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<\/a><\/p>\nThis is a crucial 3rd<\/sup> down for the Trojans and Darnold makes a very good read on the play.\u00a0 The Buckeyes are in zone coverage and playing back towards the line of scrimmage.\u00a0 Darnold sees the receiver open, but the direct path has defenders in the way, so he has to put touch on the ball.\u00a0 Darnold does a good job of recognizing coverage, and making the right throw, albeit a bit high, but the receiver loses the ball when tackled.\u00a0 On a crucial down, this is a play that has to be made by the receiver.\u00a0 If this is ball is thrown with a low trajectory, then the zone defenders have an opportunity to make a play.\u00a0 The play for the defense is really made by Kendall Sheffield, who is a top-flight prospect that should continue the line of stud defensive back prospects.\u00a0 Sheffield peels off his man, and goes for the tackle, and dislodging the ball.\u00a0 This is a prime example of Darnold making a very good read with a decent throw, but having the team around him fail.<\/p>\n 2 On the outset, this is a bad throw.\u00a0 I wish I had better angles to show, but we need to decipher from this TV angle.\u00a0 The read on this play is simple, when No. 80 (Deontay Burnett) moves across the field, the defense shifts coverage.\u00a0 Darnold\u2019s read is really the slot defender on this play.\u00a0 If the defender stays to protect against Burnett, then it\u2019s a one on one match up with a defensive back.\u00a0 If the defender leaves, then it\u2019s an easy pitch to Burnett.\u00a0 However, the OSU defense shows why it\u2019s great because it can thrive on one on one match ups.\u00a0 The slot defender stays home with Burnett, which causes Darnold to go towards the one on one read.\u00a0 However, the OSU defender cuts outside (as you can see at the end of the play), while a linebacker from the other side races over to cut off the middle of the field.\u00a0 As of then, Darnold has his primary receiver double covered.\u00a0 His deep option is covered by the cornerback, and the free safety in the middle, so that\u2019s a throw into double coverage.\u00a0 Simultaneously, notice the blitz from the linebacker as well.\u00a0 He has dual responsibilities on this play, the first one being to cover the running back. \u00a0When the running back commits to blocking, the linebacker turns to his second responsibility, which is to blitz.\u00a0 Once the linebacker blitzes, the guard is overmatched because he can\u2019t cover the B gap.\u00a0 On this play, the center fails to roll with the line and provide blocking, which allows the defender to run a spin move and attack the cornerback.\u00a0 Darnold recognizes the conundrum quickly, and fires a quick pass, but it coincided with Burnett turning the wrong way, and it falls for an incomplete pass.\u00a0 Let\u2019s just focus on Darnold here and what he\u2019s doing.\u00a0 He makes the first read to look downfield when the slot cornerback stays with Burnett, a wise choice.\u00a0 He also realizes the deep route down the field has a cornerback and safety involved, thus he avoids that throw, another wise choice.\u00a0 He also recognizes pressure and decides to make a quick throw to a safe receiver, right before he would be sacked, another wise choice.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the timing is off, but Darnold could not wait any longer.\u00a0 This is a good example of Darnold making the right read, but ending up with the wrong result because OSU is just better than USC in terms of talent.<\/p>\n 3 Let\u2019s get this out of the way, this is a horrible play because of the fumble.\u00a0\u00a0 However, this is a situation where his right guard just gets flat-out beat, and there isn\u2019t anything a QB this side of Lamar Jackson can do about it.\u00a0 The Trojans have late movement, and notice how Darnold\u2019s first read is to the right.\u00a0 The receiver eventually gets open, which shows that Darnold made the right pre-snap read, but the defender absolutely destroys the guard, which forces the QB to try to move up in the pocket, but his left guard is essentially pushed back right into his path as well.\u00a0 On this play, both his guards had subpar play, which blew any chance of success.\u00a0 Although the thing to learn here for Darnold is to give up on the play, rather than trying to make a miracle.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n