USC Football: How Trojans Can Contain Rich Rod's Arizona Offense

USC football has no time to catch its breath—not if it's to slow down the No. 10-ranked Arizona Wildcats. 

The Trojans defense is up against one of college football's most celebrated offensive minds Saturday night—Arizona head coach Rich Rodriguez—just one week after it surrendered 20 points to Arizona State in less than four minutes. 

Arizona State's final offensive eruption left the USC defense stinging this week, in part because it had executed coordinator Justin Wilcox's strategy well for the previous 56 minutes. 

"Our defensive plan coming in, we wanted to set the tone and stop the run," cornerback Adoree' Jackson said Wednesday after practice at Howard Jones Field. The Trojans did that, limiting Arizona State to just 31 yards rushing as a team.  

In selling out against the Sun Devils' multifaceted run game, in particular running back D.J. Foster, Jackson described more of a containment philosophy against the pass. 

"Which we did a good job of doing," he said. "Until the last three minutes of the game." 

USC's performance before that final stretch was not lost on Arizona State head coach Todd Graham, who saw his high-octane offense held to around 300 total yards up to that point. 

Of course, most offenses in the Pac-12 operate in such a way that a few minutes is all they need to change a game's dynamic. 

Quick Change 

Arizona State quarterback Mike Bercovici threw for 233 of his 510 yards in the Sun Devils' final three possessions.

Combined with the 462 rushing yards Wilcox's defense gave up in a Week 3 loss at Boston College, Arizona State's final burst has attracted criticism. 

Head coach Steve Sarkisian was adamant Wednesday in his defense of Wilcox's play-calling. 

"Justin's done a very good job," Sarkisian said. "It's unfortunate that the [Arizona State] game ended the way it did...I thought we played really good defense on Saturday for three-and-a-half quarters. 

"We give up a 4th-and-10 [conversion] on a 98-yard drive that extends the drive and they score a touchdown," he added. "We gave up...a [73]-yard touchdown pass, and we gave up a Hail Mary. So I don't think that's necessarily indicative of the defense we have." 

In addition to its performance for much of the way against Arizona State, Sarkisian also referred to USC limiting Pac-12 single-season passing record holder and Oregon State quarterback Sean Mannion to 123 yards in Week 5. 

USC has shown flashes of being a great defense but must sustain it for an entire 60 minutes to beat Arizona. 

The Wildcats promise to test Wilcox's bunch with its many weapons, some of which can be unleashed out of the same sets. 

"They're a run-option pass team," Jackson said. "Basically you have to figure out if they're running the ball, optioning or passing the ball, because they do all three in one play." 

Anu Challenge for USC 

Quarterback Anu Solomon is the catalyst who sets the wheels in motion for Arizona's multidimensional attack. And like Arizona State's Bercovici, he's someone who can erupt for big yards in short periods of time.  

At 348.2 yards per game, Solomon is the nation's seventh-most prolific passer. In the last two games, Solomon put together a 235-yard fourth quarter against Cal and a 143-yard third quarter at Oregon, per ArizonaWildcats.com.

STEVE DYKES/Associated Press

Solomon's gaudy passing statistics are in part the result of what Sarkisian describes as "a plethora of receivers." 

Arizona has five receivers with 10 or more catches this season, led by Cayleb Jones' 32 for 525 yards. Jones is reminiscent of Arizona State's Jaelen Strong, who hit USC for 202 yards a week ago. 

As it has all season, the USC secondary must contain the pass without redshirt senior cornerback Josh Shaw. Shaw was suspended indefinitely prior to Week 1 for lying about an incident in which he injured his ankles. 

"It's obvious when you have a senior and leader, you'd love to have him out there," Sarkisian said of Shaw. "Especially in our conference where so many people are throwing the ball." 

Shaw's absence has made for a decidedly young secondary. To wit, two of the unit's cornerstones—Jackson and Chris Hawkins—are freshmen.

In addition to its collective youth, the USC defense is also thin. That can wear down a unit faced with stopping an offense that operates as quickly as Arizona's. 

Much as Arizona State did last week, Arizona can put up points in a hurry. The Wildcats are so devoted to speed, Rodriguez appeared in video parodying the 1994 movie of that name. 

But for as good as the numbers say the Arizona offense is this season, there are dents in the Wildcats' armor previous opponents have exploited.

Aggression with Balance 

Despite his impressive statistics and growing national profile, Solomon is still a freshman prone to lapses.

"He's still growing up," Rodriguez said of Solomon on the Pac-12 coaches teleconference Tuesday.  

USC can look to Cal's effort for three quarters in Week 4 for inspiration on containing Rodriguez's offense and rattling Solomon.

The Golden Bears stacked the box to contain the run and mixed blitzes off the edges, which caused Solomon to force throws. 

Arizona also struggled to finish drives in Week 2 at UT-San Antonio. The Roadrunners brought consistent pressure, which resulted in a number of overthrows and missed targets from Solomon.

USC can slow Arizona with a similarly aggressive approach. The challenge then is not over-pursuing, which the Wildcats' zone read is designed to exploit. 

Gus Ruelas/Associated Press

Boston College specifically attacked USC in that way. Hawkins said Eagles blockers intentionally left Trojans All-American defensive lineman Leonard Williams unchecked, allowing his pursuit of quarterback Tyler Murphy to dictate where the ball went. 

Rodriguez's system can make defenses pay in much the same fashion.

"It's a matter of making sure we're properly aligned," Sarkisian said. "It's not just about Leonard, it's about all 11 players on every defensive snap [ensuring] that our responsibilities are in tact."

Ultimately for USC Saturday, containing the Wildcats is as simple as meeting these responsibilities, Sarkisian said. As last week proved, however, the Trojans must do so for the entire night.  

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