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USC getting pressure but not forcing fumbles

Freshman tailback Joe McKnight's role on offense is slowly rounding into shape.

Steven Kim

Media Credit: Joel Zink | Daily Trojan Victory dance | Defensive end Everson Griffen tallied 3.5 of USC's nine sacks Saturday, but the team only forced one OSU fumble.

USC's defense was outstanding Saturday against Oregon State, holding the Beavers to just 176 yards of total offense. Maybe the most telling statistic was USC's 13 tackles for loss, including nine sacks.

But according to USC coach Pete Carroll, there is always room for improvement.

"We'd like to see more [fumbles]," Carroll said.

Despite having pressure on the quarterback all game, the Trojans only forced one turnover and failed to win the turnover battle for the seventh time in nine games this season.

"Yeah, the quarterback was pretty ineffective by the rush and all that, but we'd certainly like to pick up more balls," Carroll said.

Senior cornerback Terrell Thomas, who had the lone interception for the Trojans, also expressed frustration about the turnover situation.

"They [are] just not coming," Thomas said. "We forced a couple of fumbles on the sacks, but [Oregon State] just got the ball."

Freshman defensive end Everson Griffen, who led the team with 3.5 sacks and had the only forced fumble of the game, said while he would like to generate more fumbles, the end result is what's important.

"We won the game, and that's all that really matters," Griffen said.

Griffen, who was the No. 1 recruit coming out of high school, according to scout.com, had his best game of the season for the Trojans.

Before Saturday, the former Agua Fria Union High School star had just one sack all year. He attributed his success last game to hard work.

"I had a whole good week of practice," Griffen said. "When I first started college, the college level was pretty hard, but as [the season] got on, I started working even harder, and that's all you can expect out of yourself if you work hard."

Carroll also noticed a difference in Griffen's preparation last week.

"[Defensive coordinator Nick] Holt spent some extra time this week helping him get focused," Carroll said. "He was really seriously ready for this game. He was flying off the football the best he's done all year."

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Another freshman that came into the season with lofty expectations is getting more familiar with his role.

Running back Joe McKnight had a season-high 17 touches on offense to go along with four punt returns.

Running backs coach Todd McNair said the increased role is due to McKnight's comfort level.

"He's just more experienced now," McNair said. "He's got a good grasp of the offense and freshman jitters are past and over."

McKnight said he is happy with his role and said that he is finally playing like he expected.

"Right now I'm more relaxed," McKnight said. "I got in my groove."

Several plays Saturday were designed for McKnight to get to the outside, including plays in which he lined up as a wide receiver. McNair said the freshman's speed gives him the ability to line up anywhere.

"He has speed to stretch the defenses and get outside ... he gives us another dimension," McNair said. "As he continues to grow and develop we will continue to use him in various roles."

One of McKnight's flaws this year has been his tendency to get tackled in the backfield for losses. Despite the negative yards, McNair said that it was not always McKnight's fault.

"It wasn't like he made negative runs," McNair said. "It was just a case of a couple plays breaking down, so I think we are pretty satisfied with his progress."

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Carroll said the Trojans are starting to get healthy, but All-American left tackle Sam Baker's status is still uncertain against Cal.

Baker has missed all or parts of the Trojans' past four games due to a torn hamstring.

Carroll said redshirt sophomore Charles Brown will be given an opportunity to compete with redshirt freshman Butch Lewis for the starting job against Cal.

Lewis started two games for the Trojans in place of Baker, but was behind Brown on the depth chart before both Brown and Baker went down with injuries.

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