USC Football: Early Predictions for Every Conference Game

A few months ago, I published a very, very early look at USC's 2011 football season and offered one persons observations on how the Trojans year would unfold.

Now it is time to re-visit those predictions with the benefit of information provided by the ensuing spring practices and other events that have offered a bit more clarity to those clairvoyant musings.

For the most part, the questions that surrounded the Trojan football still remain unanswered.

How will the refurbished offensive line perform? What about the incoming freshmen? Who among them will contribute?

Those and other concerns still remain a vexing mystery to those who follow USC football.

And now they are accompanied by new issues.

Trojan running back Marc Tyler, who had a couple of off the field disciplinary issues and an unfortunate run-in with TMZ while appearing to be intoxicated, now will miss at least the Trojan opener against Minnesota.

A new question now is, who will take the reigns as the primary Trojan running back?

Meanwhile, USC's conference opponents have also matriculated toward the opening of the 2011 season and in doing so, have faced changes of their own.

The benefit of time passed demands an updated look at how the Trojans will fare in this, the inaugural Pac-12 football season.

So despite a somewhat cloudy crystal ball, here is how this writer thinks the conference schedule will play out for the Trojans in 2011.

Sept. 11: USC vs. Utah

The same questions that surrounded the Utes three months ago still remain.

A new Utah defensive backfield will still cause Trojan quarterback Matt Barkley and his bevy of talented receivers to salivate when the Utes take the field at the Coliseum for their inaugural Pac-12 game.

In addition, Kyle Whittingham's team will be breaking in a new primary running back which may be talented incoming freshman, Harvey Langi who had the Trojans as one of his final teams before accepting Utah's scholarship offer.

The Trojans will have had the benefit of the season opening Minnesota game to review any tweaks needed to its starters, particularly the offensive line and should be ready to take advantage of a wide-eyed Utah team that will suddenly realize that playing in the Pac-12 is a whole lot different than the easy ride they had in the Mountain West conference.

USC 31, Utah 10

Sept. 24: USC at Arizona State

This game will feature an abundance of unknowns.

How will ASU quarterback Brock Osweiler perform?

Most of the questions that surround ASU has to do with their offense because the defense, led by linebacker Vontaze Burfict, is expected to be very good.

They better be because head coach Dennis Erickson's job will probably depend on how well the Sun Devils do this year.

The Trojans, who have owned ASU in the last decade, will have to play error free football and establish a running game if they expect to win in Tempe.

Which means the offensive line will have to perform and that is no given.

Nonetheless, USC will win a "grind it out" game by the slimmest of margins.

USC 17, ASU 14

Oct. 1: USC vs. Arizona

Unlike Arizona State's vaunted defense, Arizona instead offers a stalwart offense led by quarterback Nick Foles, who directs a potent attack that features several talented receivers.

However, that offense will be missing an important piece.

One thing we know now is that his best receiver, Juron Criner, probably won't be available to the Wildcats early on, if at all, in 2011.

Exactly why Criner will be missing is a mystery though with rumors ranging from personal issues to knee problems.

On defense, Arizona returns a good linebacker unit but will be breaking in new starters elsewhere.

Which means that Matt Barkley and the Trojan offense should find passing lanes open if they can muster an effective running game.

In what will be a recurring theme throughout the 2011 season, much will depend on the offensive line who should have crafted some kind of identity by this time in the season.

USC 31, Arizona 17

Oct. 13: USC at California

The Trojans will be playing this game at the site of their last bowl victory, AT&T Park in San Francisco.

While there, they will be facing a Cal team that will be replacing the inconsistent Kevin Riley with Buffalo transfer Zack Maynard at quarterback.

Maynard is a dual-threat signal caller, the kind who has given the Trojans fits in years past.

Cal will also be replacing running back Shane Vereen and will be introducing a defense that is long on talent but short on results.

The Bears will be looking to some incoming freshmen, particularly on the defensive line for help as well.

For the Trojans, this could be a trap game.

Long the masters of Cal, the Trojans can't afford to look past the young Bears as they prepare to meet Notre Dame on the road the following week.

If Kiffin can keep the Trojans focused, they have the talent to win this game handily.

Look for Barkley to have a big game, and the defense to harass Maynard throughout the day.

USC 35, Cal 17

Oct. 29: USC vs. Stanford

Although it won't take the Trojans much in the way of motivation to get up for the Cardinal, the results from the week before when USC takes on Notre Dame on the road, will go far toward revealing which Trojan team shows up to meet Stanford.

A nice win at South Bend should find the Trojans licking their chops at the prospect of removing the last two years of Stanford victories from their collective memories.

It won't be easy though.

Stanford returns a bevy of talented players, not the least of which is quarterback Andrew Luck, the media's darling and front-runner for the 2011 Heisman Trophy.

Still, a motivated Matt Barkley will lead a Trojan team that is hungry for revenge and a reinvigorated USC defense will limit Luck's effectiveness as USC wins a close one.

USC 28, Stanford 24

Nov. 4 (Friday): USC at Colorado

On an chilly Friday in Boulder, Col., the Trojans may find themselves battling an enemy they don't often see.

No, it's not the Buffaloes who will be in the midst of their inaugural Pac-12 season.

It will be the snow, and Matt Barkley says he is looking forward to it.

Or perhaps he is looking forward to operating against the Buff's secondary which ranked 110th nationally last year.

Whatever the case, new Colorado head coach Jon Embree will be counting on quarterback Tyler Hansen to lead a Buff offense that was inconsistent last year under former coach Dan Hawkins.

At the end of the day, it won't matter as the Trojans cruise to an easy victory and are last seen making "snow angels" on the 50-yard line.

USC 45, Colorado 17

Nov. 11: USC vs. Washington

Pay back time for the Trojans against their former assistant coach, Steve Sarkisian.

Without their former nemesis, Huskie quarterback Jake Locker, the Dawgs will find themselves facing the insurmountable obstacles of a motivated Trojan team that will exact their revenge on both sides of the ball.

Look for USC to dominate on both defense and offense, and Lane Kiffin will even the score against his former co-worker as the Trojans win big.

USC 45, Washington 21

Nov. 19: USC at Oregon

Always a tough game in Eugene, the Trojans will represent themselves well but fall just short in what should have been a match between division champs for the Pac-12 title.

Alas, the powers that be of college football precluded that with the sanctions they imposed on USC related to the Reggie Bush scandal.

Despite the fact that Oregon graduated an abundance of players from their 2010 national champ runner-up team, by the time this one rolls around, the depth that took a hit from graduation will have gained game experience, and the Ducks should be hitting on all cylinders once again.

Still, the Trojans will give Oregon all they want and when the Ducks eke out a win at home, they will breathe a sign of relief knowing they dodged one very big bullet.

Oregon 31, USC 28

Nov. 26: USC vs. UCLA

In what should be final nail in Rick Neuheisel's coffin as the Bruins head coach, the Trojans will continue their mastery of UCLA in a walkover at the Coliseum.

Matt Barkley will lead an offense that will struggle a bit early but dominate at the end when the weary Bruin defense simply runs out of gas around the middle of the third quarter.

The reason why the Bruin defense is sucking wind in the second half?

Simple.

UCLA will not be able to muster any offense whatsoever against an inspired Trojan defense that finds the Bruins patchwork offensive line no obstacle to their fierce penetration.

As UCLA athletic director, Dan Guerrero mutters something to the effect of "we will make a decision on Rick's future sometime soon," the soon to be ex-UCLA coach will be saying his goodbyes to the players he will soon no longer be coaching.

And somewhere in Utah, former Bruin offensive coordinator Norm Chow must be smiling.

USC 42, UCLA 10

Conclusion

When the final whistle sounds marking the end of the UCLA game, it will mark the beginning of a new era at USC as one portion of the NCAA's sanctions against the Trojans ends.

Next year, USC will once again be eligible for a bowl game and at the same time, will be able to play in the Pac-12 championship game that they were denied playing in for this inaugural season.

The Pac-12 itself will also be relieved knowing that unlike the upcoming year, when the Trojans will win the south division but were unable to play in the championship game, they will be eligible to represent in 2012.

Unfortunately for the conference this year however, the Trojans 8-1 record in the conference will go for naught and whoever the runner-up is in the south, will get annihilated by either Oregon or Stanford, the likely winner of the north division.

In the end, the Trojans get their own measure of revenge in 2011 by rendering the Pac-12 championship meaningless in its inaugural year.

And that satisfaction will have to get the Trojans through to 2012 when they get to play for keeps once again.