USC Football: Year 1 Losses, Not Wins, Lay Sark's Foundation

In defensive back Leon McQuay III's performance in USC's 45-42 Holiday Bowl win over Nebraska, the Trojans have a prime example of head coach Steve Sarkisian's mantra of building a foundation. 

“When you have those moments of adversity, what are you taking away from it?” Sarkisian said when describing the cornerstone mindset of handling defeat.

Take McQuay.

"To see a young man in Leon McQuay, who struggled [Nov. 22] against UCLA, come back and have two really cool, critical plays there at the end of the [Holiday Bowl] on the third- and fourth-down plays was awesome," Sarkisian said.

UCLA exploited numerous miscues in USC's secondary, including McQuay's whiff on wide receiver Thomas Duarte, which turned a short pass play into a 57-yard touchdown.

But against Nebraska, McQuay rebounded with some drive-killing plays that quashed Nebraska’s comeback effort.  

The sophomore did not just improve from a disastrous outing in the UCLA loss; his plays late helped USC avoid a repeat of its Oct. 25 loss at Utah, when the Utes drove for a game-winning score.

“The tackle he makes on the fly sweep was just out of sheer belief in himself,” Sarkisian said. “When Leon’s gotten in trouble, he’s waited. But [against Nebraska] he went for it, and he made his plays. The end result is we’re all really happy for him.

"That's what college football's about, watching a guy develop and continue to get better," Sarkisian added.

It's not just what college football is about; it's what USC football is about heading into the 2015 offseason.

USC won nine games in 2014, the third most by a Trojans team with a first-year head coach. Only Howard Jones in 1925 and John Robinson in 1976 were better, each winning 11.

So, when Sarkisian calls his debut campaign "a total success," the assessment has merit.

But the milestones by which Sarkisian and USC are measured are conference and national championships, which the coach discussed after the Holiday Bowl.

"Whether it's John McKay, Pete Carroll, John Robinson...I embrace [the expectations] every day," he said. "I'm going to come with an attitude that we're going to get better as a program the moment I step into the building."

USC could certainly get better by building off the positives that got it to nine wins: Cody Kessler's record-breaking season; John "JuJu" Smith looking like the program's next great wide receiver; Adoree' Jackson's triple-threat presence.

However, the negatives from the four losses might be more critical.

“There is so much we gained from those games that’s going to make us a better program going forward,” Sarkisian said.

The Trojans as a whole applied the lessons of losing on a Hail Mary Oct. 4 against Arizona State—coaches included. They used wide receivers Nelson Agholor and Smith deep for Nebraska’s final end-zone heave and adhered to one particular point of emphasis from the coaching staff.

“Just get the ball on the ground,” a relieved Sarkisian said.

It’s just one play, much like McQuay is just one player. But in both, USC can parlay the miscues of 2014’s losses into future success.

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