Analysis: With CFP hopes dashed, USC should look to youth development

LOS ANGELES — As the ashes of once-lofty hopes filtered away, slowly, with the stream of fans from the Coliseum’s walls, Penn State’s Audavion Collins took a moment to add insult to injury.

Gripping a blue “WE ARE” flag and beaming postgame Saturday afternoon, egged on by teammates, Collins attempted to drive the plastic through the turf at midfield — directly into the red-and-gold-painted “SC” logo. It didn’t quite work, really. Head coach James Franklin, like a disapproving father, walked up and snatched the pole away.

Still, it was enough to draw some eyes on social media, even as USC’s head coach Lincoln Riley shrugged it off.

“I mean, that’s all stuff outside the game,” Riley said. “We’re very proud of our program. We don’t take a back seat to anybody.”

After USC’s 33-30 loss to Penn State at home, though, they have quite literally taken a backseat to 14 other programs in the Big Ten in conference record, any dreams of a first-year conference championship rudely snatched away by another close loss. Quarterback Miller Moss, postgame, still expressed confidence in his group’s ability to embark on a run.

The question: a run to where, exactly?

Never say never, and yet it’s near-impossible that USC could make a College Football Playoff with three losses. Five Big Ten matchups remain on the schedule, before a season-ending game with Notre Dame. Halfway into Riley’s Year Three, USC has already found itself devoid of any real shot at a meaningful program milestone other than a theoretical run-the-table into a bowl game.

Perhaps, as the Southern California News Group’s Mirjam Swanson wrote, a season-opening win over LSU over-inflated expectations for this USC team. Perhaps this was always destined to be a rebuilding year. If that’s the case, though, USC suddenly has a host of personnel questions to answer – and likely will be forced to find a balance with a full commitment to the future, with a number of underclassmen playmakers making their case for increased snaps on Saturday.

“You saw some young guys go in there and make some big-time plays in a big ballgame,” Riley said postgame, speaking on USC’s frequent defensive rotation. “So, obviously developing that depth is going to be important, with the stretch we’ve had and with the stretch that we’ve got ahead of us.”

Here are a few thoughts on USC’s young depth, as the program plunges into its second half of the season.

Devan Thompkins has made his starting case

After steadily raising his snaps for much of the season, D’Anton Lynn and Eric Henderson made a surprising commitment to sophomore Thompkins as a starting defensive tackle against Penn State. He rewarded the faith with a team-high four quarterback pressures and hurries, according to Pro Football Focus; with two sacks in limited early-season snaps, he’s been one of the only members of USC’s defensive line group able to consistently affect the pocket.

“I think probably tackle is probably his natural spot,” Lynn said of Thompkins earlier this week. “So now that he’s going to be taking more reps in there, I think it’s going to keep on getting better and better each week.”

The Zion Branch revolution must be televised

It’s simply time for USC to give some sort of consistent role to safety Branch, who has fought through injury for three seasons and received the most snaps of his career against Penn State. As he did when afforded a consistent role in 2023, he flashed massive upside Saturday, with one nice second-down tackle in the flat and two key pass breakups. USC played him at times in a three-safety alignment with starters Kamari Ramsey and Akili Arnold, and Branch has shown he’s worth integrating into some creative lineup decisions.

The Zachariah Branch evolution is not being televised

Speaking of the Branches. After a freshman All-American season in the return game, Zion’s brother Zachariah has seemed tentative as a sophomore, either eschewing returns or not hitting slivers of daylight. He hasn’t shown on-field progression as a consistent receiver outside of mesh-type-routes and schematic opportunities, either, failing to make a couple plays on one-on-one targets from Moss against Penn State. Riley remarked on USC’s Trojans Live radio show Monday he felt the sophomore burner might be “pressing.” It should be a massive point of emphasis for USC’s coaching staff to do whatever it has to to help this Branch get right.

Whispering: Is Jayden Maiava’s time at QB coming?

Moss hasn’t looked his sharpest in USC’s past two performances and has been too turnover-prone at quarterback, with eight total TOs in six games, even as many haven’t been his fault behind a shaky offensive line. He delivered the worst throw of his USC tenure in a massive spot Saturday, sailing a ball over an open Duce Robinson’s head for a pick as regulation ticked away.

Riley made clear Thursday that Moss “is undoubtedly our starter and will be,” but if Moss continues this recent stretch, it will fuel already-rampant cries from USC fans for UNLV transfer Jayden Maiava to get a look.