USC Uses Bye Week to Heal Wounds, Prepare for Final Push

Fate—and the Pac-12 Conference's schedule-makers—dealt USC football a favorable hand with the second of the Trojans' two bye weeks falling late in the season.

"The bye probably couldn't come at a better time," head coach Steve Sarkisian said on his weekly conference call Sunday. "We need to get healthy."

It's no secret that USC is operating at a numbers disadvantage. Fewer than 50 scholarship players made the trips to Utah and Washington State in the last two weeks as a season-long war of attrition takes its toll on a roster already depleted by three years of NCAA sanctions.

With no competition until Cal comes to town on Nov. 13, Sarkisian gave the team the week off from practice, though the Trojans will take to the weight room. On-field workouts resume Saturday.

"We're a team that has been in some really emotional games, some very physical games [and] I think we need a break," Sarkisian said. "This gives us a great opportunity to focus on our academics. This gives us a great opportunity to focus on our rehab."

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Indeed, the extra time off should help players recently returning from injury get closer to 100 percent, including safety Gerald Bowman and wide receiver George Farmer—both missed the Oct. 25 loss at Utah.

"The other guys who've been out, I think can get healthy by the time we play Cal," Sarkisian said.

That group includes linebacker J.R. Tavai, wide receiver Ajene Harris and fullback Soma Vainuku.

Linebacker-safety hybrid Su'a Cravens is the latest Trojan to sustain an injury that will be nursed over the bye week.

In a hold-your-breath moment for the team, Cravens came out of USC's 44-17 rout of Washington State last Saturday with a knee injury.

"Su'a 's a tough kid, he's a good football player and he wouldn't come out of the game unless he felt like he couldn't play," Sarkisian said.

"Good football player" is a modest description considering Cravens' contributions to the USC defense. He has arguably been one of the Trojans' two best performers along with defensive lineman Leonard Williams.

Cravens has racked up four sacks, 12.5 tackles for loss and two interceptions—one of which went for a touchdown.

It's no wonder Sarkisian called him "unbelievably valuable."

The good news for USC is that Sarkisian said Cravens' MRI revealed "nothing structurally wrong."

"Now, how quickly he can come back from this, we'll see," the coach added. "We're going to do everything in our power and I know he's going to do everything in his power to get as healthy as he can get for next Thursday night when we play Cal."

Cravens tweeted an update Sunday, which suggests the dynamic playmaker will be back in the lineup for the Trojans' critical stretch run:

"

Everything's fine SC Nation ! Don't panic ! (Montana voice) #FightOn pic.twitter.com/XyWYgKxZWe

— Su'a Cravens (@ovo_suu) November 2, 2014"

Cravens' presence will be vital to USC's final push. His ability to either drop back into pass coverage against Cal's multiple-WR sets or pressure quarterback Jared Goff is a unique commodity.

Likewise, Cravens can operate as a spy against mobile quarterbacks such as UCLA's Brett Hundley and Notre Dame's Everett.

"Every week you get something new," Sarkisian said. "You get a new challenge, a different scheme. ... Su'a is a primary example [of adjusting for changes]. One week he can play the run, second week he can be a blitzer coming off the week and the next week he's in a nickel role covering receivers."

If there's any time for USC to have one of its most versatile players back in the lineup, it's this three-game stretch.

USC remains in the hunt for the South Division's berth in the Pac-12 Championship Game but must win its final two conference games to have any chance. The third and final of the Trojans' regular-season contests has no bearing on the league title race, but facing rival Notre Dame is motivation all its own.

Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise cited. Statistics courtesy of cfbstats.com.