LOS ANGELES — In the opening two games of the season, USC has faced two quarterbacks making their first career starts. It’s an unusual trend and one that will end on Saturday at BYU.
This time around, the Trojans will go up against sophomore Zach Wilson. Wilson started seven games for the Cougars last year and their first two games this season, so this week the Trojans’ defense has been afforded a luxury they haven’t had the past two weeks: Honest-to-goodness game film to prepare with.
Wilson’s numbers have been a mixed bag so far this season. In BYU’s 1-1 start, he completed 64.5 percent of his passes for 440 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.
It’s a far cry from how Wilson closed his freshman season. In the Potato Bowl against Western Michigan, Wilson completed all 18 of his attempts for 317 yards and four touchdowns. It included a 70-yard touchdown pass for a score that showed off the pro-style quarterback’s arm strength.
If there was one play this season that had shades of Wilson’s 2018, it was the 64-yard completion to Micah Simon that set up the game-tying field goal at the end of regulation against Tennessee last weekend.
USC defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast said the defense is looking at film from this year and last, noting that there are some unknowns surrounding how BYU is game planning with Wilson as the full-time starter this season.
“He threw for a lot of yards in high school,” Pendergast said. “He looks to throw the ball down the field when he breaks out of the pocket and will also pull it down and run the ball. So he’s definitely what you’d consider a dual-threat quarterback.”
USC struggled at times against Fresno State’s Jorge Reyna, another dual-threat quarterback. But defensive line coach Chad Kauha’aha’a doesn’t want the Trojans to overcompensate for Wilson’s ability to make plays with his feet.
“I’ve been at places where we played against scrambling quarterbacks and we started mushing and playing the B gaps,” the coach explained. “Next thing you know, the quarterback’s picking us apart. … It’s not just the D-line. It’s the linebackers and the safeties that all have a part in the scramble.”
Wilson should also provide a good test for USC’s young cornerbacks. The group of freshmen and sophomores have gone up against equally-inexperienced QBs the past two weeks, but now have an opponent with some experience and savvy.
Add in the first road environment for USC this year, and the Trojans know they must remain focused against BYU.
“As a defense, we just have to communicate more and louder,” safety Isaiah Pola-Mao said. “It’s a hostile environment. It’s definitely going to be difficult. But if we’re all communicating on the same page, I think nothing changes.”
