Hard to Find Any Positives in USC Defeat

The worst rushing defense in the Pac-10 smothered each and every USC running back.

Chad Morton. Sultan McCullough. Jabari Jackson.

And Mike Garrett.

“Somebody asked if something like this has ever happened to us before,” the USC athletic director said softly, shaking his head. “I told them, no, I couldn’t recall anything like this.”

It was late Saturday afternoon, a stifling sun was finally setting behind Arizona Stadium, nearly everybody involved in Arizona’s 31-24 victory over USC had gone home.

But Garrett remained, on a metal bleacher, staring blankly at an empty field and possibly vacant season.

His blazer and shirt were unruffled by the heat, but his insides were churning.

“It’s hard for me when I don’t understand what’s going on,” Garrett said. “When we don’t run the ball well, I don’t understand what’s going on.”

For once, the boss was in the majority.

There was a great loss here Saturday, and it had nothing to do with USC’s vanished Rose Bowl chances or disappearing hopes of equaling last year’s eight wins.

This was about a loss of identity.

These were not Garrett’s Trojans.

There were not Charles White’s Trojans.

Heck, these weren’t even Ricky Ervins’ Trojans.

This was the USC Snajort.

As in, Trojans backward.

Minus-20 Yards and a Cloud of Questions.

With only one 1,000-yard rusher in the last eight years, it is not news that this football team no longer excels in what once made it so great.

With a school-record minus-23 yards rushing last year against Texas Christian in the Sun Bowl, it is also not news that the running game has not noticeably improved under Paul Hackett.

But Saturday, the situation hit running-back bottom.

At least against TCU, the Trojans were given the excuse of a 25-point deficit, not exactly the best time to run your sprint draw.

There were no such hindrances here.

Arizona never took more than a three-point lead in the first half, then USC threw to a 17-10 lead early in the third period.

The Trojan defense held, and the desert stage was set for a long, grueling, game-controlling drive from their 10-yard line.

The results were so short, you can read them in 10 seconds.

A 20-yard pass, called back because of holding.

A 21-yard pass.

Morton stuffed for no gain.

Mike Van Raaphorst sacked.

Van Raaphorst hit as he threw it behind Windrell Hayes.

USC punted, Arizona drove down and scored to tie the game, take the momentum, and that was that.

“We’re not dominating the line of scrimmage, and we’re not making good decisions with the ball.” Garrett said. “Add those two things together, and you have a nonexistent performance.”

Considering the Trojans suffered two more injuries on a battered offensive line, it is difficult to quarrel with their problems.

“I don’t know . . . I just don’t know what to do,” tackle Travis Claridge said in frustration.

However, about those “decisions with the ball” . . .

So far, the most notable of those decisions has been to hand the ball to small, big-hearted Chad Morton.

He has repaid the coach’s trust with such heroics as 153 yards last week against Oregon State, and three short touchdowns earlier against Oregon.

But his 5-foot-8 frame disappears inside against bigger defenses. And the Trojans don’t seem to have the type of offense that can consistently get him outside.

The answer could be not to bench Morton, but to give him more help.

The answer could be, in the words of a fan shouting loud enough to be heard over the USC band as the players were leaving the field Saturday:

“Give McCullough the ball!”

Why not? The redshirt freshman, while still young and unfamiliar with the intricacies of the offense, is strong and fast and could use his 5-11, 180-pound presence to give the Trojans a new and stronger look.

Garrett would never say this, of course. He hired Hackett, his star is directly tied to Hackett’s, there is no chance he would publicly second-guess his coach, nor should he.

However, we are under no such restrictions here.

Besides, it’s not a second-guess, but a pregame suggestion.

Give the kid, who has only 30 carries this season, about half that many next week against Notre Dame.

What do you have to lose?

It’s not like you would be surprising him.

“I’ll hear it from teammates on the plane tonight, I’ll hear it when I get home, everywhere I go,” McCullough said Saturday. “Everybody saying, ‘Why don’t they play you more?’ ”

He is not complaining. He is not causing trouble.

“I have to wait my turn, I understand that,” he said. “I just stand there on the sidelines and pray that we win. That’s how I’m helping.”

But with his potential--heck, his longest gain of 15 yards is only two yards shorter than Morton’s--he could be doing so much more.

Hackett seems to understand that more is needed.

Of the running game, he said this:

“Once again, we’ve got to take a look at what we’re doing. We’ve got to take a look at who’s doing it. We’ve got to take a look at how we’re coaching it. We’ve got to take a look at everywhere we are with the running game, because we’re nowhere.”

Well, actually, less than nowhere.

“I even hear it when I get my hair cut,” McCullough said. “I even hear it in the bathroom.”

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Bill Plaschke can be reached at bill.plaschke@latimes.com.