After three games of splitting carries mostly evenly in the backfield, it was notable to say the least that Keaontay Ingram took all 10 handoffs in the first half Saturday night for USC.
In the end, he finished with 14 carries for 79 yards and 2 touchdowns, plus 4 catches for 37 yards, while Vavae Malepeai carried it 4 times for 12 yards and caught 2 passes for 17 yards.
Trojans interim coach Donte Williams denied that any formal change to the backfield operation had occurred, though.
"I mean, those guys still rotated. The play count I believe was something similar, but at the same time a lot of our plays are RPO-type plays so it's a run-pass option and he just happened to be in a lot more of the situations where we were handing the ball off instead of being in the situations where we passed," Williams said. "You look at Vae and he ended up being in there a lot more in the pass-type situations. It was still those guys. Like I said, we continue to battle also on a week to week basis based on who will start and who's in what particular type plays."
Per PFF, Ingram played 49 snaps while Malepeai logged 29.
It could be a one-game aberration or maybe it was a ride-the-hot-RB sort of deal, but if Ingram was being given an audition to take over as the clear lead back, he delivered with 5.6 yards per carry while showing his blend of elusiveness, speed and power.
"Me and [offensive line coach Clay] McGuire were just talking in the locker room, I thought Keaontay played really, really well all night," offensive coordinator Graham Harrell said after the game. "He ran the ball well, when he caught the football I thought he did a heck of a job. ... If we weren't in such a big hole we would have kept feeding him because I do think he had a hot hand. When you get in that kind of a hole and you're trying to play fast at the same time, it hurts your cause of running the football. ...
"He played really well and I would have liked to have gotten the ball to him more."
Malepeai had logged 38 carries to Ingram's 32 through the first three games, while Ingram is now averaging 4.9 yards per carry this season with Malepeai is at 4.3.
Malepeai is considered the better pass-blocker and as such had been in on twice as many pass-protection snaps as Ingram in Weeks 2 and 3, but they had an even split of 7 each vs. Oregon State.
"I think we just kind of feed the hot hand and he started well and was playing well early and we kept trying to get him touches. With the running backs we have, I think we have a lot of good ones, but if one's really playing at a high level it kind of seems like they're hot on that night, the key is going to be to continue to get those guys touches," Harrell said. "It's the best game he's played, I think, since he's been here and hopefully it's something we can build on with him."
It will be interesting to see the distribution this week at Colorado -- that will truly answer whether it's just a one-game skew or a real change in the backfield operations.
For his part, Ingram said he liked the opportunity to build some momentum. Six of his 10 carries in the first half went for 6 yards or more, including runs of 12, 10, 9 (TD) and 12 yards.
"It felt great just to be in the rhythm of the game," Ingram said. "I feel like running back is just a feel and to get involved early that's all I can ask. So I'm very excited -- just got to play into next week, keep that momentum going."
As for perhaps his most notable play of the game, early in the second quarter QB Kedon Slovis bobbled the snap from the OSU 9-yard line and quickly tapped it up to Ingram, who turned it into a touchdown. He was not actually supposed to get the ball on that play, though.
"It was really supposed to be a play-action, but when the ball is on the ground you've just got to do what you've got to do," Ingram said. "The motto is get back to the line of scrimmage, but I always want to strive for more so I was like, why not go put it in the end zone."
