2012 Preseason College Football Rankings: USC's Matt Barkley Returns to Win

The shackles of NCAA sanctions have been lifted, making next season the USC Trojans' for the taking. 

USC flirted with perfection, dropping games to Arizona State and Stanford, but still managed to get tremendous wins against then No. 6 Oregon and Notre Dame. 

At times, USC looked like the dominant force that we remember from the Pete Carroll days, including a 50-0 drubbing of the UCLA Bruins to end the season. That game was apropos, considering what the future holds for Troy. 

What's remarkable is that the Trojans did all this with one of the younger teams in the nation. Their inexperience on both sides of the ball hurt, but it also served to promote a great deal of promise. 

The only thing this team needed was a season to mature and become ready for when the games really matter. As the sanctions are lifted, USC is finally playing for something. 

Granted, the loss of star tackle Matt Kalil will be huge. Matt Barkley had a great deal of comfort in knowing that he had the best lineman in the nation watching his back. Speaking of Barkley, the USC standout has decided to spurn the NFL for one more crack at college football. 

Barkley came back for just one reason, and that was the opportunity to win a national title. The Trojans have to be considered as a favorite for just that going into the summer. 

ESPN's Mark Schlabach runs down the early top 25 in football. He has high hopes for USC and states the number of players returning is a big reason why. 

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"USC is expected to return its leading rusher, top three receivers, four starting offensive linemen and five of its top six tacklers."

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He has LSU as the No. 1-ranked team for the time being, but they have far too much turnover to place that much preseason confidence in them. 

The fact is, USC's receivers will be wiser and the Trojan defense will have a tremendous amount of chemistry to rely on. 

Furthermore, a quarterback that threw for 3,528 yards and 39 touchdowns with a youthful group will be that much better.

USC has been itching to get out of the gate. They will finally be unleashed with the best quarterback in the nation leading them, and that means trouble for the rest of the nation. 

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