With QB Matt Barkley back for his senior year, the Trojans are going to be the favorites to win the Pac-12 and be a strong candidate to reach the championship.
They open the season against Hawaii in what will be the equivalent of a tune up game on Sept. 1. That game won’t tell us much aside from if the defense can shut down the spread offense of the Warriors.
Then, it’s a game across the country to East Rutherford to take on Syracuse. This will be a decent way to get a road game under their belt against a mediocre squad that shouldn’t put up too much of a fight.
Week 3 is at Stanford, where the Cardinal hit the reset button with a new quarterback. If the Trojans can beat an Andrew Luck-led Stanford team, they can surely beat one without him.
Week 4 is an easy home win against California, followed by a bye and an easy Thursday night contest at Utah in Week 6.
After the 10-day break, they play at Washington. This could be a trap game for the Trojans and the sort of game where Lane Kiffin has to ensure his team doesn’t lose its focus. This is a game that concerns me.
Week 8 is a home layup against Colorado before a Week 9 trip to Arizona. Who knows what to expect from the Wildcats with first-year head coach Rich Rodriguez, but it’s not going to be enough to beat the incredibly deep Trojans.
Week 10 will be the game everybody will be waiting for.
When Oregon goes to the Coliseum on Nov. 3, both teams could very well be undefeated and in the mix for a national championship game. This could be an elimination game of sorts with the loser out of the mix for finishing in the top two.
The stakes for this game are going to be gigantic.
Week 11 is a very winnable game against an inconsistent Arizona State team before a Week 12 road game against a new coach in Jim Mora, Jr. and his UCLA Bruins.
Last but not least is a Week 13 game at home against Notre Dame. There were rumors that the game would be played in China, but it looks like that will have to wait another year. As for the matchup, Notre Dame is not progressing fast enough to compete with the Trojans, who may well be capping off an undefeated season at this point.
The Pac-12 Championship game will be the following Friday on Nov. 30.
Add it all up, and I don’t see a single loss for USC. The out-of-conference games (Hawaii, Syracuse, Notre Dame) are good enough to please the BCS computers, but not talented enough to knock off a team that will likely be ranked in the top five to begin the season.
I know it’s early, but the Trojans have the sort of schedule that can easily lead to an undefeated season. Now, it’s up to the Trojans to stay focused for the entire 13 weeks.
Next September can’t come soon enough.
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