USC Football 2014 – Better, Worse or about the Same?

OFFENSE

In order to answer this question, one would first have to decide which team they were asking about. The offense should certainly be better than the Lane Kiffin-coached and Ed Orgeron-coached squads, but it’s hard to know if they will be better than the Clay Helton-coached squad we saw in Las Vegas. Helton returns as OC and certainly inherits an up-tempo offense with new head coach Steve Sarkisian, but 41 points in your only showing as head coach is going to be hard to top throughout the year.

It’s very likely that this version of USC is going to be much better than what we saw most of last year. The Trojans are getting back a bevy of players from injury and are coming into some top-notch talent when the bulk of 2014’s recruiting class arrives on campus in a few short weeks. People like Adoree’ Jackson and Juju Smith are likely to give USC some seriously talented options on the offensive side of the ball.

None of this accounts for the fact that USC will also be returning one of these most potent backfields in the NCAA, should everyone remain healthy. There are no less than three guys in that USC backfield who could be starters at a number of programs across the nation. Guys like Buck Allen, Tre Madden, and Ty Isaac are primed for big years in Sarkisian’s up-tempo offense. And there’s still the matter of the 230-pound sophomore, Justin Davis. Davis had himself a 122-yard day against Arizona in 2013, including three touchdown runs. Two of those touchdown runs were 25+ yards.

George Farmer and Steven Mitchell return from injury to the wide out position this year. With the loss of Marqise Lee to the NFL, Nelson Agholor will no doubt become the team’s featured receiver, but his season will be much more productive because of the talent he will have around him. If Adoree’ and Juju come in on the offensive side of the ball as expected, it’s possible that USC could have as many as four five-star receivers on the field at one time – Nelson Agholor, George Farmer, Juju Smith, and Adoree’ Jackson. Quarterback Cody Kessler will also have the incoming 6-foot-4, 240-pound Bryce Dixon at tight end. Dixon is an extremely graceful option at tight end and would definitely create many-a-mismatch.

The list could keep growing, but the short answer here is that the Trojans ought to be substantially better on offense in 2014 than they were in 2013. One should expect a healthy amount of creative play-calling between Sarkisian and Helton. The two will likely find the best way to create a mismatch with the talent they have on offense and they won’t be particular about who ends up with the mismatch. The theme of 2014 will be speed and athleticism and I wouldn’t expect USC to disappoint.

USC WR Nelson Agholor

DEFENSE

The defense should be better, but depth and injuries will play a key factor in the success of this defense. Troy was hampered by injuries last year, but is expected to return a number of key starters on defense. The team will be under new leadership with Justin Wilcox at the helm. Wilcox initially said the team would move from Clancy Pendergast’s 4-2-5 to a 4-3, but much of what we’ve seen throughout spring is closer to a 3-4 scheme.

The defense has to start with Leonard Williams. Williams is already being tossed around as a possible No. 1 overall pick in next year’s NFL Draft, but let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. With George Uko leaving early for the NFL. USC finds themselves relying upon a couple of transfers to get the job done. Delvon Simmons, a Texas Tech transfer, will join Claude Pelon, a JuCo transfer, as new additions to the USC defensive line. Replacing Uko will be the 315-pound Antwuan Woods, who has been spectacular in spring. With Williams rehabbing from a torn labrum, Pelon and Simmons got a ton of work during the spring and early indications are that USC’s two-deep on the defensive line could be the best in the nation. Don Hill, former five-star recruit Kenny Bigelow, and Greg Townsend will add some impressive depth to an already potent starting line.

USC will also have two legitimate corners in Keyvon Seymour, who has been outstanding since finding his groove in the Las Vegas Bowl, and Josh Shaw. Shaw has been out with an injury, but has said on many occasions that he is dedicating himself to the corner position full-time. Should that not work out for any reason, USC has former four-star cornerback Chris Hawkins ready to go and he’s shown every bit of the potential you’d expect from a prized recruit.

Having legitimate corners on the edges will allow USC to free up Leon McQuay and Su’a Cravens to be the outstanding athletes they are. USC will also return Gerald Bowman, who sat out last year with an injury. Bowman has been handling most of the reps while Cravens has been out with a knee sprain, but having these types of options at safety is why USC was able to give Shaw a full-time look at corner. With Hayes Pullard captaining the linebackers, any combination of them will bolster this defense into one of the tougher defenses in the nation.

There are also some options with the incoming recruits and it’s likely that several of them will see some immediate playing time, but USC has more chances for these recruits on offense than they do defense. One probably could assume this is why Sarkisian wants to try out Juju Smith on offense first and why Adoree’ Jackson will likely get a good look on both sides of the ball. USC is pretty stacked on defense and has the talent to be one of the nation’s top defenses.

USC 2014 – Better, worse or about the same as last year?

USC will probably end up being all three of the above. Untimely injuries always seem to happen with the Trojans and while the staff’s main concern is making sure everyone is healthy, things have a funny way of working out in the injury department. The Pac-12 is probably the nation’s deepest conference in 2014 and that may come as a surprise to the long-reigning SEC. This isn’t likely to be reflected in the initial standings, but the Pac-12 is as talented as any conference in the country and bad schools are only getting better.

This is where injuries come into play. If USC can stay healthy, they have the talent and leadership to eclipse last year’s Las Vegas Bowl showing and compete for a Pac-12 championship. It will be up to Steve Sarkisian to show he’s capable of winning the big games, but a healthy Trojan squad should give him far more than just a puncher’s chance. This roster is littered with five-star talent and has four-star talent backing that up. It’s been the injury bug and play-calling that held USC back in recent years.

Well, Lane Kiffin is gone and nobody has ever accused Steve Sarkisian of being a boring and predictable play-caller. The talent USC has waiting in the wings may be even scarier than what they’re putting on the field, but you have to crawl before you can walk. USC has a very game Fresno State to open the season and we’ll find out a lot about both teams on August 30. USC has a very tough road to travel in 2014 and 10 wins was what they achieved last year. To say that they’ll have a better year means they’d have to win 11 or more games. This squad can do it, but will they?

Troy played 13 regular season games last year and still needed a bowl game to finish with 10 wins. The only play 12 in 2014 and they have to travel to Palo Alto and play Stanford in Week 2. They also have to travel to Boston College, the Rose Bowl, and Utah. The Trojans can likely replicate 10 games, but there are four or five potential losses on the schedule. If USC beats Stanford in the second week, then they will finish with 10 wins. If not, they probably finish with around eight or nine wins.

10-3 predicted.

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