There are only a few schools in the nation that consistently get great football players every year strictly because of their name- Notre Dame, Alabama, Ohio St., Michigan, and USC. Why is that? Because of their tradition, history of players and coaches, and their great legacies. For example, when people think of Notre Dame, they usually think of Rudy, or “Play like a Champion Today”, or “Touchdown Jesus”. Or when people think of Alabama, they think of “The Bear”, or “Roll Tide”, or even “Hollywood Joe Namath”. People know the schools because of a player, a coach, a fight song, or sometimes even a certain game that was legendary. USC is also one of those schools.
The men of Troy have a long history of greatness and have produced national champions and Heisman winners for a very long time. Players like Marcus Allen, O.J. Simpson, Lynn Swann, Junio Seau, Reggie Bush, and Ronnie Lott are just a few of the greats that left their mark at SC.
Califonia produces some of the best football players in the nation, and most of them usually stay home. However, the climate has changed out west. After Pete Carrol left for the NFL, USC has had a hard time replicating the greatness they once were. Lane Kiffin was a hotshot, young and upcoming head coach, but he wasn’t ready for USC. Yea, he can recruit and is a terrific play-caller, but his arrogance and childish attitude were destructive. He was not a good leader on or off the field, which rubbed off on his players. In short, he still has a lot of growing up to do. Then comes Steve Sarkisian, another up and coming coach he at the time was one of the best play-callers in the nation and got Washington back on its feet. However, he too had a lot of growing up to do and was fired after two seasons.
In 2015, USC promoted Clay Helton to head coach, after running the offense for the Trojans as OC. In 2016 his team went 10-3, beating Notre Dame at the end of the regular season and capping it off with a Rose Bowl victory over Penn State. In 2017, his team went 11-3, winning the Pac-12 and playing in the Cotton Bowl. However, in 2018 the Trojans took a step back, going 5-7 and missing a bowl game for the first time since 2000 which was their last losing season. This doesn’t sit well in Trojan land. Expectations are National Championships, Rose Bowls, and Pac-12 titles. So what will it take for coach Helton to turn it around? Change his offense.
Helton has hired Graham Harrell (North Texas), a disciple of the Air Raid offense. This offense is a pass-heavy machine that stretches the field and lets your skill players flourish.
“It’s not an ‘Air Raid,’” Helton insists. “It’s really the availability to attack every inch of the field.” “The one thing I felt like I needed to get accomplished,” he says, “was to create a simpler offense that used every person in our system.”
With this offense, USC has the potential to be an instant success and resemble other traditional powers like Alabama and Oklahoma who are thriving right now using spread passing and power running to defeat their opponents.
The Trojans are picked to finish second in the Pac-12 south, which is probably right where you would imagine. With 11 starters returning, including Sophmore Quarterback J.T. Daniels, this should be a much improved season for USC and Clay Helton. While the coach is focusing on game 1, the fans are focusing on winning it all, if not, they will move on and so will Clay Helton.
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