What We Learned: USC's interception issues a matter of discipline not defense

The Trojans have been picked off nine times in five games, including three times in each of their losses. Does the Air Raid need adjustment during the bye? Graham Harrell said USC's quarterbacks do.

With USC in the midst of its longest break between regular season games, the focus for many is what needs to be fixed on offense.

Offensive coordinator Graham Harrell’s response: It’s not broken.

Nine interceptions between three quarterbacks in just five games naturally make people wonder. The fact that USC was picked off three times in each of its road games, against the two teams that dropped eight defenders in coverage, and lost both games, prompts several questions.

What’s going on on the road?

Should USC run the ball more?

What other adjustments can be made against future opponents that employ a similar defense?

Harrell’s answers were about the same for each: The QBs need to make better decisions.

“I hope it doesn’t have anything to do with being on the road,” Harrell laughed. “I think it’s more decision-making. Because we got how many more games on the road? I don’t talk much about what stadium we’re playing in because it’s a football field, the same dimensions no matter where you play. They’re playing with 11 and we’re playing with 11, whether it’s in the Coliseum or in South Bend, Indiana. To me it comes down to making better decisions.”

That includes knowing when to hand the ball off. Matt Fink admitted after Saturday’s loss to Washington that he shouldn’t have opted to throw the ball on his goal-line INT that, when combined with the ensuing 89-yard TD run, effectually buried the Trojans.

USC ended up with as many rushing attempts as passes (32), averaging 7.5 yards per carry with its running backs. But Harrell said there were other RPOs in which Fink incorrectly decided not to give it to the running back.

“Every time we got moving it seemed like we turned the ball over,” Harrell said. “To me the bigger issue was the turnovers. We ran the ball well and we ran the ball fairly often. … We just got to take care of the football and I think that solves most of your issues.”

That might sound convenient but it also might be true. In the BYU and Washington losses, both Slovis’ and Fink’s respective picks were compounded by where they happened. Slovis was intercepted twice inside his own 30, leading to 10 easy point for the Cougars. His third one was in the red zone and ended the game.

Fink, meanwhile, was also intercepted inside his own 40, which set up a Huskies TD, and then twice more at the goal line. That’s why it’s not unreasonable to postulate that the Trojans are a mere handful of plays away from being unbeaten.

Of course, BYU and Washington didn’t pick off those passes by accident. Their defenses were aligned similarly, although not identical. It’s also worth noting neither Slovis (34 attempts) nor Fink (32) had a particularly high volume of throws in their three-INT games. Considering the fluctuation in performance from the two when facing defenses that didn’t drop eight in coverage (Stanford and Utah), the concern moving forward is there’s a repeatable formula to ground the Air Raid.

Harrell, as you would imagine, doesn’t believe so. Aside from the first half against the Huskies, USC moved the ball against BYU and Washington much like it did versus Stanford and Utah. The difference was the turnovers, and most of them could have been avoided. 

Two of Slovis’ were forced over the middle after he had skipped reads. Another was a deep pass in which he badly missed an open Michael Pittman. Fink, meanwhile, threw three downfield that weren’t in the vicinity of a receiver, and didn't involve pressure. His other was the RPO that should have been handed off. The same goes for JT Daniels' similar interception at the goal line against Fresno State.

It's a mistake Slovis has not made but he was asked anyway if there's an added temptation for a QB to make a play because they're so close to scoring.

"That’s one thing Coach [Harrell] always says, if it's gray, you got to hand it," he said. "It's pretty easy if you think about it that way because if you're not sure you can always hand it, and that’s how your mindset is. Unless I know for sure I have it, I want to hand it to avoid any mistakes. … 

"Sometimes you get excited and you get a good play-call, other times you think you see something pre-snap and that's why you don't want to guess. But if you just go through your reads and see it the whole way and really just be disciplined, as Coach mentions, it's not that difficult." 

As for USC's other interceptions? Harrell said in the Air Raid, if the defense is taking away the deep ball, less can often be more.

“The quarterback just has to be disciplined enough to check the football down if you don’t have it down the field," he said. "If you do that, you’re going to move the ball. Because we got special guys, there’s a couple reps, if you go look, we had guys open. If you throw it, Michael Pittman’s wide open, if you throw it to him, and he’s got 15 yards of space, good luck tackling him. But you got to be disciplined enough to throw it to that guy. As a quarterback, it can be frustrating at times, because you want to take a shot, you want to throw it down the field.

“Sometimes they’re just not going to allow you to do that. But you can still be explosive throwing a hitch to Michael Pittman and then asking a 170-pound corner to come tackle him. I like our chances. He might tackle him every now and then, but he’s not going to tackle him every time.

“You got to be disciplined enough to do that. I think that’s the answer, is just make wise decisions. If they’re not going to let you throw it down the field, don’t throw it down the field. Put it in those guys’ hands and let them go be special with the ball in their hands because that’s who they are.”

That’s proven to be the case when executed. Maybe the better question is, can the USC quarterbacks consistently replicate the initiatives of this system, and when? The team’s success depends on it.

FOOTNOTES

Slovis has been cleared for non-contact and began throwing at Tuesday’s practice, which Harrell deemed a walkthrough. USC wasn’t in pads. Slovis said the worst of his headaches came the day after he was knocked out by Utah, but that his concussion symptoms completely subsided Monday, and he believes he would have been full-go had the Trojans been in full pads.

Harrell reiterated the starting job belongs to him once he’s cleared. The expectation internally has been that it will happen in the coming days.

“If Kedon’s healthy, we named him No. 2 because we thought he gave us our best chance to win at the beginning of the deal,” Harrell said. “Like I said from the beginning, I think Kedon’s a special player. … When he does get healthy, I would plan on playing him.”

Safety Talanoa Hufanga, who sat out last week’s game with a concussion and AC sprain in his shoulder, has also only been cleared for non-contact.

Cornerback Olaijah Griffin (back) returned to practice.

Tight end Josh Falo is out with an MCL sprain. Freshman Jude Wolfe, who has yet to appear in a game this season, could see his role increase.

Coach Clay Helton said he’d meet with offensive lineman Andrew Vorhees, who’s been out the past few weeks with a foot injury, to discuss whether to redshirt this season. The junior has played just two games this season.

Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (shoulder, foot), running back Vavae Malepeai (knee) and defensive end Christian Rector (ankle) did not practice.

Helton noted that Liam Jimmons, who made a cameo in the Washington game, had an important block to free up Stephen Carr on his 60-yard run. Jimmons was spelling Jalen McKenzie, and Helton said the substitution wasn’t injury related. McKenzie, who spent all of spring and half of camp at right tackle, has struggled at right guard.