USC could be down to its third-string QB vs. Arizona State

UPDATE (1:10 p.m. ET): Rivals.com is reporting that Daniels has passed “the initial stage of his concussion protocol” and is expected to be cleared to play Saturday vs. Arizona State.

Original story: Oct. 22 – 11 a.m. ET

USC’s trip to Utah was a rough one.

Not only did the Trojans lose a pivotal Pac-12 South matchup 41-28, they lost their top two quarterbacks in the process. Clay Helton told reporters Sunday night that starter JT Daniels suffered a concussion while his backup, Matt Fink, broke three ribs against the Utes.

That leaves USC with just one healthy scholarship quarterback, redshirt freshman Jack Sears, headed into the upcoming game against Arizona State.

Sears competed for the starting job during preseason camp

With the departure of Sam Darnold to the NFL, USC’s quarterback competition was wide open entering the season. Daniels, a heralded five-star recruit, ended up winning the job with Fink, Darnold’s backup in 2017, sliding in behind him as the No. 2 option and Sears as the third-stringer.

Sears, a four-star recruit, redshirted in 2017. Helton said Sunday he’s confident in Sears’ abilities if he ends up having to start against the Sun Devils. Sears has never played in a college game.

“We’ll have Jack Sears practice early this week and prepare as a starter. Obviously, JT will go through the concussion protocol and we’ll see where that’s at as we go through the week,” Helton said on his Sunday teleconference.

“Right now we’ll prepare like Jack is going into this game as the starter.”

Behind Sears on the depth chart are two walk-ons: redshirt sophomore Holden Thomas and junior Brandon Perdue.

Sears could be counted on in a big game for USC

Daniels has shown flashes of his immense talent throughout the season, but really struggled on the road against Utah. He completed just 6-of-16 passes for 89 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

Daniels was injured late in the third quarter on the play where he threw his second interception of the game. USC trailed 34-14 at that point, so the game was well in hand when Fink entered. Fink put forth a good showing by leading two touchdown drives and completing six of his seven passing attempts, but it was too little, too late.

USC entered the game with sole possession of first place in the Pac-12 South. Now the Trojans and Utes have identical 3-2 conference records, but Utah holds the edge in the standings because of the head-to-head win.

Utah, now ranked No. 22, has won three straight games and looks like the best team in that division. Still, the race is wide open with USC, Utah, Colorado and UCLA all having two Pac-12 losses. The Trojans don’t have any margin for error against ASU, which is arguably the most-challenging conference opponent left on the schedule.

Ordinarily you’d think a team starting its third-string QB would turn to its running game, but USC has struggled mightily rushing the ball. The Trojans rank 111th nationally (out of 129 FBS teams) in rushing offense, averaging just 124.2 yards per game and 3.82 yards per carry. That’s a really tough spot for Sears if he has to make his first career start.

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