USC Defense Has Opportunity to Erase Bitter Taste vs. Arizona State

There was a lot of talk floating around the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum last Saturday about washing away a bad taste following USC's 35-10 romp over Oregon State. The USC defense was coming off a loss to Boston College during which it allowed the Eagles to rush for 452 yards.

Both defensive lineman Leonard Williams and linebacker Hayes Pullard described holding the Beavers without an offensive touchdown as a palate-cleanser.

This week at the Coliseum presents the Trojans with a similar opportunity against Arizona State: the reigning Pac-12 South champion and a team that ran up 62 points on the USC defense a season ago.

That mark matched the single-game record for points that any USC defense has surrendered to an opponent. It was set just a season prior in a loss to Oregon.

The Arizona State loss set the wheels in motion for the arrival of current Trojans head coach Steve Sarkisian, who was then at Washington. USC athletic director Pat Haden fired Lane Kiffin just hours later and Sarkisian accepted the vacancy a little more than two months after that.

Sarkisian was adamant this week about USC not getting caught up in what happened a season ago.

"I wasn't here for all of that late. I know it was a relatively emotional sequencing of events," Sarkisian said on his conference call Sunday. "I'm sure there's a little bit of that in there, that they want to go out and redeem themselves to a degree. But that won't be a focus. We're going to be focused on fixing ourselves."

Fortunately for this year's Trojans, they have their turnaround after the Arizona State loss as a frame of reference for remedying the problems that hindered them in last year's contest.

USC rallied from the defeat to go 7-2 over its next nine games, and it lost just once more in the conference.

If the Boston College loss was comparable to last year's Arizona State game for USC, the Oregon State win is more akin to the Trojans' 2013 finish.

The Trojans held Beavers quarterback Sean Mannion to 15-of-32 passing for just 123 yards last week.

"The numbers don't say we had a bunch of sacks or those things, but we were aggressive up front," Sarkisian said on the Pac-12 conference call Tuesday.

USC's lone sack came from Williams, who brought down Mannion with a little extra oomph.

"It feels good to make a play, but even better after a loss," Williams said.

Applying similar pressure on Arizona State quarterback Mike Bercovici is crucial. Bercovici made his first career start last week at UCLA and slung the ball around Sun Devil Stadium at a Mannion-like rate.

Bercovici finished with 488 yards and three touchdowns in the Sun Devils' 62-27 loss. He's set to once again start behind center with Taylor Kelly out due to a foot injury sustained in Week 3 at Colorado.

Kelly's absence means a much different look from the Arizona State offense than what USC saw a season ago. Dual-threat QB Kelly burned the Trojans for 79 yards on just four carries, much in the same way Boston College's Tyler Murphy went for 191 yards against USC three weeks ago.

Matt York/Associated Press

Bercovici won't tuck and run in quite the same fashion, but he will test USC's streak without allowing a passing touchdown.

He has a number of talented options to target, starting with wide receiver Jaelen Strong. Strong has 412 yards and two touchdowns on the season and went for 103 yards last year against USC.

"It's one of those games when me, Kevon [Seymour] and Adoree' [Jackson] have to step up," cornerback Chris Hawkins said. "Jaelen Strong is one of the best receivers in the country. He's big, physical, he's got decent speed but his hands are awesome. If he touches the ball, he's going to catch it.

"It's one of those games where we have to be prepared to knock balls down before they get to receivers' hands," Hawkins added.

Hawkins did so against Boston College with his first career interception. Jackson batted away a Mannion throw into the end zone last week, which safety Leon McQuay III came in to intercept.

Takeaways should continue to play an integral role for the USC defense this week—they certainly did for Arizona State in its loss last week, as UCLA used two interceptions by Bercovici to swing momentum.

There should be no shortage of opportunities for USC's defensive backs to make those plays if Bercovici's 68 pass attempts a week ago are any indication.

Although Arizona State figures to play a different style this week than it did against USC last year, Bercovici playfully projected a similar result for the USC defense, via AZCentral.com:

Should the Trojans have their way, the bad taste that lingered for them previously will be Bercovici's and the rest of the Sun Devils' to experience.

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