL against Notre Dame on Oct. 21.
Still, Jones has four interceptions on the year and has quickly adjusted to the primary corner spot from the slot. He comes out of nearby Long Beach Polytechnic, making him former teammates with redshirt junior receiver Christian Pabico and redshirt sophomore defensive back Colin Samuel.
Expect to see Jamel Cook and Isaiah Langley fill in the role for Marshall. While the former is a bit inexperienced, he’s a rangy safety at 6-foot-4 who has enough coverage ability for defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast to list as the backup to Marshall in their season opener. He was also a four-star recruit ranked as the third-best safety in his class out of Miami, according to ESPN.
Marvell Tell III and Chris Hawkins round out the Trojans secondary at the safety spots. Tell III was a top-five safety in his 2013 recruiting class who has been starting for the Trojans since his freshman year. Hawkins was a top-10 corner who has been starting at safety for the Trojans for two years.
Tell III is also the team’s second-leading tackler with 70 and has two interceptions on the year. He’s wearing No. 7 in the clip below.
The linebackers on this team are also stacked. John Houston Jr., has 21 tackles and an interception in his last two games. He’s a super athletic inside linebacker that Pendergast loves to bring down into the box on third downs. Watch out for Houston Jr. to be put in a few more blitz packages than usual with the injury to outside linebacker Porter Gustin.
Here’s a clip of him ripping the ball out of the receiver’s hand on Nov. 4 for an interception.
Gustin’s injury has also paved the way for Oluwole Betiku Jr. – a former five-star recruit committed to UCLA, before he ultimately switched sides prior to signing day. He hasn’t done much on the year statistically, but he’s one of most athletically gifted players on their team with shocking speed at 6-foot-3 and 250 pounds.
GIPH (John Houston Jr. INT against Arizona)
[Related: Five-star recruit Oluwole Betiku excels with only two years of experience]
Uchenna Nwosu is also thriving in his last year of college football, garnering 60 tackles, seven and a half tackles for loss, five and a half sacks and an interception through eight games at the outside linebacker spot. Watch no. 42 against Arizona on Nov. 4 in the clip below.
Levi Jones has seen time at this spot as well, as the true freshman was forced into the rotation with the injury to Gustin. ESPN had him ranked as the fourth-best outside linebacker in the country in the 2017 recruiting class. He’s notched 13 tackles in 11 games so far, but the Bruins should take advantage of his inexperience whenever he’s on the field.
However, the real stud of the defense is Cameron Smith. As a true freshman in 2015, he was leading the team in tackles 10 games into the year before knee surgery ended his season. In 2016, he finished as the team’s leading tackler and earned 2016 Campus Insiders Sophomore All-American first team honors along with All-Pac 12 second team honors.
Injuries have continued to plague him this year too, but Smith hasn’t missed any significant time and continues to play – again leading the Trojans in tackles with 87 coming into Saturday’s matchup against the Bruins. He’s also notorious for laying some seriously hard hits on top of his phenomenal football IQ.
––––
This is one of college football’s most historic rivalries. We’ll be seeing a Bruin coach fighting for his job against a Trojan team trying to stamp its way back onto the college football map. The result should be a great game.
