2013-14 Football Previews – (Pac 12) – Trojans
In 2012, the USC Trojans were named the preseason No. 1 team in all of college football. Unfortunately for them, they ultimately finish unranked after earning those honors. A six-loss season was beyond disappointing, and as a result, head coach Lane Kiffin has been looked at as potential hot seat candidate in 2013.
2013 Preview: USC Trojans (Team Link)
Coach: Lane Kiffin
2012 Record: 7-6 (5-4)
USC Gambling Odds from Bovada.lv: 50/1
Following such a substandard year, you have to expect that it will only get better from here. In fact, ESPN’s Phil Steele has called the Trojans one of his top 10 teams that might surprise you during the upcoming season.
USC isn’t a traditional sleeper, seeing as how they’ve racked up championships and Heismans throughout the years. They’ve always been good—if not great—but this year is when they can return to that state and prove that they’re recovered after the sanctions that previously kept them out of the postseason.
If there’s anything to note about the Trojans’ offense, it’s the obvious absence of Matt Barkley. The quarterback has taken his talents to the NFL, and now it’s time to replace the four-year starter. Cody Kessler, Max Wittek and Max Browne will compete for the job, but following spring sessions, it appears as if Kessler might be in the lead.
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Luckily for whichever young QB earns the nod, the team’s best player can be found at the wide receiver spot. Marquis Lee is going to be the team’s No. 1 target all year, and while Silas Redd has a chance to impact the scoreboard at tailback, Lee is likely to be the team’s most productive player.
The offense has a new coordinator, as Clay Helton received a promotion, but don’t expect that to change the fact that Lee is this team’s best option to find points.The defense has also seen a new hire at the coordinator level. Clancy Pendergast, former head coach to the Arizona Cardinals, Kansas City Chiefs and University of California Golden Bears, has joined the crew and brought with him his 5-2 set. This set is going to allow a talented front seven to attack from numerous directions.
One of the stars of the defense is going to be outside linebacker Morgan Breslin, who in his first year as a J.C. transfer recorded 62 tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss and 13 sacks—the most in 10 years by a USC player. Also on defense will be standouts Leonard Williams and Hayes Pullard. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
The problem, however, is that all of this talent is adjusting to a new way of thinking. The playbook gives the team potential to find greatness, but it also gives the team a learning curve it didn’t have last year.
The other concern defensively is that the secondary may not be what the team hopes for. There are still unanswered concerns regarding the starting corners, and their performance on the back half of the field will play into the team’s overall success.
Success for this team is going to start with winning the winnable games. USC is fortunate enough to avoid both Oregon and Washington in 2013, and their mark will be made when they take on Notre Dame half way through the year, and then Stanford and USC down the stretch.
Kicking off the year doesn’t get much better than a week in Hawaii followed by a matchup with the Warriors. This team shouldn’t find much trouble until it reaches Arizona State, and even then, if the Trojans are hot, that role of “sleeper” will look more realistic.
This team has a lot of question marks surrounding it as we enter the fall, but it also has a lot of potential. Look for USC to surprise some people and compete for a Pac-12 title, but only if those questions are answered early and maintained late into the year.
2013 USC Schedule
Thurs, Aug. 29 @ Hawaii
Sat, Sept. 7 vs. Washington State
Sat, Sept. 14 vs. Boston College
Sat, Sept. 21 vs. Utah State
Sat, Sept. 28 @ Arizona State
Thurs, Oct. 10 vs. Arizona
Sat, Oct. 19 @ Notre Dame
Sat, Oct. 26 vs. Utah
Fri, Nov. 1 @ Oregon State
Sat, Nov. 9 @ California
Sat, Nov. 16 vs. Stanford
Sat, Nov. 23 @ Colorado
Sat, Nov. 30 vs. UCLA
