The biggest loss for the USC offense won’t be Sam Darnold at quarterback but rather Ronald Jones II at running back. Jones ran for 1550 yards and 19 touchdowns last year, and added another 187 yards and a receiving touchdown through the air. Stephen Carr and Aca’Cedric Ware are going to probably split the carries in the backfield, and neither will come close to replicating what Jones brought to the offense in terms of his speed and ability to break through tackles.
That said, Darnold’s departure has led Clay Helton to go for the youngest star on his depth chart in hopes of striking gold immediately. JT Daniels was named the starter for the Trojans in their season opener against UNLV. He will probably pan out against the Rebels, even look sublime doing so. But the road swing to Palo Alto and Austin will leave Helton rethinking his decisions. We will end up seeing redshirt freshman Jack Sears before the end of the month.
USC will not end the month undefeated, derailing their dreams of reaching the College Football Playoff. The Trojans play at Stanford and at Texas after their home opener against UNLV. Either or both could prove to be defeats, and the return home to play Washington State will also be no cakewalk. When they face Arizona, they will probably already have at least one loss.
