We are currently in the second week of our four week series on the National Championship in college football. Last week, we discussed the Alabama Crimson Tide. This week, I will be discussing the USC Trojans.
Entering the last week of the season, the USC Trojans were the hottest team in college football. This was in large part due to the strong quarterback play by Sam Darnold. This season, Sam Darnold will be back, and will be looking for his National Championship. He came up short last season with the Trojans failing to make the College Football Playoff. However, most "experts" don't anticipate this happening this year, myself included.
USC suffered two losses in its first three games including an embarrassing 52-6 dismantling at the hands of Alabama. The biggest difference between that game and the Trojans this season is that Sam Darnold is the Quarterback, no debate, no question. Last season, he was in the back seat as Max Browne was the starting Quarterback for the game against Alabama.
In addition to Darnold, the Trojans are returning Running Back Ronald Jones, who led the team in rushing in 2016. He is a junior, so he will be a returning leader for the team as an upperclassman.
Receiver is a position that the Trojans will have a bit of trouble with, as they have so many young players, and have lost quite a few starters. However, they have depth, and at the slot position they are returning their starter Deontay Burnett, and the guy that he took the starting spot from, Steven Mitchell. Wide Receiver does also seem to be a position in college football that if you have a good Quarterback, he can make the receivers around him better.
The offensive line has been solid, for the most part, and appears to be the same this year, with three of the five starters from last year returning.
When it comes to defense, unless you play in the SEC, you really don't have one. USC will have a similar defense to the one they had last year with one big exception. Anybody who knows me knows I LOVED Adoree Jackson. He is now a Tennessee Titan. That loss will be difficult to overcome, but in an offense driven sport, I think Sam Darnold will be up to the challenge. They are returning a lot of starts and experience on the defensive side of the ball, and should continue to maintain the level of competitiveness that you saw from week 4 on last season.
All in all, the USC Trojans will be one of the odds on favorites to win the NCAA championship this upcoming season. The only team that really stands in their way, is themselves. If they don't make the foolish mistakes of last season, they should be hoisting the trophy at the end of the season, and collecting their National Championship rings.
Tune in next week as we continue the series with "Why Penn State Will Win the National Championship."
Until next time,
Dan Snyder
No comments:
Post a Comment