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The hopes are high once again now that USC is free of scholarship sanctions that hamstrung the program for the last half decade and bolstered by its first full recruiting class in four years.
Head coach Steve Sarkisian faces enormous pressure after going 9-4 in his debut last season with a smaller roster. But the coach landed the top recruiting class in the nation with a full complement of scholarships.
2015 SCHEDULE
9/5: vs. Arkansas State
9/12: vs. Idaho
9/19: vs. Stanford
9/26: at Arizona State
10/8: vs. Washington
10/17: at Notre Dame
10/24: vs. Utah
10/31: at Cal
11/7: vs. Arizona
11/13: at Colorado
11/21: at Oregon
11/28: vs. UCLA
The Trojans’ schedule shapes up to be very tough. The strength comes as a result of playing nine league games in one of the country’s best power conferences. They get their two body-bag non-conference games out of the way in the first two weeks. However starting with a home contest against Stanford in the third week, the level of competition becomes fierce. USC’s final 10 opponents combined to go 83-49 in 2014. On a positive note, the Trojans will play seven games at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum.
SEASON WIN TOTAL
USC was pretty dam good last year, winning eight regular season games playing in the brutal Pac-12 South and without a full roster. The Trojans whooped Notre Dame and appropriately manhandled bad teams. But the four losses were more memorable than the wins. They were steamrolled by Boston College. Then they played the worst Hail Mary defense ever in a home loss to Arizona State. They failed to put Utah away before losing on a last-second touchdown and were finally blown out by UCLA. More depth should help with some of those issues but getting through a nine-game conference schedule without a loss is unlikely.
OFFENSIVE OUTLOOK
USC could have one of the more explosive offenses in the country led by quarterback Cody Kessler, who had the best season nobody noticed in 2014. All Kessler did as a junior was complete nearly 70 percent of his passes while throwing for 39 touchdowns with just five interceptions. Freshman All-American JuJu Smith is the new go-to receiver with several other talented, young playmakers waiting their turn.
The Trojans will miss Buck Allen and his 1,489 rushing yards, but, like the receiving corps, the backfield is loaded with untapped talent. An outside-inside tandem of Justin Davis and Tre Madden could be the new complementary pair and highly-regarded freshman Ronald Jones could also work his way into the rotation. Whoever gets ball will run behind a deep and strong offensive line that’s as active as it is physical.
DEFENSIVE OUTLOOK
A lack of depth caused predictable problems for last year’s defensive unit. USC faded dramatically as a game wore on and in general the line was only good against the run and not great. All-American Leonard Williams and leading tackler Hayes Pullard will be difficult to replace, but the Trojans are not without their share of talent on defense.
The new all-star candidate is Su’a Cravens, who led the team in interceptions and tackles for loss last season as an All-Pac-12 hybrid outside linebacker/safety. End Claude Pelon hinted at a 2015 breakout with glimpses of star play last season and there’s a new crop of blue-chippers waiting for an opportunity. But overall the group must show significant improvement.
SEASON PREDICTION
The roster is the best in the Pac-12 and could easily make the Trojans a playoff-caliber team in 2015. Health and overall depth have been issues for this program since the NCAA sanctions went into effect. But those are over and done with and this roster is deeper than it’s been in six years, giving USC plenty of value at +1350 to win the national championship.
Kessler, a Heisman hopeful, is surrounded by the Pac-12’s top offensive line and receiving corps and scoring points shouldn’t be an issue for a team that averaged better than 35 a game last season. But the defense must improve and that won’t be easy with some key departures. However, with plenty of young talent, the Trojans will likely get stronger as the season progresses and a rivalry week showdown with UCLA could be for a spot in the Pac-12 championship game.
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