USC Football: Pundits Project Las Vegas Bowl Opponent For Trojans

Not the year anyone imagined for the Trojans.

Entering the 2023 season, your USC Trojans football team was generally seen as one of the best in the country. They were coming off a great year in 2022 that saw them almost reach the College Football Playoff, and many expected them to take the next step forward.

But as the Trojans walked off the field from their final regular season game, the reality was that they were far from reaching any goals of theirs. USC finished the year losing five of their last six games, and they ended up with a record of 7-5.

Their defense was a big problem all season long, but nothing was done to address it until too late into the year. The offensive line was also a mess, and reigning Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Caleb Williams seemed to take a step back from last season as well.

All around it just wasn’t a good year for the Trojans, and they are now projected to play in a lower-tier bowl game. 247Sports is projecting USC to face off against Maryland in the Las Vegas Bowl, which is a far cry from where they were expected to be playing, as 247Sports' Chris Treviño even notes:

247Sports is currently projecting #USC to face Maryland in the Las Vegas Bowl pic.twitter.com/y5sQ4M1GoB

— Chris Treviño (@ChrisNTrevino) November 19, 2023

All the Trojans can do now is reflect on what went wrong this season, and get ready for their bowl game. It will likely see them have players sitting out, so we may see an entirely different unit on the field in their next game.

Williams will be heading to the NFL next season, so it makes sense for him to skip the game to avoid any unnecessary injury. And other members of the team may follow suit.

This was the last year in the Pac-12, and USC ended it on a sour note. As they get ready to move to the Big-10, USC will need to build a more complete roster, otherwise, they will likely see more of the same from this year going forward.

Don't forget to join our community at LA Sports Report, where we celebrate all things Trojans!