Let’s not jump to the absurd and pronounce Clay Helton the man USC should hire as its next coach.
Instead, let’s celebrate the players at USC, the group of young men — some of whom are on their fourth coach — who played their best game of the season in a 42-24 rout of unbeaten Utah.
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It’s not just the surprising score or that Helton, in his second game as interim coach, took every chance and made every right call. It’s the way USC physically manhandled one of the nation’s hottest teams that prides itself on playing harder and faster than the team on the other side of the ball.
Utah wasn’t close to that at the Coliseum, and USC’s talented, motivated team made it happen. There’s a reason USC was seen as a strong contender for the Pac-12 title (the Trojans can still win it) and the College Football Playoff (no chance).
The personal implosion of former coach Steve Sarkisian only overshadowed that reality, and finally was too much for all of that talent to overcome. Helton took over, and after playing well in a loss at Notre Dame (on the week Sarkisian was fired), the Trojans rolled into their first home game since the coaching change and played their best ball of the season.
From Cody Kessler to JuJu Smith-Schuster to Cameron Smith, USC played better, played harder and played smarter than a Utah team that had the best wins of any team in the nation. And the Trojans also might have done significant damage to the Pac-12’s CFP hopes.
It’s not just that USC beat the Pac-12’s last unbeaten, it’s that this Trojans team, with this talent and playing at this level, can beat anyone in the conference. Including projected North Division champion Stanford in a rematch in the conference championship game.
USC needs help to win the South, but it’s doable — especially considering the state of the South Division. The Trojans must win out and hope Utah and Arizona State lose again.
Utah, meanwhile, still controls the South Division race, and can win the division by winning out. The Utes’ CFP hopes haven’t completely diminished (they still have the best group of quality wins), but they’ll need help.
For a night, though, this was about a team of players who have been through more in the last three years than anyone in the country. Then showed up for their interim coach’s first home game and played the game of the year.
Let’s focus on the USC players for now. The next USC coach is another story for another time.