There is an overwhelming amount of hope building around the Coliseum these days, a prevailing sense of optimism and confidence and stone-faced proclamation that this particular USC football team can be special.
Talk is talk, and national championship dreams swim in the heads of every college football player when their heads hit the pillow at night. Glance up and down USC’s depth chart, though, and dreams begin to materialize with visions: Caleb Williams diming up an evolving array of pass-catching gazelles, Mason Cobb and Calen Bullock teleporting into opposing ball carriers.
But these Trojans were plenty optimistic down the stretch of last year’s season, too, and the world knows what happened: a Pandora’s box of injuries and fourth-quarter slumps opened on their Pac-12 and Cotton Bowl fates. And as USC prepares for its most exciting season in years, a laundry list of questions follow the Trojans into Saturday’s opener against San Jose State.
Let’s analyze.
Will the defense redeem itself?
Also known as: Will Alex Grinch keep his job?
Even after last year’s collapses against Utah and Tulane, Riley expressed complete faith in defensive coordinator Grinch – who he brought with him from Oklahoma – to the Southern California News Group.
Patience, however, might run out if the USC defense can’t improve on a 94th-of-131 ranking in opponents’ points per game in 2022. Grinch will need to get the most out of new faces on the line like Bear Alexander and Anthony Lucas and returning cornerbacks like Domani Jackson to ensure the Trojans have a shot at the College Football Playoff.
Can Caleb Williams get better?
Riley – emphatically trying to explain Tuesday that this 21-year-old is not yet the second coming of Jesus Christ – says yes.
On the surface, it seems rather tough to improve upon a season in which one throws for 4,537 yards and 42 touchdowns. But Williams has a new voice in his ear: Kliff Kingsbury, who once groomed Baker Mayfield and Patrick Mahomes at Texas Tech and is now a senior offensive analyst at USC.
Kingsbury, former Texas Tech quarterbacks Payne Sullins and Cam Wilder say, has a particular love for developing quarterbacks. And, they said, he helped unlock Mahomes at Texas Tech by encouraging the sort of what-in-the-world-was-that-jump-pass creativity that has made him a two-time NFL MVP with the Kansas City Chiefs.
“Is Kliff going to come in and change things? No,” Wilder said. “But Kliff knows how to push certain quarterbacks past what they’re expected to produce on the field.”
Which true freshmen will make the biggest impact?
USC brings in a talented new class, from the Caleb Williams-dubbed “destroyer” in linebacker Tackett Curtis to lanky receiver Zachariah Branch.
Depth will make it tough for guys like quarterback Malachi Nelson or receiver Duce Robinson to earn significant snaps, but it’s not hard to see Quinten Joyner getting some touches in the backfield or camp standout Braylan Shelby some looks on the defensive line.
Prediction: 1. Curtis (a candidate for the freshman All-American team). 2. Branch. 3. Joyner. 4. Shelby.
Can USC run the table?
In the regular season, at least. This seems far-fetched to suggest, but take a look at USC’s schedule and it’s not hard to see the possibility: on paper, they shouldn’t get truly tested until their seventh game against Notre Dame, who they beat last year.
Games against Utah and Washington, though, loom large, as the Utes swatted away the Trojans twice last year and it’s easy to see Huskies quarterback Michael Penix Jr. carving up the Trojans’ secondary. An 11-1 record seems more likely – and entirely possible.