Injuries Complicate Trojan Efforts

Anybody waiting to see the lineup changes and new plays that are going to fix USC’s running game Saturday against Notre Dame, well, don’t.

The only lineup changes have been necessitated by injuries in the offensive line.

And instead of adding plays, USC is subtracting them.

Five games into the season, the Trojans are searching.

“The running game needs to continue to be focused on and dealt with and massaged until we get to what really is us,” Coach Paul Hackett said Tuesday. “Right now, it’s hard to tell. It’s hard to figure out what the hell we’re trying to do, because a lot of it has not worked.”

Not last Saturday against Arizona, at least, when Trojan rushers were thrown for minus-20 yards.

The season average: 111 yards a game, boosted by 279 yards against Hawaii.

With at least one starter in the offensive line--and possibly as many as three--not expected to play because of injuries Saturday, the Trojans’ mantra is simplify, simplify.

“We’ve worked very hard at paring the running game down and adjusting it to exactly what we think is going to be best against Notre Dame,” Hackett said. “It’s not so much the new people, but the guy next to you is new. So it’s how they communicate, how they angle block, how they work together.

“You look at it, I don’t think there’s a lot of options we can try because of the injuries.”

Anyone clamoring for a change at tailback won’t get that, either. Hackett isn’t budging on Chad Morton as the starter--after all, he had a career-high 153 yards a little more than a week ago against Oregon State--but Hackett said he’s finally ready to spread the carries around.

“We clearly are going to use multiple running backs, as we did last week with Sultan McCullough getting some work, and we should get Malaefou MacKenzie back and get Frank Strong back in the swing a little bit,” Hackett said. “But ultimately, Chad is going to be the leader.”

McCullough--who rushed for 83 yards against Hawaii but has carried only 13 times since--is the player many have been waiting to see.

“There is a process, and I know USC fans don’t want to hear it and I don’t want to hear it, but the reality is, it takes time to develop excellence in a team game,” Hackett said.

“You know, he is a redshirt freshman and he is playing behind our team captain.

“Sultan McCullough, in the second half of the season, you will see a development process with him and it will be very good. When we graduate the seniors we have and all of a sudden he comes back next year and is getting more and more reps, Sultan McCullough will blossom.”

The running game is the crisis of the week, but for all the emotional wallop packed by good ol’ Tailback U being stuffed at the line of scrimmage, the fact is, it’s a familiar story in recent years.

Only two seasons ago, USC briefly ranked last in rushing among Division I-A programs, and the Trojans have had only one 1,000-yard rusher in the last eight seasons, Delon Washington in 1995.

“We’ve done this before,” said lineman Travis Claridge, one of many players who believe the loss of No. 2 tailback Petros Papadakis to a broken foot before the season is still being felt. “We found a way out against Oregon State. We’ll find a way this week.”

Claridge is the last man standing among the offensive linemen--the only starter who hasn’t missed playing time because of injury.

In fact, Claridge has started every game of his career, a streak that stands at 41.

“I feel like the Cal Ripken of our team,” he said.

The latest casualty is guard Jason Grain, out for at least this week and possibly longer because of a knee injury.

The other guard, Donta Kendrick, is questionable because of an ankle injury. Tackle Brent McCaffrey is questionable because of ankle and knee injuries, as is center Eric Denmon, who returned against Arizona after missing the previous game because of a sore knee.

If McCaffrey and Kendrick are out or limited, Trevor Roberts and Faaesea Mailo take their places.

“The biggest concern there is pass protection,” offensive line coach Steve Greatwood said after watching Arizona sack Mike Van Raaphorst seven times. “Just lack of experience showed at times last week.”

Either Denmon or Matt McShane gives USC experience at center, but Zach Wilson, a redshirt freshman, will start in Grain’s spot, with Claridge at right tackle.

“Maybe something like that helps us play better,” Claridge said. “Maybe we’ll be more focused on helping each other.”

Arizona stunned USC with its run defense, especially because the Wildcats had allowed an average of five yards a carry before the game.

“We simplified what we were doing,” Arizona Coach Dick Tomey said when asked how his coaching staff plotted to thwart USC.

Arizona’s eight-man fronts gave the Trojans problems as they faced an unfamiliar defense that is built on confusing offenses.

“Notre Dame’s defensive front won’t be a foreign scheme,” Greatwood said, comparing it more to USC’s. “I still believe we can run the football.”

Pick a running back, any running back.

Not many could have run the ball behind USC’s line Saturday.

“We just have to get Chad opportunities to get going,” Greatwood said. “You get him to that second level of the defense, anything can happen. I can’t worry about who’s carrying the ball. We have to give him a chance.”