Los Angeles Times - 02.11.2019

LATIMES.COM/SPORTS D7

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Marquee matchup

USC’s defensive line vs.

Oregon’s offensive line.

Senior captain Christian

Rector is expected to return

this week, giving USC a

necessary influx of experi-

ence up front. But the rest

of the defensive line rota-

tion is a bit light as fresh-

man Drake Jackson re-

mains out, and Oregon

boasts the most experi-

enced offensive front in the

nation. As a result, the

Ducks have kept the pocket

clean most of the season,

and NFL-bound quarter-

back Justin Herbert has

responded with 21 touch-

downs to just one pass

intercepted. Pressuring

Herbert will be of the ut-

most importance, but

whether USC’s decimated

defense can actually make

that happen is an open

question.

Getting offensive

USC (442.4 ypg, 31.3

ppg):After an uneven start,

Kedon Slovis came alive

late on the road last Friday,

and USC is convinced that

the freshman has taken

another step forward in his

maturation. Slovis ranks

among the best in the na-

tion in completion percent-

age (72.3%), and with its

backfield riddled with in-

jury, USC will again rely on

him to find a rhythm

through the air. Slovis will

hope to build on a huge

fourth quarter from last

week. After a solid showing

as the lead back in Col-

orado, freshman running

Kenan Christon will play

that role again, potentially

with a larger workload.

Over two games, Christon is

averaging 8.4 yards per

carry.

Oregon (466 ypg, 36

ppg):Few teams in the

nation have been better on

the ground than Oregon,

which rolled over Washing-

ton State with 306 yards

rushing and three touch-

downs last week. Sopho-

more C.J. Verdell accounted

for 257 of those yards and

should be a huge part of the

game plan against a de-

pleted Trojans defensive

front. With its running

backs carrying over 40

times per game, Oregon

hasn’t had to unleash Her-

bert much lately.

Getting defensive

USC (429.4 ypg, 24.9

ppg):A group decimated by

injuries could return two

key starters, but against an

offense that likes to take an

early lead and control the

ball, its depth may again be

tested. USC was shredded

by a far less capable offense

last week in Boulder, allow-

ing 520 yards, the second-

most it’s allowed in four

seasons. Making Herbert

uncomfortable will be cru-

cial. But if Oregon gets the

run game going like it has in

recent weeks, USC’s de-

fense may have a hard time

just getting off the field.

Oregon will gladly make

USC pay for any tackling

issues that arise again.

Oregon (308.3 ypg, 14.8

ppg): No secondary in the

nation has created more

interceptions (14), and on

paper, that would seem to

be a nightmare for an op-

posing freshman quarter-

back. But it’s not just turn-

overs that make Oregon’s

secondary so effective. The

Ducks have held teams to

5.9 yards per pass attempt

and a completion rate of

56%, figures that are second

only to Utah in the Pac-12.

Senior linebacker Troy Dye

leads a run defense that’s

also ranked among the

conference’s best, allowing

just over three yards per

carry.

Something special

After eight field goals

and 31 extra points, USC’s

Chase McGrath missed his

first kick of the season in

Colorado. The miss came at

the worst possible time, as

USC tried to tie the score in

the fourth quarter. But

McGrath’s miss didn’t

matter. The Trojans scored

a touchdown on their final

drive and McGrath drilled

the extra point.

Of note

Two sets of brothers will

compete on opposite side-

lines of the Coliseum, as

USC wideout Michael

Pittman Jr. faces his young-

er brother, Mycah, who is a

freshman wideout at Ore-

gon. USC outside lineback-

er Eli’jah Winston will see

his older brother, La’Mar,

for the first and only time as

an opponent.

Injury report

Linebacker Palaie Gao-

teote IV, who sat out the last

two weeks with a high ankle

sprain, will be a game-time

decision for the Trojans.

USC will also be without

safety Talanoa Hufanga

(shoulder) and Jackson

(ankle).

MATCHUPS:

USC (5-3, 4-1) vs.

Oregon (7-1, 5-0)

Tonight, 5, TV: Channel 11, Radio: 790.

By Ryan Kartje

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Over four seasons and 193
combined starts, Oregon
quietly built college foot-
ball’s best offensive line
through a mix of time and
old-fashioned repetitions,
slowly building the chem-
istry that’s helped the Ducks
soar over the Pac-12 Confer-
ence this season.
USC didn’t quite have
that luxury. As their season
began, the Trojans had just
one returning starter,
Austin Jackson, to anchor
an offensive line that needed
to be rebuilt overnight. They
added a graduate transfer,
Drew Richmond, at right
tackle and plugged in three
new starters on the interior.
Then, chemistry-wise, they
hoped for the best.
So far, those prayers have
unexpectedly been an-
swered. As USC’s offense
has endured countless in-
juries, a previously precari-
ous line has emerged as a
stabilizing force amid the
mayhem.
And on Saturday at the
Coliseum, as USC (5-3 over-
all, 4-1 in the Pac-12) and No.
7 Oregon (7-1, 5-0) meet in an
anticipated matchup of divi-
sion leaders, the stability of
each team’s lines will be
tested, with huge stakes for
both.
The Ducks need a victory
to preserve any hope of
sneaking into the College
Football Playoff. Clay Hel-
ton, USC’s coach, could need
one just to preserve his job,

with a new athletic director

soon to determine his fate.

“I’ve watched us grow,”

Helton said. “Now it’s time

for us to grow a little bit more

against a good Oregon

team.”

The Ducks have won sev-

en in a row since losing their

opener to Auburn. But over

the last two games, the na-

tion’s No. 9 scoring defense

has showed signs of vulnera-

bility. Last week, Washing-

ton State torched Oregon for

406 yards passing. The week

before, a balanced Washing-

ton offense managed 414

yards.

Where Oregon has not

wavered is along its offensive

line. In the last two games,

the Ducks playmakers ran

wild with ample protection

and helped the offense pile

up 962 yards.

Against Washington

State, Oregon chose to lean

on the run game, and sopho-

more C.J. Verdell racked up

257 yards and three touch-

downs.

“This is a team that can

get up on people in a hurry,”

Helton said, “and then carry

the heavy load and just start

running the ball.”

That could be an issue for

a USC defense that’s strug-

gled to stop the run all sea-

son, even before injuries

took their toll. The Trojans

are allowing 4.84 yards per

rush, second-worst in the

conference.

Last week, against Col-

orado, a depleted defense

struggled to catch its breath

over the course of long

drives. While the possible re-

turns of defensive end Chris-

tian Rector and linebacker

Palaie Gaoteote IV should

help fortify that front, Ore-

gon is sure to follow that

lead, with better backs and a

better line.

USC will look to its offen-

sive line to extend drives, in

hopes of countering that

strategy. It’ll have to find

that rhythm again without

its top three backs, leaving

freshman Kenan Christon to

carry the load again. It also

must count on freshman

quarterback Kedon Slovis to

come up big against one of

the nation’s most aggressive

secondaries.

But it’s the test that

awaits in the trenches that

should ultimately determine

whether USC can continue

to control its standing in the

Pac-12.

Battle of the trenches

will test USC, Oregon

By Ryan Kartje

AUSTIN JACKSONwas

the sole returning start-

er on USC offensive line.

Rick ScuteriAssociated Press

would inherit a department
scarred by scandal and
years of turmoil, with the
fallout ongoing.
As the fourth athletic di-
rector in a decade at the uni-
versity, Bohn, who grew up
in Colorado, would soon be
forced to confront questions
of the department’s culpa-
bility in the wake of an explo-
sive college admissions
scandal and a federal inves-
tigation into a college
basketball pay-for-play plot
in which one USC assistant
coach was indicted.
But first and foremost,
he’ll be tasked with deter-
mining the direction of USC
football and the future of its
embattled head coach, Clay
Helton.
As rumors over Helton’s
future have persisted in re-
cent weeks, university Presi-
dent Carol L. Folt and inter-
im athletic director Dave
Roberts both indicated to
The Times that any decision
on his status would be left to
the next athletic director.
With a hiring imminent, a
decision could come soon.
As USC prepares to face
Oregon on Saturday at the
Coliseum, it remains atop
the Pac-12 South standings,
with a path to the conference
title game.
At Cincinnati, where he
was charged with elevating a
middling athletic program
into a new era, Bohn’s tenure
was marked by newfound
success on the field and sub-
stantial upgrades off of it.
He earned a reputation
for his enthusiasm and tire-
less fundraising efforts, en-
dearing himself as an engag-
ing leader of an up-and-com-
ing department. He oversaw
more than $170 million in
major renovation projects to
improve Cincinnati’s foot-
ball field, Nippert Stadium,
and its basketball home,
Fifth Third Arena.
Among Cincinnati’s fan
base, Bohn was heralded
primarily for his hiring of
Luke Fickell, the former
Ohio State assistant, as
football coach. Since his hir-
ing in December 2016, Fickell
has helped resurrect a pro-
gram that had faded from
relevance. In three seasons,
he’s led Cincinnati to a re-
spectable 21-11 record. This
year, Cincinnati (6-1) ranks
17th in the Associated Press
poll and sits atop its division
in the American Athletic
Conference.
Bohn’s connection
through Fickell to Ohio
State is sure to raise eye-
brows at USC, where former

Buckeyes coach and

Bearcats alum Urban Meyer

is coveted as a dream hire by

some disenchanted Trojans

fans hoping for Helton’s exit.

Not all of Bohn’s person-

nel moves have been suc-

cessful. Over nine years as

athletic director at Col-

orado, where he helped

guide the program through

its transition into the Pac-12,

Bohn fired three football

coaches, two of whom he had

hired. Those coaches, Dan

Hawkins and Jon Embree,

finished with a combined

record of 20-54. Bohn’s last

head coaching hire at Col-

orado, Mike MacIntyre,

spent six seasons in Boulder

before being fired last fall.

Due in large part to those

struggles to stabilize Col-

orado’s football program,

Bohn was forced to resign in

2013. The decision was de-
      scribed by the university as a
      “mutual conclusion,” but
      Bohn said he was blindsided
      by the decision. Since then,
      Colorado’s struggles have
      largely continued.
      Prior to his arrival in
      Boulder, Bohn spent dec-
      ades working his way
      through athletic depart-
      ments at Air Force, Col-
      orado State, Idaho and San
      Diego State, the latter two of
      which he served as director.
      That deep experience surely
      endeared him to Folt, who
      told The Times that such ex-
      perience would be crucial for
      whoever assumed the post
      of athletic director.
      “I really do need someone
      that’s highly experienced in
      this world of athletics and
      student athletes,” Folt said
      last week. “I’m looking for
      someone that’s going to help
      me launch this department
      into this new era of college
      sports. It’s changing, and I
      want to not just be running
      behind it, but helping to
      structure it to be success-
      ful.”
      That push for change was
      apparent in Folt’s interest in
      tapping Bohn as the depart-
      ment’s new leader. USC’s
      last three athletic directors
      were all former USC football
      players. Neither Swann, nor
      his predecessor, Pat Haden,
      had any experience working
      in collegiate athletics prior
      to their hiring. Haden re-
      placed Mike Garrett, who
      had left under a cloud of
      NCAA sanctions.
      Bohn, a Kansas gradu-
      ate, would be the ninth ath-
      letic director in the school’s
      history, but the first without
      USC ties to assume the top
      position in the department
      since McGee left in 1993.

MIKE BOHN, with the Bearcats mascot during his introduction as Cincinnati athletic director in 2014, would

face the formidable challenge of repairing a USC program tainted by scandal and turmoil in the recent past.

Al BehrmanAssociated Press

USC is closing in

on Bohn for next

athletic director

[Bohn,from D1]

whose name was virtually

unknown on the sports

landscape until it surfaced

Friday.

He won’t be signing

autographs for money while

the department is in tur-

moil. He won’t be enabling a

coach’s addiction problem

while the team crumbles

underneath him. Chances

are, he won’t foster the

arrogance that leads to

rules violations that result

in a historic NCAA proba-

tion.

No offense to Lynn

Swann, Pat Haden or Mike

Garrett, but it’s refreshing

that Bohn doesn’t have

their pedigree, and thus

perhaps will not have their

problems.

USC athletics needs a

fresh set of eyes, and this

could be it. USC needs to

clean out the cobwebs of

favoritism and hero worship

and bring athletics into a

new scandal-free era, and

this could be the person to

do it.

USC also needs someone

with the good sense not to

fall into the gory glory trap

that is Urban Meyer, and

Bohn appears to be that

guy.

Wait, what, you thought

because of an Ohio connec-

tion, Bohn was hired be-

cause he could successfully

woo Meyer to replace em-

battled coach Clay Helton?

Heck, you even thought

Bohn and Meyer were may-

be a package deal?

Think again. It’s just the

opposite.

The many, many USC

boosters who are pushing to

hire Meyer, the three-time

national championship

coach, are understandably

delighted to see the Trojans

hire an athletic director

from Meyer’s alma mater

and the school where Mey-

er’s son Nate plays baseball.

And Bohn obviously re-

spects Meyer’s coaching, as

he hired current Bearcats

coach Luke Fickell from

Meyer’s staff.

But Bohn is being hired,

in part, because he de-

mands an integrity that is

the opposite of the culture

created by Meyer, who has a

history of fostering criminal

players and trivializing

domestic violence.

Meyer protected players

at Florida throughout mul-

tiple arrests. Meyer then

protected receivers coach

Zach Smith at Ohio State

amid multiple accusations

of domestic violence by

Smith’s former wife, Court-

ney.

Meyer was suspended by

Ohio State for three games

for his role in enabling

Smith, and don’t you think

that right down the road,

Bohn was watching? Don’t

you think the person re-

cently hired to clean up all of

USC was watching?

There is no way new USC

President Carol L. Folt can

use the word “integrity”

with a straight face if she

approves the hiring of Mey-

er. She couldn’t do it. She

wouldn’t do it.

Because of this, there is

no way she would hire Bohn

if she thought he would be

turning to Meyer. It can’t

happen. It won’t happen.

Granted, a USC athletic

director is only as good as

the football coach he hires,

and, certainly, Bohn has

made some awful coaching

hires in his career. While at

Colorado, he hired Dan

Hawkins, Jon Embree and

Mike MacIntyre. They went

a combined 40-83. All three

were eventually fired.

But in his most recent

position, he made a great

hire, bringing in former

Buckeyes defensive coor-

dinator Fickell, who has

gone 21-11 while leading

this year’s Bearcats to

a 6-1 record and No. 17 rank-

ing.

Here’s guessing that in

the great probability that

Bohn needs to make a

coaching hire, he will turn to

someone more like Fickell

than Meyer, someone work-

ing under the radar, some-

one who plays it straight

and smart, someone like

himself.

But for those who think

Bohn’s hiring means the

automatic end of Helton,

don’t. Bohn will surely wait

until the Trojans are elimi-

nated from Pac-12 title

contention before making

up his mind.

That could happen Sat-

urday in the Coliseum

against No. 7 Oregon. Or it

might not happen at all, as

the Trojans could win their

final four games and survive

the Pac-12 championship

game and end up in Pasa-

dena on New Year’s Day.

If Helton leads the Tro-

jans into the Rose Bowl, it

would seem difficult for

Bohn to fire him, but who

knows? The new athletic

director’s first major deci-

sion will certainly be his

biggest and probably most

controversial.

He will be serenaded by

fans screaming for Meyer.

He will be inundated with

candidates such as James

Franklin and Matt Rhule. If

the Trojans are running

onto a football field on New

Year’s Day, some boosters

will still want to back Hel-

ton.

Who exactly is Mike

Bohn? We’re about to find

out.

An easy call: Don’t hire Meyer

[Plaschke, from D1]