USC Overview

Head coach: Clay Helton (year 3*, 6–4 overall record)

2015 record: 8–6

Bowl result: Lost to Wisconsin in the Holiday Bowl, 23–21

5-year recruiting ranking: #3 (Source: Bill Connelly)

*Helton has won six games as the interim head coach for USC. Since being named the permanent head coach, he is 0–2. 2016 is considered his first year as the full-time head coach.

Notable losses, offense: QB Cody Kessler, C Max Tuerk, FB Soma Vainuku

Cody Kessler (round 3, pick 93, Browns) is gone so the Trojans will be starting a new quarterback for the first time in three years. Kessler is the most efficient passer in USC history, completing 67.9% of his passes.

Four-year starter Max Tuerk is off to the NFL (round 3, pick 66, Chargers). Tuerk injured his knee in October which ended his season prematurely, but was otherwise a solid foundation to USC’s offensive line.

Vainuku was an underutilized but dependable fullback.

Notable losses, defense: OLB Su’a Cravens, CB Kevon Seymour, DT Antwaun Woods, DT Delvon Simmons, DE Greg Townsend Jr.

Three-year starting linebacker/safety hybrid Su’a Cravens was the Swiss army knife on defense. Cravens (round 2, pick 53, Redskins) always found a way to get into the opposing backfield.

Seymour was solid in coverage for the Trojans (round 6, pick 218, Bills).

Woods, Simmons, and Townsend Jr. were the most experienced defensive lineman on the USC roster. They have all since graduated, leaving the Trojans with some huge question marks on the defensive line.

USC Offense

The 2016 Trojan offense has the potential to be the best offensive unit USC has fielded this decade and maybe since the ’05 record-setting offense led by Leinart, Bush, and White. They won’t meet that level, obviously, but this unit is loaded with experienced talent across the board and they finally have some much-needed depth at every position.

Redshirt junior Max Browne has waited patiently for three years to finally get his turn. Coach Helton named Browne the starter at the conclusion of fall camp, but that doesn’t mean that the mobile Sam Darnold won’t potentially see the field.

Interesting tidbit from Clay Helton on the quarterback situation

Strengths: WR, RB, OL

2015 second team All-American receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster is on the Biletnikoff Award watch list. Darreus Rogers is a tall, lengthy man on the outside. Steven Mitchell is finally healthy and primed for a breakout season. Deontay Burnett is turning heads in camp.

JuJu Smith-Schuster stiff-arms Utah cornerback Dominique Hatfield

Senior Justin Davis and sophomore Ronald Jones II are co-starters at running back. Jones is a Heisman dark-horse after breaking the USC freshman rushing record in ’15, the record was previously held by Charles White.

The offensive line is the best it has been since Carroll was around as coach. LT Chad Wheeler and RT Zach Banner are the anchors.

Weaknesses: QB, TE

It’s hard to consider quarterback a weakness, as both Max Browne and Sam Darnold were highly-touted recruits coming out of high school while also showing flashes of brilliance during fall camp. Although, you can’t be sure until they prove it on the field.

The Trojans hardly utilized their tight ends last season. Word out of camp is that will change this year. There’s a lot of skill, but, like quarterback, it’s a “wait and see” situation at the position.

Breakout candidate, offense: Steven Mitchell/Deontay Burnett

USC Defense

USC’s defense is revamped with the return of one-time defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast. In his lone season as the defensive coordinator in 2013, his defense ranked #1 in the Pac-12 conference. He likes to run a 5–2 defense that utilizes single-gap assignments and pressure off the edges while using man-to-man coverage on the outside. The success of the defense will hinge on the abilities of an unproven defensive line.

Strengths: CB, LB

The cornerback group for the ’16 Trojans is the best USC has had in a very long time. Adoree’ Jackson is a freak athlete and freshman All-American Iman Marshall is a shutdown corner.

The linebackers are led by freshman All-American Cameron Smith. The reincarnation of Clay Matthews is on the outside in the form of Porter Gustin.

Porter Gustin (left) with JJ Watt and S&C coach Ivan Lewis.

Weaknesses: DL, S

The defensive line is the biggest question mark coming into the season. The doom and gloom seems to be a bit overstated, as Utah graduate transfer Stevie Tu’ikolovatu is stepping up while converted offensive lineman Khaliel Rodgers and junior college transfer Josh Fatu should have a huge role in the two-deep rotation.

Safety has been a weak spot in recent years for USC but Pendergast’s specialty is defensive backs. They should see improvement.

Breakout candidate, defense: Porter Gustin

Game Narratives

Everyone loves a good story. Here are the top storylines coming into the game.

What comes around…

For the uninitiated, in 2010, Lane Kiffin was hired as head coach of the USC football team after the departure of Pete Carroll. He was given the task of being the guy after the guy, y’know, following in the footsteps of a college football heavyweight.

Former USC head coach and current Alabama offensive coordinator, Lane Kiffin

After debilitating sanctions, depleted roster numbers, unreal expectations, and embarrassing losses, Kiffin was fired in October of 2013.

Now, the story is different depending on who you ask. After the Arizona State game, in which USC got their doors blown off in The Desert by 21 points, Kiffin was fired by USC athletic director Pat Haden and allegedly left behind to whither away in the extreme Tempe desert environment. Others claim that Kiffin was actually kicked off the team bus in front of his disgruntled players and fellow coaches, forcing him to hitchhike back to Los Angeles with nothing but his visor and personal Denny’s menu — erh— I mean playsheet. Some say that he was dismissed by Haden on the tarmac at LAX… where he still haunts the terminals to this day. Spooky.

Look, the details don’t really matter. The fact is, Kiffin was embarrassed on the national stage and now, as the Alabama offensive coordinator, gets a chance to return the favor to his former team. Not only that, but Lane is going up against Clancy Pendergast, who was the defensive coordinator for Kiffin during the 2013 season. He’s been thinking about this for a long time.

Itchy trigger finger

USC head coach Clay Helton had his interim title removed after defeating a limping UCLA team to win the 2015 Pac-12 South division title. Since being named the permanent head coach, Helton is 0–2. The Stanford Cardinal throttled USC in the Pac-12 championship game and an unranked Wisconsin squad held on to beat USC in the Holiday Bowl despite the best efforts of the referees to hand the game to the Trojans. An 0–3 start for Clay Helton seems likely. Did Pat Haden pull the trigger too soon? How much patience will new athletic director Lynn Swann have with Helton?

Additionally, only two other coaches have gone 0–3 to start their USC careers: Don Clark and John McKay. One flamed out in three seasons and the other went on to win four national championships.

Out of the frying pan…

USC will get no breaks this season as they have the toughest schedule in the nation according to ESPN’s Football Power Index. The Trojans open against ‘Bama, have an early morning showdown with a solid Utah State squad at home the next week, then head to Palo Alto to play Stanford followed by a Friday night game against Utah in Salt Lake City… and that’s just September.

November is even worse. They start the month off with a visit from Oregon, play at Washington, at UCLA, then get a home date with rival Notre Dame. With all of the hype around the game on Sept. 3 in Arlington, if the Trojans lose badly, can Clay Helton keep the team together?

Match-ups to watch

With two teams that recruit as well as USC and Alabama do, it’s hard to pick just a few match-ups to watch. There is simply too much talent for each team on both sides of the football. Here are a couple:

USC CBs Iman Marshall/Adoree’ Jackson vs. Calvin Ridley

Lane Kiffin loves to target “his guy.” From Robert Woods, to Marqise Lee, to Amari Cooper, Kiffin has always force-fed his favorite receiver. It’s now sophomore phenom Calvin Ridley, who posted 89 catches for 1,045 yards while scoring seven touchdowns as a freshman in 2015.

The cornerback duo of Adoree’ Jackson and Iman Marshall are the studs in USC’s “No Fly Zone.” It will be interesting to see who shadows Ridley or if it will be a mix of both. Do-it-all Adoree’ Jackson is uber-talented but still incredibly raw at the position. After failing to qualify for the Rio Olympics, Jackson focused primarily on defense this past spring and during fall camp. He’s easily the fastest player on defense.

Iman Marshall is no slouch himself. He was a five-star recruit out of Long Beach Poly in 2015. He is slower than Jackson but at six-feet-one-inch and 200 pounds, he’s certainly more physically imposing. Defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast loves aggressive man-to-man coverage. Something’s gotta give, right?

Advantage: Even

USC offensive line vs. Alabama defensive line

The 2015 Alabama defensive front was the best in the nation, leading the way for a stingy defense that notched 53 sacks last season. There’s talk this season that they will be even better. This group is led by Jonathan Allen, a six-foot-three-inch, 290 pound monster, who recorded 12 sacks last season. He’s a “three technique” defensive end for the Tide, who will likely be matching up against USC right guard Viane Talamaivao.

Jonathan Allen beating two blockers against Michigan State

The USC offensive line ain’t too bad themselves, though. They are ranked as the fourth best offensive line by Profootballfocus.com and considered by many college football experts to be one of the top groups in the country. It’s an experienced bunch, as they rank second in the nation in career starts, anchored by behemoth right tackle Zach Banner.

The other match-up to watch in the trenches is Zach Banner against Alabama linebacker/rush end Tim Williams, who was able to accumulate 10.5 sacks last season. Williams is a freak of a human being and someone that Tide fans are incredibly excited about this season. He was primarily used as a rusher on third down plays last season but is now stepping into the starting role.

Tim Williams — at the top of the screen — has a quick first step and great hands

On the other side, standing six-feet-nine-inches and weighing in at 370 pounds, getting by Banner is no easy feat. Zach Banner is a bulldozer when blocking for the run but is just as adept in pass-protection. Both Williams and Banner should be early-round draft picks in 2017. (The potential for this match-up is predicated upon the health of USC left tackle Chad Wheeler, who is dealing with plantar fasciitis. If Wheeler cannot go, Banner would move to left tackle unless Chuma Edoga does**).

Advantage: Alabama

**It turns out that USC starting left tackle Chad Wheeler WILL NOT play. Sophomore guard Chuma Edoga is moving to left tackle, not Zach Banner. Edoga is a former five-star recruit in the ’15 class. This will be his third career start.

Keys to the game

Alabama wins if:

The defense can get pressure on Max Browne with just four rushers. If Alabama is getting pressure without blitzing extra defenders, that means they’re dropping seven guys into coverage. Good luck beating ‘Bama when they’re dictating how the game is being played. Additionally, Saban-led defenses typically feast on non-mobile quarterbacks. Browne isn’t exactly an Ent, but he’s also not Vince Young. If the Tide get into the backfield, Browne is going to the turf. Cooper Bateman/Blake Barnett have zero turnovers. This is pretty straightforward: if you don’t turn the ball over, then you have more opportunities to score or to alter the field position in your favor. Nick Saban teams thrive on grind-it-out, mistake-free football. Can the first-year starter(s) play smart against an aggressive 5–2 defense from Pendergast?

USC wins if:

Ronald Jones or Justin Davis rush for more than 100 yards. I’ll be honest, I probably have a better chance at winning the lottery than this occurring. Alabama defenses have allowed seven 100-yard rushers from FBS schools since 2008. The next best in the SEC is LSU with 25. If either of them rush for 100 yards (hell, even if the team reaches that mark), then USC is getting a good push on the line of scrimmage and taking pressure off of Max Browne. Someone not named JuJu Smith-Schuster gets 5+ catches for 100 or more yards. Nick Saban does what Nick Saban wants, and if he wants to shut down USC’s star receiver, by golly he’s going to do it. That means another receiver or two is going to have to step up (glares at Steven Mitchell and Deontay Burnett). USC is plus three in turnover margin. The few times that Alabama has been beat the past few seasons, they’ve turned the ball over. If the Trojans want any chance at winning this game, the defense is going to have to step up and take advantage of the mistakes that the Alabama quarterbacks make. I wouldn’t count on USC’s offense to drive the length of the field all night, they need some possessions in “plus territory” to win.

Shameless prediction

The USC football team is on their way back to college football relevance, but not just yet. The 2016 version of the Trojans should take leaps ahead in development and team cohesion, but Alabama is too much, too soon. Nick Saban and his teams thrive in these early-season games when opposing offenses are still ironing out the kinks that come with the first doses of “live fire.” Alabama will have their rough patches early on but by late in the third quarter they should take over. Expect the Tide defensive line to be making stops all night long. The Trojans should get some big plays here and there, but, in the end, Alabama fans will be singing “Dixieland Delight” well into the night. While it doesn’t win you football games, USC covers the Vegas spread.

Final Score: Alabama 27, USC 21