USC Trojans Running Back Woody Marks: 'Living Up To The Standard'

USC Trojans running back Woody Marks has quietly been one of the best pickups that USC coach Lincoln Riley has made over his tenure so far.

Oct 25, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans running back Woody Marks (4) carries the ball against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in the second half at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

In a season that hasn't gone quite exactly to plan for the USC Trojans, running back Woody Marks has been the one of the lone bright spots for the Trojans this year.

Marks has rushed for 755 yards on 133 carries for an effcient 5.7 yards per carry. Safe to say, when the ball has been in Marks' hands, good things tend to happen more often than not. Add in eight rushing touchdowns, and Marks has continued the tradition of having the running back position be a strength of the team.

However, one could make the argument that Marks is an even greater threat as a pass catcher, than as a runner. He leads the team in receptions with 30, and is fourth in receving yards with 234 yards.

Sep 21, 2024; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; USC Trojans running back Woody Marks (4) rushes against the Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images / Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Through eight games so far, Marks has rushed for over 100 yards in half of them and nearly broke the century mark in the Trojans most recent game vs. Rutgers, where he had 94, but had three touchdowns to make up for it.

During USC's three game losing streak, Marks had some of his best games of the season.He went for 134 yards vs. Minnesota and followed it up with a 111 yard game vs. No. 4 Penn State.

The graduate transfer running back had arguably one of his best games of the season during the Trojans' 42-20 win over Rutgers. Marks had 94 yards on the ground and three touchdowns, but paired it with a team-high of five receptions for 48 yards.

After the game, Marks talked about how it was easy to understand what the team needed to do in order to break their losing skid

"Just living up to the standard...just be some hungry people out there, just be free and play the game how it's supposed to be played, play the game how USC is supposed to play," Marks remarked.

Oct 5, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; USC Trojans running back Woody Marks (4) runs the ball against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the first half at Huntington Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Marks talked about how important it is for him to play off his teammates.

"I lean on my teammates, the (offensive line) really. I love preaching to them guys and I like how they preach to me. They always uplift me, I uplift them even if it's going wrong or bad," said Marks.

Marks and the Trojans will look ahead to their matchup on Saturday vs. Washington as the Trojans travel to Seattle for the first time in the coach Lincoln Riley era. USC currently sits as a -2.5 favorite according to ESPN BET and ESPN's Football Power Index gives the Men of Troy a 67.9 percent chance of winning the game.

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