USC’s offense needs to ‘get out of its own way’ to help end streaky stretches

LOS ANGELES — USC had a scoring barrage during the second quarter of last week’s victory over Colorado.

Freshman quarterback JT Daniels began with a 27-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Vaughns, hitting the redshirt sophomore wide receiver along the north sideline of the Coliseum

Two more scoring tosses followed, when Daniels connected with Michael Pittman for a 65-yard touchdown pass, then another to cap a two-minute drive before halftime.

In less than 10 minutes, the Trojans had scored 21 points.

But as proficient as they looked in that stretch, capitalizing on big plays, it did not last. They did not reach the end zone over the final 31 minutes, offering a glimpse into a recurring issue halfway through the season.

Streakiness has defined USC’s offense in nearly every game, even on its current three-game winning streak. It was previously held scoreless for the final 25 minutes in a 24-20 victory at Arizona, and it also went 18 minutes without a touchdown in a 39-36 shootout win over Washington State. The scoring droughts were worse in losses, held without a touchdown for the final 45 minutes at Texas and for the entire game at Stanford.

“We just gotta get out of our own way and stop the drive-killing plays,” USC offensive coordinator Tee Martin said this week, “whether it’s on first or second down, that gets us to where we’re punting the ball as opposed to sustaining drives.”

Trouble on first and second downs, as Martin reasoned, has put the Trojans in difficult situations for third downs. USC has faced an average third-down distance of 7.9 yards, ranking 96th in the Football Bowl Subdivision, according to advanced stats kept by SB Nation’s Bill Connelly. Of their total third downs, 59 percent have been at least third-and-7, where potential conversions become less likely, nor are the odds favorable.

In the second half against Colorado, the Trojans faced four third-down attempts, with an average distance of 12.2 yards. They failed to convert each time.

Martin thought penalties and negative plays hampered the offense and potential scoring drives against the Buffaloes.

“Those were the plays that ended up making third downs really, really hard,” Martin said.

A pair of holding penalties committed by senior right tackle Chuma Edoga set back a pair of the drives.

When the Trojans faced third-and-2 on their opening drive of the second half, Aca’Cedric Ware ran 6 yards to pick up a first down. But Edoga was flagged for holding, negating the pick-ups and putting the Trojans in a less desirable third-and-12 scenario. Daniels’ subsequent pass to Vaughns was short of gaining a first down. The Trojans punted.

Edoga also committed a penalty on the next drive, putting the Trojans in a second-and-20, where Daniels threw an incompletion and running back Stephen Carr ran for 3 yards on third-and-20.

Penalties have been an ongoing issue, with 13 penalties committed against Colorado, following 18 penalties at Arizona, and often afflicted their offense. Only two teams average more penalties per game than the Trojans.

A limited running game has hurt, too. The Trojans have averaged 124 rushing yards per game, ranking 112th in the FBS in rush offense, and average 3.82 yards per carry. They have fared the worst on first down, when they average 3.71 yards per carry. The average gain per carry ticks up on second down (4.38 yards per carry) and third down (3.74 yards per carry).

LINEBACKER WATCH

Middle linebackers Cameron Smith and Palaie Gaoteote remained limited at practice on Wednesday with injuries.

Smith did light running as part of rehab for a strained hamstring, and Gaoteote only went through the non-contact portion of practice as he remains in concussion protocol.

Trojans coach Clay Helton said Thursday’s practice would be a pivotal step for the players. Their status remained up in the air for Saturday’s game at Utah.

“We’ll see over the next 48 hours,” Helton said. “Both are close. Obviously, they have to be medically cleared. I’ll get with both of them to see how they’re feeling and their confidence level and go from here. But they’re both getting closer.”