Mr. CFB No. 15: USC

If you’ve got a quarterback you’ve got a chance. Or put another way: If you don’t have an elite quarterback, you’ve got no chance.

And on that principle USC will hang its hat for the 2021 season. A year ago Kedon Slovis showed great accuracy and threw for almost 2,000 yards and 17 touchdowns in just six games. If the NFL Draft were held tomorrow, there is a pretty good chance Slovis would be the first quarterback taken.

But there was a problem last season with pass protection (USC gave up 2.5 sacks per game) and the Trojans could not run the ball when they had to. USC was dead last in the Pac-12 in rushing offense, averaging 97.33 yards per game and 3.17 yards per carry. That has to be fixed.

Defensively the Trojans return six starters from a unit that finished third in the Pac-12 in scoring defense (26 points per game). So look for a little improvement from Todd Orlando’s bunch.

The good news for this edition of the Trojans is that they do not have to play Washington or Oregon from the Pac-12 North in the regular season. Circle the Trojans’ game at Arizona State on Nov. 6. That could could decide the Pac-12 South.

Clay Helton is a good football coach but there is this nagging sense that that the Trojans should be better. Helton’s teams have played in the Pac-12 championship three times (winning one) but have yet to sniff the College Football Playoff.

That needs to change. And it needs to change soon.

Because the reality is that the Pac-12, with all of its issues, is not going to get fixed until USC becomes a national power once more.

Note: The above photo is  of USC quarterback Kedon Slovis in a game against Oregon on Dec. 18, 2020. The photo was taken by Kirby Lee.