College Football News Preview 2020: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the USC Trojans season with what you need to know.
– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Schedule Analysis
– USC Previews 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2019 Record: 8-5 overall, 7-2 in Pac-12
Head Coach: Clay Helton, 6th year, 40-22
2019 CFN Final Opinion Ranking: 19
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 38
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 26
No one knows what’s going to happen to the 2020 college football season. We’ll take a general look at where each team stands – doing it without spring ball to go by – while crossing our fingers that we’ll all have some well-deserved fun this fall. Hoping you and yours are safe and healthy.
5. College Football News Preview 2020: USC Trojans Offense 3 Things To Know
– The offense worked. After all the changes and adjustments to go all-in with the high-powered passing game under offensive coordinator and former Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell worked.
Quarterback injuries were a problem, and the running game was a bit hit-or-miss, but the passing attack caught fire and finished as one of the nation’s most efficient. It was second in the Pac-12 and sixth in the country, and overall, the O averaged 455 yards and 32.5 points per game.
But when it didn’t rock, the team lost.
USC was 8-0 when scoring more than 27 points, and was 0-5 when it scored that many or fewer. Blame the defense, for the most part. Again, the offense worked, and it should be great again.
CFN in 60 Video: USC Trojans Preview
– Kedon Slovis was one of the biggest surprises in college football, stepping in and taking over the team after JT Daniels went down early on with a torn ACL. Daniels is transferring out and Jack Sears left for Boise State, but the depth is there.
Slovis hit 72% of his passes for over 3,500 yards with 30 touchdowns and nine touchdowns, but he also took a whole slew of massive shots. That’s where Vanderbilt transfer Mo Hasan comes in – he’ll battle with veteran backup Matt Fink to work behind Slovis.
The quarterback situation is good, but the receiving corps is in even better shape. Top target Michael Pittman is now an Indianapolis Colt, but the next three top wideouts are back, starting with with future NFL starter Amon-Ra St. Brown, coming off a 77-catch, 1,042-yard, six touchdown season.
Senior Tyler Vaughns is a terrific weapon, Drake London is a 6-5 athlete who’s a matchup nightmare, and on the way is top recruit Gary Bryant to fit in somewhere.
The tight ends aren’t going to get a ton of work unless redshirt freshman Jude Wolfe turns into a star, but Erik Krommerhoek is a terrific blocker and Daniel Imatorbhebhe is back in the mix.
– It’s not that the running game was bad, it’s that the passing game was just that good. The Trojans got a decent year out of the offensive line, but it occasionally had a hard time gearing it up when it came time to blast away – the ground attack failed to hit 100 yards in four of the last five games.
Part of the issue was a banged up group of backs, but four good options are back to rotate in, starting with Vavae Malepeai. He led the team with 503 yards and six scores, but suffered a knee injury. Stephen Carr has had moments over his three seasons, but he’s never been a steady workhorse.
Star offensive tackle Austin Jackson was taken by the Miami Dolphins in the first round, but the entire offensive interior returns, with former guard Alijah Vera-Tucker likely to kick outside to take over Jackson’s spot.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: USC Trojans Defense 3 Things To Know
4. College Football News Preview 2020: USC Trojans Defense 3 Things To Know
– No USC team in the program’s long and storied history had ever allowed more points than the 2019 team. The defense wasn’t that bad, but the 381 points allowed blew past the 366 the 2017 team gave up.
Even so, the Trojans still finished sixth in the Pac-12 in total and scoring defense, had a terrific pass rush, and finished fourth in the conference in pass D. Call it a stepping-stone season for a group that should be far, far better.
And why? 12 of the top 13 tacklers are back – they were all underclassmen – and in all, just two of the top tacklers who mattered are done. That, and Todd Orlando comes in from Texas as the new defensive coordinator.
He’s getting back all the defensive backs to go with a 4-2-5 alignment that relies on the deep group of returning talent. 220-pound junior Talanoa Hufanaga is a big-hitter who finished second on the team with 90 tackles, and fellow safety Isaiah Pola-Mao is another good-sized tackler who came up with 73 stops. Expect these two to do even more. The corners are also big at another deep position.
– There’s not a big overall shift in styles, other than being a bit more versatile with a hybrid pass rusher serving as part linebacker, part defensive end. This is where sophomore Drake Jackson will likely fit in.
The 6-4, 255-pounder made 46 tackles with 5.5 sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss, and now he’ll be turned loose. The rest of the line is loaded, especially at tackle with a terrific rotation around juniors Marlon Tuipulotu and Jay Tufele.
– Leading tackler John Houston is the one massive loss. Senior Jordan Iosefa missed last year with a knee injury after making 32 tackles in 2018. If he’s in one piece, he’ll be the team’s leading tackler, and then it’s up to 250-pound junior Palaie Gaoteote to bring more thump after a 58-tackle season. The talent is there with both to be all-stars.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Top USC Trojans Players
College Football News Preview 2020: Top USC Trojans Players
Best USC Trojans Offensive Player
QB Kedon Slovis, Soph.
In the “if you were told last year at this time” category …
Slovis has grown into the star of the franchise after stepping in for JT Daniels and lighting up the USC passing game. Shockingly calm and cool under pressure – the loss to BYU aside – he hit 72% of his passes on the year for over 3,500 yards with 30 touchdowns and nine picks.
How good was he? He bombed away for over 400 yards in four of the last five regular season games with 19 touchdowns over the stretch. He’s not going to run, and he takes a lot of big shots, but considering the receiving corps that’s coming back, look out.
2. WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jr.
3. WR Tyler Vaughns, Sr.
4. OT/OG Alijah Vera-Tucker, Jr.
5. WR Drake London, Soph.
Best USC Trojans Defensive Player
DT Jay Tufele, Jr.
Go ahead and put any one of a number of Trojan defenders here. Drake Jackson is probably going to be the star of the show as one of the Pac-12’s best pass rushers, and the safeties are going to be phenomenal, but Tufele might just be at another level.
The 6-3, 315-pounder was an All-Pac-12 performer last year with 42 tackles with 4.5 sacks, but it’s more than that as a force of an interior pass rusher who has to be dealt with on every play. He’s not a true anchor – he’s too active and doesn’t necessarily gum on the works like Marlon Tuipulotu on the nose – but that’s not his job. He’s the rare find – an NFL starting defensive tackle who just so happens to still be in college.
2. DE/LB Drake Jackson, Soph.
3. S Isaiah Pola-Mao, Sr.
4. S Talanoa Hufanga, Jr.
5. CB Olaijah Griffin, Sr.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: USC Trojans Keys To The Season
College Football News Preview 2020: USC Trojans Keys To The Season
Biggest Key To The USC Trojans Offense
Pass protection, pass protection, pass protection. The USC offensive front was fine overall. It gave up a reasonable 2.2 sacks and 6.2 tackles for loss per game, but in a pass-happy offense that put the ball in the air 514 times, the quarterbacks took a whole lot of pops.
JT Daniels went down for the season – and, apparently, his USC career – in the opener with a knee injury. Kedon Slovis stepped in and was phenomenal, but he got bounced around and missed the Utah and Washington games. Matt Fink took over and had his moments, but the Utes and Huskies combined for nine big plays behind the line.
Considering the Trojans are welcoming in two new starting offensive tackles, and with the season kickoff – at last as it stands right now – against that upstart Alabama team with just a wee bit of talent on the defensive side, keeping the quarterbacks clean will mean everything.
Biggest Key To The USC Trojans Defense
The D has to make up for the turnovers the O will give away. USC will crank out another great offense that should be even better than the 2019 version, but there will be mistakes.
There interceptions will be there considering all the passing, and the offense has to be far better at hanging on to the ball after losing 11 fumbles. The defense, though, has to do its part.
There are way too many good, experienced parts to not make more big plays. The 16 takeaways weren’t awful, but USC was 0-4 – including the gack to BYU, and the bowl loss to Iowa – when the team was -2 or worse in turnover margin. In those four games, the defense came up with a grand total of two takeaways.
Overall, it was a plus compared to the mere ten takeaways in 2018, but USC went to the Rose Bowl and won the Pac-12 title when it came up with 25 in 2017.
Key USC Trojans Player To A Successful Season
OT/OG Alijah Vera-Tucker, Jr.
Where will the 6-4, 315-pound work? Either he’ll be an all-star caliber guard and one of the key parts to make the running game go, or he’ll take over for Austin Jackson at left tackle and be in charge of keeping Kedon Slovis upright. Including Jackson, Vera-Tucker was the team’s best lineman, and he’ll be fine no matter where he ends up.
Key Game To The USC Trojans Season
at Utah, Oct. 2
The Pac-12 South still isn’t anything special. Consider it a shock if Arizona, Colorado or UCLA are anywhere near the hunt for the division title, and Arizona State isn’t at the level Utah and USC should be at.
It didn’t matter too much last year. USC got Utah early on – Utah has never beaten USC in California – but the Utes have won three straight in the series in Salt Lake City. The winner isn’t a lock to go to the Pac-12 title game, but the loser will be in big, big trouble.
– USC Trojans Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2019 USC Fun Stats
– Penalties: Opponents 102 for 845 yards – USC 90 for 877 yards
– Average Yards Per Pass Attempt: USC 8.49 – Opponents 6.96
– Fumbles: USC 22 (lost 11) – Opponents 14 (lost 7)
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: USC Trojans Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
1. College Football News Preview 2020: USC Trojans Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
Clay Helton is still he USC head football coach in a he-had-better-win-big-things-NOW sort of way, and he just might.
The schedule is brutal, there are still parts of the overall puzzle that need fixing, and there’s a big assumption that experience is going to translate into production, but …
This might just turn out to be the best team in the Pac-12. Oregon might have a beef with that, but at least USC should be in the top three.
That’s not exactly what the fan base wants – especially the portion that wants Urban Meyer to be the head coach – but there’s a whole lot of talent to go along with good systems on both sides of the ball to come up with a big year.
But it’s USC. Just winning games and going to a bowl game isn’t enough. At the very least, there has to be a trip to the Pac-12 Championship, and there has to be at least one massive win along the way that makes the program look like a superpower again.
Set The USC Trojans Regular Season Win Total At … 8.5
Bet at BetMGM Win Total Line: 8
The schedule is a nightmare.
There’s a sure win against New Mexico, and beating Colorado at home is a must. That’s fine, but missing Oregon State and Washington State from the Pac-12 North stinks, and three of the easier-looking conference games – Stanford, Arizona, and even though it’s just up the street, UCLA – are all on the road.
Start with Alabama in AT&T Stadium in Arlington, end with Notre Dame coming to LA, and in between there’s landmine after landmine.
Even so, USC should be – and needs to be – just that good to only drop three games max.
Alabama is one, split the dates at Utah and Oregon, and maybe there’s another misfire somewhere, but there’s too much in place to not get to nine wins.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– Schedule Analysis
