LOS ANGELES — He was the teenager who saved a spiraling season.
Sam Darnold took over as USC’s starting quarterback last fall after the Trojans’ worst start in 15 years, then sparked a nine-game winning streak, punctuated with a thrilling Rose Bowl comeback that was replayed for many months on TV sets throughout the Southland.
It was a performance that put him at the center of the college football universe. Most analysts considered Darnold the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy prior to this season, and he was the face of a team expected to vie for a national championship. Expectations grew.
The first two months of this season has offered a variety of new challenges for the 20-year-old redshirt sophomore.
The Trojans have lost two of their past four games, including their second-worst loss ever to rival Notre Dame last weekend. Darnold lost only one game last season as USC’s starter.
As USC has fallen out of the College Football Playoff picture, Darnold has taken some of the criticism, largely because of his turnovers. He has thrown 10 interceptions and been credited with six fumbles, including one on the opening play of last week’s blowout at the hands of the Fighting Irish when he failed to handle a high snap from center Nico Falah. An interception followed in the second quarter.
There has been less fanfare.
“It’s definitely different circumstances than last year,” Darnold said after a practice earlier this week, “but I don’t think that’s really had any effect on my play.”
Each interception and fumble is replayed in highlight packages, picked apart and dissected by a variety of analysts and observers.
“He’s aware of more eyeballs on him,” said Yogi Roth, the former USC assistant and Pac-12 Networks analyst who co-hosts a weekly podcast with the quarterback.
With a higher profile, Darnold has drawn more scrutiny, faced with the pressure he has often tried to deflect.
“Having the close group of family and friends that I have really helps me to maintain the same focus day in and day out and continue to have a positive mindset on life and in football,” Darnold said. “Just knowing that everything is going to be OK and it is a game – yeah, it is a game that I take seriously and it is a business-like mentality for sure – but at the same time, it’s a game, and I’m going to have fun regardless. When I look at it that way, it’s definitely helpful.”
This final stretch of the regular season, beginning Saturday night at Arizona State, will present a different challenge.
Last season, when Darnold was elevated from a backup role, USC was 1-2 and few expected its season to end with a New Year’s Six bowl appearance. His performance caught many by surprise. Once he took over as the starter, the Trojans lost only once.
This time, he’ll aim to reverse course after a pair of recent stumbles, while keeping the Trojans atop the Pac-12’s South division.
Asked this week how he thought Darnold had handled some of the scrutiny, USC coach Clay Helton said, “about as good as a man can do.”
Helton pointed to Darnold’s steady demeanor.
“One of the things I appreciate about him is he’s so focused on the team and how the team does,” Helton said. “He understands the nature of the position, that everybody looks to you. Your body language is reflective of everybody else. And you really can’t tell when he throws a touchdown or when he has a missed play. He just moves on to the next play.”
Darnold rarely looks flustered, despite a rising turnover total.
Added Roth: “I don’t feel Sam is breaking, or cracking. I really don’t. I think he’s looking at it through an optimistic lens.”
At times this season, Darnold has still saved USC. When the Trojans trailed Texas by a field goal in the final minute of regulation, he led a scoring drive that ultimately forced overtime, starting with three consecutive completions. The Trojans prevailed in double-overtime.
But along with his turnovers, USC’s offense has sagged this season. The Trojans averaged 6.9 yards per play in 10 games with Darnold as the starter last season. That number has dipped to 6.3 this season.
Some question whether Darnold had dipped, too, his passer rating no longer among the top 10 in the country.
“Our offensive woes recently and some of the things that have happened throughout the year, he’s put on himself,” said Tyler Petite, a junior tight end and one of Darnold’s roommates, “but it’s a collective unit thing at the end of the day. Yeah, guys are going to drop balls, guys are going to throw picks. That’s a little bit individual. But you gotta look at where it starts. I don’t believe that when one guy makes a mistake, it’s only one guy’s fault.”
Petite said Darnold can still lift the Trojans.
“The thing is,” Petite said, “he is what everyone built him up to be.”
