USC Football: 3 concerns from Trojans’ victory at California

2. Without Ronald Jones II, USC’s running game was inconsistent

Ronald Jones II didn’t practice this week, but it was unknown until warmups whether he would play against Cal. The tailback ended up sitting out the game with a thigh contusion sustained last week. His absence was felt as USC struggled to sustain drives on the ground. The Trojans ended the day with 136 rushing yards on 35 carries, averaging less than four yards a run as a team.

Stephen Carr led the way with 20 carries for 82 yards and a touchdown, and the freshman showed some deft moves. But he was also nowhere near as explosive as Jones, with his longest run of the day going for 13 yards. No Trojan runner managed a single run of 20-plus yards on Saturday, and part of the reason why Darnold struggled was the lack of run support to balance the offense and keep Cal’s defense honest.

Jones will probably be back in time for the Friday-night showdown at Washington State in Week 5, and he will need to be in good health if the Trojans are going to survive another undefeated opponent. If the injury is more serious than reported, and Jones is forced to sit out for any length of time, it could disrupt the balance in the USC offense.