Trojans rally for big win despite QB Darnold struggles … Southern California kept alive its national playoff hopes rallying from a 21-7 deficit to defeat previously unbeaten Utah 28-27 when the Utes failed to convert a two-point conversion in the game’s dying seconds. Despite the win it was not a particularly memorable outing for USC redshirt sophomore QB Sam Darnold. Forget the three fumbles, two in the red zone and a third that Utah returned for a TD, but Darnold just didn’t look comfortable in the pocket with his mechanics. He wasn’t setting his feet in the pocket, he didn’t appear to be seeing the field very well and he appeared to rush a lot of throws. And all that represents a trend for Darnold, who was the consensus favorite to be the first player selected at the 2018 draft, but who has seen his stock dip appreciably since. Indeed, there is a growing buzz out of LA that Darnold could actually decide not to enter the upcoming draft if his grade continues to fall and instead opt to return to school in order to clean up his mechanics and get back into the discussion for the top pick in 2019. Meanwhile, it also wasn’t a great week for Darnold’s LA rival Josh Rosen of UCLA who was picked off three times in the Bruins’ loss at Arizona yesterday. In fact, the storyline for the upcoming draft through the first half of the college season has been that while the year started with as many as three potential elite QBs in Darnold, Rosen and Wyoming’s Josh Allen, all three have struggled to date leaving what could be a major void at the top of the 2018 board. Stay tuned!
