USC Football: Why Trojans will contend for the title in 2017
The USC Trojans started last season 1-3, disappeared from bowl game discussions, got labeled flops, and then something changed. They won out and capped off their season with a thrilling win over Penn State in the Rose Bowl. So what changed? Well, Sam Darnold became the team’s starting quarterback, and he’s set to lead the Trojans for at least two more seasons, which is enough to make them a national championship contender next season.
Although USC lost all three of their key juniors to the NFL Draft, including offensive, defensive, and special teams menace Adoree Jackson, receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, and offensive guard Damien Mama, the team’s 2017 season may still end with confetti cannons. USC didn’t have the fourth-ranked offense in the Pac-12 or the third-ranked defense just because of those players. If the new starters can develop into their positions well, which head coach Clay Helton seems to do a good job of ensuring, then their success can continue to next season.
The Trojans’ turn-around after the three losses came when Helton committed to Darnold as the team’s starter for the season rather than Max Browne.
The redshirt freshman was quick to impress, capping off the season with 3,086 passing yards and 31 touchdowns. The 19-year-old threw for five touchdowns, for his second time of the season, in an impressively composed 52-49 win over Penn State in the Rose Bowl.
The future seems to be in Darnold’s arm. Former Trojan Reggie Bush had this to say about the current USC QB while watching the Rose Bowl:
I like this kid Sam Darnold a lot! Aggressive mentality, eyes always down the field, accurate, poised, can scramble if needed, leader,
— Reggie Bush (@ReggieBush) January 2, 2017
If Darnold improves even slightly from the Rose Bowl to USC’s first game on Sept. 2 against Western Michigan, then the Trojans could be in good shape. Aside from Darnold’s natural ability, accuracy, and arm strength, his maturity and composure is years ahead of his age.
One thing that could work against USC next season though is their schedule. They lack a bye week, which could lead to more wear-and-tear on the players. Additionally, they will play consecutive road games twice — Sept. 23 at Cal and Sept. 29 at Washington State, as well as Oct. 21 at Notre Dame and Oct. 28 at Arizona State. Each game is exactly a week apart, with the exception of a six-day turnaround from the Cal game to the Washington State game, both of which are away.
Fortunately, the team will still have some key personnel that helped catapult them to a 10-3 season: Darnold, thousand-yard rusher Ronald Jones II, and Coach Helton. Despite the fact Smith-Schuster was far and above the Trojans’ best receiver, with 914 yards, 70 receptions, and ten touchdowns, if Jones can get the running game rolling a bit better than last season, then Darnold will be able to spread the ball around efficiently. Also, as Bush tweeted, Darnold is not just an effective scrambler, but also an intelligent and cautious one, if need be.
The team as a whole remains talented, and with Darnold at the helm from the get go, USC should see another nine-win regular season at minimum. If a receiver is able to get even close to Jackson’s productivity and the defense continues to improve, these Trojans may be playoff bound and have a shot at the national championship.
Fernando Stepensky is a sophomore at USC where he is pursuing journalism, philosophy, and law. He can be followed on Twitter at @Fersports101 and emailed at fstepensky@gmail.com
