USC Football: Is a Pac-12 Title Still Within Reach After Boston College Loss?

If No. 9 USC is to contend for a Pac-12 title in 2014, it has plenty of questions to address coming off Saturday’s 37-31 upset loss at Boston College.

Going into the Week 3 contest, Trojans head coach Steve Sarkisian said on his weekly conference call that USC had plenty of areas for improvement. An emotionally charged Boston College team exposed those problem areas, giving USC’s Pac-12 opponents a blueprint for taking down the Trojans.

In particular, the Eagles’ use of the zone read kept the USC defense back on its heel for most of the night. Stopping the run was a decided strength of the Trojans in their Week 2 win at Stanford; against Boston College, they gave up a staggering 506 yards, 452 of which were on the ground.

The Eagles gained nearly as many rushing yards in one half as the Trojans’ first two opponents combined.

Dual-threat quarterback Tyler Murphy’s mobility proved especially problematic for the off-balance Trojans. His career-high 191 rushing yards are cause for concern for coordinator Justin Wilcox’s defense as USC heads into the meat of its Pac-12 season.

Stephan Savoia/Associated Press

The Trojans will see numerous, similarly skilled quarterbacks in conference play—two of whom, Arizona State’s Taylor Kelly and UCLA’s Brett Hundley, gave USC fits a season ago.

Obviously, USC is well-acquainted with the abilities of Kelly and Hundley. But the Trojans also knew about Murphy heading into Saturday's contest.

Freshman quarterback Jalen Greene, a dual-threat playmaker in high school, operated as the USC scout team's version of Murphy in practice during the week. Wilcox must find a way for the undermanned defense to contend with the Pac-12's zone-read quarterbacks if USC is to have any hope of winning the league.

On the other side of the ball, the young offensive line that was a positive in the Trojans’ two wins was a liability.

Sarkisian said last week that despite the line's overall solid play at Stanford, the unit remained a work in progress. Saturday night was a reminder that this unit starts two true freshmen on the interior, three first-time starters, and that one of the returners, Max Tuerk, was moved to center out of necessity.

Eagles defensive coordinator Don Brown brought a variety of blitz packages, and the resulting pressure on quarterback Cody Kessler rendered him ineffective on passing downs.

Stephan Savoia/Associated Press

That USC routinely faced 3rd-and-long contributed to its woes—and that was the result of an ineffective run game.

Boston College's ability to clog running back Javorius "Buck" Allen's lanes was a difference-maker during the Eagles' decisive 24-0 run, which spanned most of the second and third quarters.

USC is a run-first offensive team, setting up the big-yardage pass plays through play action once the rush is established. The Trojans running backs can only be as effective as the offensive line allows. Without major improvement after Saturday's effort, USC's Pac-12 title outlook is murky.

The good news for Sarkisian and Co. is that they are headed into a bye week. USC gets 14 days to remedy its issues from Saturday's in loss, in preparation for a Sept. 27 matchup with Oregon State.

While the defense has little positive to take from Saturday's loss, Kessler's connection with tight ends Bryce Dixon and Randall Telfer is one potential building block for the offense going forward. A pass-catching tight end has long been a cornerstone of Sarkisian's offense, and USC's duo combined for 60 yards.

And while Allen was limited in the run game, he caught nine passes for 118 yards and a touchdown. Allen will be a handful for opposing defenses when both facets of his game are clicking.

The Pac-12 title remains an attainable goal for USC, but don't expect the Trojans to look too far ahead after Saturday's upset, as safety Su'a Cravens told Michael Lev of the Orange County Register:

USC's attention for the next two weeks will be on taking just one step in the remaining Pac-12 chase.

Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise cited. Statistics compiled via Yahoo Sports.