At every opportunity this week, USC interim head coach Donte Williams has said he hopes for a packed Coliseum on Saturday night, and it will indeed be intriguing to see what impact the coaching change has on attendance.
"To be honest, I hope it’s crazy. I hope it’s a big-time problem for Oregon State. I would like to see it sold out," Williams said. "I would like to see the community and the city of L.A. come out and support this team. They’ve been through a lot, and that support would be great appreciated -- to have that stadium rocking, to have everybody in the Coliseum realizing what that Cardinal and Gold means."
It will be just as interesting to see how the Trojans back up their performance from Williams' first game as interim head coach -- that 45-14 victory at Washington State last week -- as they host Oregon State at 7:30 p.m. PT (on FS1).
PODCAST: The future and present of the QB position for USC, plus previewing Oregon State
Especially considering the USC offense came to life in Pullman, Wash., when freshman quarterback Jaxson Dart checked into the game and passed for 391 yards and 4 touchdowns off the bench while spurring 45 unanswered points.
Well, Dart is sidelined for a while now following surgery earlier this week to repair a meniscus tear in his knee.
Veteran starter Kedon Slovis practiced in full after being forced out of that game last week with a neck injury, and he for now all talk of a QB competition is again moot as Slovis will maintain the reins and look to remind everyone why he was a first-team All-Pac-12 quarterback last season.
Just as much a curiosity is the Trojans defense, meanwhile, after the unit dominated the final two and a half quarters last week ... but with most of that coming against a walk-on backup QB for Washington State.
Between the scrutiny that will be on Slovis, whether the defense can carryover its momentum and just the continued evaluation of Williams' impact as head coach all make this a far more compelling matchup than maybe was initially expected when the schedule came out.
USC is an 11-point favorite heading into Williams' first home game as interim coach.
As always, the TrojanSports.com staff breaks down the key storylines and delivers predictions for Saturday.
1. Had all options been on the table, with a healthy Jaxson Dart, what would you have done at quarterback this week and what do you think USC would have done?
Ryan Young: "I've stated this in a column and podcast already -- I think Kedon Slovis deserved at the very least the opportunity to return from the neck injury and try to prove himself. I honestly don't know who would be the better quarterback for USC over the rest of the season between the veteran Slovis and a healthy Dart. Dart was simply scintillating last weekend and USC fans should be very excited about the future of the QB position. But let's not forget that Slovis was a first-team All-Pac-12 QB last year and a guy who has made a lot of big throws for the Trojans the last two seasons. Even as he was being picked apart and scrutinized last season, he nonetheless ranked sixth nationally in passing yards per game and was exceptionally clutch in the three comeback wins. Having him lose his job because two redshirt freshmen offensive tackles let him get clobbered on that sack would have been cold, especially with Slovis' NFL future riding on this season. That doesn't mean he gets endless patience. I would have kept a short leash and been ready to insert Dart if Slovis struggled, but he deserves at least that chance to remind everyone why he was in the first-round of many NFL mock drafts entering the season.
"I also seem to be in the minority here, but I don't think he was the problem the first two games. I do think Dart was much more aggressive and that the Trojans benefitted from that spark, and I'd like to see Slovis show the confidence to push the ball downfield more, but overall his arm strength has looked good, he hasn't had a ton of receivers running free downfield or anything and he was let down majorly by drops vs. Stanford. Let's see what he can do this week, now that the offense as a whole has some confidence. As for what USC would have done with a healthy Dart this week, I think we still wouldn't know heading into Saturday."
Tajwar Khandaker: "As long as Kedon Slovis was healthy enough to play, I would have chosen to maintain the status quo and retain him as the starter going into Saturday’s game. Dart was electrifying in his debut -- his talent pops off the screen, and he’s almost certainly going to be one of the centerpieces of this team in the near future. With that said, I don’t think Slovis has played poorly enough to justify a benching after one week of exciting play from a freshman. As good as Dart was, he faced a rather porous WSU defense and turned the ball over three times. If the offense were to continue stagnating down the stretch with Slovis at the helm, I would favor a change. For now, it’s too early. Let's see how he plays this week. For what it’s worth, I think USC would have rolled with him against Oregon State anyways for largely the same reasons."
