USC football: Trojans receivers step up in Damian Williams’ absence

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Lost in USC’s 55-21 defeat by Stanford was the play of the Trojans’ receiving corps, which turned in a mostly solid performance in Damian Williams’ absence.

Williams, who has a team-best 45 receptions, was sidelined because of a high-ankle sprain suffered against Arizona State.

Redshirt freshman Brice Butler started in his place and caught six passes for 96 yards, including a 36-yard touchdown early in the third quarter to pull the Trojans to within 21-14.

Junior Ronald Johnson had a team-high seven catches for 69 yards. Junior Travon Patterson had his first receptions since the season opener, catching two passes, including one on third down that kept alive the Trojans’ first scoring drive.

The Trojans had hoped that senior tight end Anthony McCoy‘s return from an ankle injury would jump-start the offense. But McCoy was limited to one catch for seven yards.

-- Gary Klein