Down in Los Angles the USC Trojans made major moves after a 4-8 season in 2021. Firstly, the Trojans overhauled their entire coaching staff with the splash hire of Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley. They also acquired proven players from the Transfer Portal. Riley was able to get his quarterback Caleb Williams to join him in Tinsel Town and he pulled players from conference rivals Oregon and Washington. Ducks’ running back Travis Dye and Husky receiver Terrell Bynum packed their bags and headed south. After Williams, who some are calling the best QB in the country, the biggest transfer was Pittsburg’s 2021 Biletnikoff Award winning receiver, Jordan Addison.
After so much inconsistency under former head coach Clay Helton, the Trojans have broken out the smelling salts and are on the verge of awakening the proverbial sleeping giant. Once again, Southern Cal the media darlings tabbing them to be ranked between 9-18 in 2022.
Defense: The defense was bad last year and in need of a total overhaul. The Trojans surrendered almost 32 points a game on over 400 yards of total yards. Most embarrassing for a proud program was when rival UCLA hung 62 points and gained over 600 yards. Tuli Tuipulotu is one productive player who will be back this season. Riley brought in 10 new faces to overhaul the unit that should be better in 2022.
Offense: The explosive players as the skill positions make this a unit that should be able to outscore anyone in the conference. The talented players who have transferred to USC will make them a nightmare for any defensive coordinator. The offensive line comes back with 4 starters from last year and will be solid for this offense. Scoring in the 40’s is possible for this offense.
Verdict: With a favorable schedule where they miss both Washington and Oregon, Las Vegas insiders have USC not only as the favorite to win the Pac-12 South, but also the conference. If SC wins the conference it would be the first time in the history of the Pac-12 that the winner of the South has won two years in a row. If that happens it would represent a data-point shift of power from the North to the South. Their win total is at 9.5 and this is a perfect line. The two most likely losses would come at Utah and against Notre Dame which means they would have to be perfect for the rest of the year.
I don’t feel great about this pick but I will stick with the over and bet on 10 wins.
