Sam Darnold identified the pass coverage.
In the days before facing Arizona, Darnold and USC’s offensive coaches saw it when they watched game film.
It was what they called “33 Double Cloud.”
It meant the Wildcats would only bring three defensive linemen to rush the quarterback and would drop everyone else into pass coverage, resulting in a more crowded secondary.
“When they drop eight,” Darnold said, “it’s really hard to find windows sometimes.”
Something else became easier, though, especially in third-and-long situations.
As linebackers dropped downfield, Darnold saw more running room.
In the Trojans’ 48-14 victory at Arizona on Saturday, the redshirt freshman from San Clemente rushed for 54 yards on six carries in little more three quarters.