Daniel Uthman

USA TODAY Sports

USC and Oregon, who meet Saturday in Los Angeles (7 p.m. ET, ESPN), got off to fan-base-angst-inducing starts to the 2016 season, starts that put both of their head coaches on most-likely-to-be-fired lists.

Never mind that two of the Trojans' three losses and four of the Ducks' five losses came to currently ranked teams. These programs have created high expectations, and in the minds of many, those expectations better never be unmet.

The commonalities do not end there. Both teams' coaches rose to the head chair from the offensive coordinator seat at their current employers. And perhaps most important, they have track records that suggest they know what to do with the most important position on the field, quarterback.

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USC is 4-1 since Helton tapped redshirt freshman Sam Darnold to replace initial starter Max Browne and effectively cool the coach's hot seat. Darnold's 16 touchdown passes since becoming the Trojans' starter are the fourth-most in the FBS, and his 9.3 yards per attempt as a starter places him among the nation's top dozen passers. He has a 6:1 TD-to-interception ratio.

Helton says Darnold's lifelong desire to play for USC has made him a team player who roots for his teammates' success regardless of his role, and he refers to Darnold as an "old soul" who has handled his success with maturity.

His greatest improvement has come in two areas, Helton said. "One, just his distribution of the ball to different receivers. Usually with a young quarterback sometimes they get glued in on one guy, but one thing we're seeing right now is him taking what the defense gives him. You saw the other night he threw five touchdowns but they were to four different guys. And after watching the tape you came away saying, Wow, OK, he's really reading coverages, he's getting the ball to the right place, really out of 25 passes he threw he got fooled one time. Overall he's doing some great things.

"The other area that has improved is his understanding that even though he is an unbelievably competitive athlete, he's learning how to protect himself once he breaks out of the pocket and runs with the ball past the line of scrimmage and getting down. Being able to know where the first-down sticks are. He's a value to us now and starting to do that better."

Herbert and his predecessor as Oregon's starter, Dakota Prukop, have a history that dates to Herbert's early high school days, as Prukop was close friends and teammates of Herbert's brother Mitchell at Montana State. Herbert replaced Prukop during Oregon's loss Oct. 1 at Washington State and made his first start Oct. 8 in the Ducks' home loss vs. Washington.

Three weeks later Herbert, a freshman who was the last quarterback to enroll at Oregon this year, tied the Ducks' single-game passing yardage record with 489 in a win vs. Arizona State and was named the Pac-12 offensive player of the week. He has 10 touchdown passes in his past two games and, like Darnold, a 6:1 TD-to-INT ratio.

"His overall knowledge has been good," Helfrich said of Herbert. "The way that he has learned week to week has been impressive. He's very honest, and that's one thing we hammer with our quarterbacks is, if you don't know (an answer) and you fake it, that's worse. If you try to make up an answer, it's like going to the training room and your left knee hurts and saying, Hey, look at my right ankle.

"I think our players certainly believe 100% in Justin. It was just one of those things where we needed a boost and we were kind of contemplating that and it was best for our football team so we pulled the trigger."

USC and Oregon aren't the only FBS teams who are getting a boost from a quarterback who didn't start the season under center. Here are five more:

Will Worth, Navy

The Midshipmen entered the season expecting Tago Smith to be a worthy successor to Keenan Reynolds. A season-ending knee injury in Navy's opener, however, compelled Navy to turn to Worth.

Since then the senior has compiled the 10th-best passer rating in the FBS and had his best performance in an Oct. 22 win against Memphis, a game in which he threw just four passes, completing three. Two went for touchdowns and complemented his rushing effort, which featured 31 carries for 201 yards and three more TDs.

Danny Etling, LSU

You won't find his name among the nation's top 50 passers in any statistical category, but it's a testament to him that fans of the country's No. 14 team want him under center more than any other player on the Tigers roster. Though Etling is not the main reason LSU is 4-1 with Etling as its starter, the fact is that LSU is 4-1 with Etling as its starter.

Giovanni Rescigno, Rutgers

The Scarlet Knights turned to the redshirt sophomore as their starter for their Oct. 22 game vs. Minnesota, and he led them to their highest scoring output of the season. Rescigno's numbers didn't make any superlatives lists, but the respect he garners from teammates makes him a strong candidate to continue as Rutgers' signal caller.

Alex Hornibrook, Wisconsin

Hornibrook is different from others on this list because it was expected he would get significant playing time this season. And it's possible Hornibrook won't be the Badgers' starter in every game remaining on their schedule, but that's not necessarily an issue for him or his team.

Hornibrook, a redshirt freshman, has given way to senior Bart Houston in key situations in Wisconsin's past two games, but he's not sore about it. After giving Hornibrook every snap in the Badgers' first three Big Ten games, coach Paul Chryst is using both of his QBs now as the team makes a run for the Big Ten West title.

Maybe Hornibrook isn't ready to go it alone. But he's shown enough that the Badgers know they have a go-to guy now and for the future.

Jake Bentley, South Carolina

Bentley is the third quarterback to start for coach Will Muschamp in his first season with the Gamecocks, but he might be the last. South Carolina is 2-0 and has had its two highest-scoring games with Bentley starting.

Bentley, who is three weeks from his 19th birthday and graduated from high school in 2016 after his junior year, is the son of Gamecocks running backs coach Bobby Bentley and seems to have learned plenty from older brothers Chase and Shuler, who also were college quarterbacks.

Though he didn't take a snap in the Gamecocks' first six games, he's completed 69.6% of his passes in the past two with four touchdowns and no interceptions.

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