No. 14 – USC Trojans Season Preview

Clay Helton saved his job for at least one more season. However, it continues to be somewhat inexplicable that Helton is on the sidelines despite his relative lack of success with USC. In his six years as head coach of the Trojans, he is 45-23. USC is just 16-13 on the road and has a losing record against Top 25 teams. That’s extremely disappointing for the most dominant program in the country for most of the 2000s and highlights just how far USC’s brand has fallen. Still, given USC’s comparative strength to the rest of the PAC 12, the Trojans could easily win nine or more games in 2021.

USC Regular Season Win Total

Over 8.5 Wins -115

Under 8.5 Wins -115

OFFENSE

Kedon Slovis should be the best quarterback in the conference once more. Slovis was named First Team All-PAC 12 in 2020 after completing 67.1% of his passes for 1,921 yards with 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He was able to lead the Trojans to multiple fourth quarter comebacks on the way to a 5-0 regular season record, but USC was very fortunate to win a couple of those games.

This run game should be much better in 2021 after a very subpar performance in 2020. USC averaged just 3.2 YPC last season, putting a lot of pressure on Slovis and the passing game to move the chains. Leading running back Vavae Malepeai returns for the Trojans, but Texas transfer Keaontay Ingram is expected to start ahead of him.

Four returning starters along the offensive line will undoubtedly help matters. All four of those starters are seniors too, so we could see marked improvement up front for USC. The only concern is left tackle where there are three redshirt freshmen in the three-deep on the depth chart.

Drake London should be one of the best receivers in the PAC 12. He was an all-conference selection in 2020 after catching 33 passes for 502 yards and three touchdowns in this offense. The only other receiver that played a real factor last year was Bru McCoy, so the Trojans need other players to emerge.

DEFENSE

USC’s defense has been an issue throughout the entirety of the Helton era. The Trojans have never averaged under 24.0 PPG or under 365 YPG under Helton, but they are hoping that new defensive coordinator Todd Orlando will help in that regard.

There is a standout player at every level of the defense. No. 1 recruit Korey Foreman figures to make an instant impact along the defensive line, and Ishmael Sopher could be a standout too after transferring over from Alabama.

The linebackers boast an all-conference player in Drake Jackson. Jackson was superb at shedding blockers to make plays behind the line of scrimmage, and his play should free things up for Ralen Goforth and Kana’i Mauga.

Chris Steele is the leader of the secondary. Steele has established himself as a lockdown cornerback, and he also earned all-conference honors in 2020. However, this secondary is somewhat raw and inexperienced aside from Steele, Greg Johnson, and Isaiah Pola-Mao.

SCHEDULE

The Trojans did themselves no favors with a rather difficult non-conference schedule. Although Notre Dame, San Jose State, and BYU are all expected to take a step back after extremely successful seasons in 2020, it’s very possible that USC loses one or two of those games.

USC does have the benefit of avoiding Oregon and Washington in conference play, but Stanford is always a tough test. Utah and Arizona State will not be a walk in the park either for the Trojans.

PREDICTION

The under is probably the pick due to a tough schedule without an easy opponent on the slate. However, a 10-win season could be in the cards if this defense plays well, as the Trojans might not be an underdog in a single game this year if they look sharp in September.

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