USC Football: 3 concerns from Trojans’ victory at California
By Zach Bigalke
1. USC quarterback Sam Darnold is still a work in progress
Sam Darnold won lucky number 13 in a row as the starting quarterback for the Trojans. But the redshirt sophomore, as he has throughout this year, looked far less impressive against Cal than he did during a stellar 2016 season.
Yes, he completed 26 of his 38 attempts against California. But Darnold threw for just 5.9 yards per attempt against the Golden Bears secondary on Saturday. He repeatedly missed open receivers and tried to force balls into too-tight windows. Darnold finished with 223 yards and two touchdowns, but his one interception could easily have been two or three if Cal defenders had better hands.
USC continues to win in 2017, and they will likely remain in the top four of the AP Top 25 this week thanks to their win over a fellow unbeaten. But Darnold effectively drove the final nail into the coffin of his prematurely deceased Heisman campaign with another lackluster performance in his first road game of the year.