With Ronald Jones II out, Stephen Carr gets plenty of touches, and he loves it
A USC staffer knocked on the hotel room door of running back Stephen Carr at 10 p.m. Friday night to make a bed check. Carr reported in, went to his mattress and promptly fell asleep.
“I slept pretty good,” Carr said with a shrug.
The first start of the freshman running back’s career would come on the road the next day, on Saturday against California. He did not seem bothered by the prospect.
Without Ronald Jones II, who remained in Los Angeles with a thigh contusion, Carr carried the load against the Bears, and that, apparently, did not bother him either. In his first start, Carr was USC’s leading rusher, with 82 yards in 20 carries, with a fumble and a touchdown, and he was USC’s second-leading receiver, with 47 yards on six receptions.
He did not dominate — Jones at this point remains a more powerful rusher. But he displayed the same burst that has made him lethal in limited carries, and he showed he can be an all-around back. He even blocked well.
“He’s a total back,” offensive coordinator Tee Martin said. “He can run inside, run outside, he can catch it, he’s on the kickoff return team, great in protections. He’s a total back.”
Carr now has 298 yards and three touchdowns in his first four games of college. He is averaging 6.3 yards per carry. He is already USC’s third-best receiving option.
Coach Clay Helton said Carr is “so far further advanced [from] where a freshman would be.”
But he never had more than 12 touches in a game until Saturday, when he had 26.
How did he hold up to 26?
“That was 26 touches?” he said. He laughed. “It felt good. I would love to do it again.”
Carr found out he would start in the place of Jones on Thursday. Jones finished the game last week against Texas, but his thigh injury held him out of every practice this week.
Carr texted Jones before Saturday’s game, telling Jones, “I’m gonna hold it down for him,” Carr said. “That’s pretty much it.”
Injuries mount
USC, a team without a regular-season bye week, could really use a bye week.
The number of injured or banged-up starters almost equaled the number of healthy starters. USC was without its starting running back, Jones; a starting receiver, Steven Mitchell Jr. (groin injury); and a starting outside linebacker, Porter Gustin (torn biceps and broken big toe). None made the trip to Berkeley. USC has already been playing without starting tight end Daniel Imatorbhebhe.
And in the second half of the game, defensive tackle Josh Fatu went down with an ankle injury.
Defensive back Ajene Harris (knee hyperextension) played limited minutes, as did defensive end Rasheem Green (ankle sprain). Outside linebacker Uchenna Nwosu played through injuries to his elbow and knee, and right tackle Chuma Edoga played with a soft cast to protect a right wrist sprain
Christian Rector, playing extra minutes to spell Green and help in place of Gustin at outside linebacker, had two sacks and a forced fumble. And Ykili Ross assumed many snaps for Harris at nickel back. He intercepted a pass and returned it 49 yards.
At receiver, Tyler Vaughns and Jalen Greene filled in for Mitchell, and Michael Pittman Jr, returned from his ankle sprain that knocked him out of USC’s first three games.
Throwbacks for Joe Roth
Cal wore special bright yellow and blue throwbacks uniforms on Saturday as part of the Joe Roth Game. The game and the uniforms honored the former Cal quarterback, who won a co-Pac-8 championship in 1975. Partway into the 1976 season, Roth learned that he had melanoma, a form of skin cancer. He finished the season despite his illness and died shortly afterward, in 1977, at the age of 21.
Cal renamed its annual home game against either USC or UCLA as the “Joe Roth Game.” On Saturday, Cal left placards on one side of the stadium that formed a jersey with “ROTH” written across the shoulders.
Drops dropped
A week after USC had six dropped passes (or seven, according to Martin’s more stringent count), the Trojans did not drop a single ball against California.
Quick hits
USC has won 13 games in a row overall, and 14 in a row against Cal.
Follow Zach Helfand on Twitter @zhelfand
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