USC’s Sam Darnold finds room to improve, even after big game against Oregon State

Sam Darnold stood in front of a spread of Mexican food outside USC’s locker room on Saturday and answered the same questions he’s heard all season. Why has he not put up the same statistics as a year ago? What’s up with the turnovers? How is he handling the pressure of expectations?

His face brightened when a reporter asked about his receivers.

“A positive question,” he said, smiling.

On Saturday, for the first time, USC’s steely quarterback showed traces of a new emotion: stress. He blamed himself for the offense’s problems. He lamented his turnovers. He discussed how he has coped with having his every pass dissected for signs of progress or problems.

Darnold is confronting a new challenge in his second season. As a freshman, he took over in USC’s fourth week and resurrected the program. He didn’t have a single off game. His last-minute comeback in the Rose Bowl catapulted him to stardom. Some people considered him to be the face of college football, the early favorite to win the Heisman Trophy, and the presumptive No. 1 pick in the NFL draft.

Last season was just about playing. This season, he has had to navigate fame.

His production has dipped. He has passed for 1,705 yards in six games but has a modest 12 touchdowns with as many interceptions —nine — as he had all last season.

Darnold spoke after No. 13 USC defeated Oregon State, 38-10, to improve to 5-1. He had completed 66% of his passes for 316 yards and three touchdowns. But he had another pass intercepted. And he lost a fumble. He knew when he returned home and turned on the television or looked at his phone, he’d see people speculating about why he wasn’t protecting the ball.

He couldn’t blame them.

“I focus on the bad, honestly,” Darnold said. “Just because you want to improve on the things that you didn’t do well and learn from it. And that’s how I am, that’s how our coaches are, that’s how I think any player would be, honestly. And just the turnovers, it’s not good.”

Darnold does not quarantine himself in a media blackout. He occasionally watches and reads coverage. He said he is aware of news stories about him and, in general, how the college football world has reacted to each of his games. He said he tries to inoculate himself to the wild swings in perception by finding refuge in his family and close friends.

His harshest critic? Himself. Roommates say Darnold gets quiet or retreats to his room after a bad practice. During games, he moves past mistakes quickly. But he takes them personally afterward.

“I think, honestly, I’m stopping the offense a little bit right now with the way I’m turning the ball over,” Darnold said Saturday. “… I’ve gotta be better.”

Coach Clay Helton said he saw progress against Oregon State.

Darnold showed a deft touch as he threaded a pass over a cornerback on a corner route to Deontay Burnett for a touchdown. He launched one of his signature passes on the run, after being flushed from the pocket, to Aca’Cedric Ware 37 yards downfield.

“When you go back and watch the tape, there were some big-league throws,” Helton said.

He added, with some exasperation, “The kid threw for over 300 yards and three touchdowns.”

Darnold has had to break in a new receiving group that has been beset by injuries. That, at times, has made him look indecisive, when a season ago he made decisions quickly and with confidence. However, Darnold does not believe he has changed his style.

“I think I’m playing the same exact way as I was last year,” he said. “I’ve just got to continue to improve and hopefully one game it will click. “

There are other times, he said, when he has no explanation for a play. Like on Saturday, when he reached back to pass and the ball simply slipped out of his hands and fell for a fumble.

“That’s never happened to me,” he said. “So I don’t know what happened there. I guess that’s just kind of the year.”

Utah has quarterback questions

Utah coach Kyle Whittingham surprised some people before the season when he named Tyler Huntley as the Utes starting quarterback over the incumbent, Troy Williams.

In his first four starts, Huntley rewarded Whittingham with a 73% completion rate, 966 yards and nine touchdowns rushing and passing, with just two interceptions. But Huntley was injured in Utah’s fourth game. Williams started last week and the Utes suffered their first loss of the season, to Stanford.

Whittingham told local reporters Monday that “Tyler’s status is still up in the air” for Saturday’s game against USC.

If Huntley does not play, Williams will likely start again. Williams played at Harbor City Narbonne High and Santa Monica College. The last time USC saw him, a year ago, he led Utah on a 15-play, 93-yard drive for a comeback victory.

zach.helfand@latimes.com

Follow Zach Helfand on Twitter @zhelfand