LOS ANGELES _ USC finished last season as college football's hottest team not named Clemson. The Trojans closed with a nine-game winning streak, minted a Heisman Trophy candidate in quarterback Sam Darnold and won a thrilling Rose Bowl game.
Coach Clay Helton's grade for the 2016 campaign? Incomplete.
"The fact of the matter is we had a successful season last year," Helton said on national signing day in February. "But at the end of the day, USC is about winning championships here. We finished third in the country. But our ultimate goal is to finish No. 1."
Championships, he added, mainly require two ingredients.
"Big men and defense," he said.
Whether USC has enough of either to reach next season's four-team national playoff will be the main subplot of spring practice, which begins Tuesday.
Here are a few of USC's other big questions heading into the spring:
