7 Reasons USC Football Will Dominate Next Season

Fresh off sanctions, USC football is poised and ready for greatness.

Coming off a 10-2 season the Trojans and their fans are looking forward to this season more than ever and they will not be disappointed.

The only thing standing between a national championship and USC is themselves. They have enough talent and the proper coaching staff to lead them to the promised land.

With the return of the leaders on both sides of the ball, everybody better watch out. The Trojans are back in business and primed for a return to national prominence.

Matt Barkley

When Matt Barkley made the decision to come back to USC for his senior year there were lots of things to be said and predicted, one being that Barkley arguably will be the best college football quarterback coming into the season.

Barkley could have easily made the jump to the NFL after leading a somewhat underrated and forgotten team to an overall record of 10-2. However, he believes he and his teammates have some unfinished business to attend to.

Barkley gave Andrew Luck a run for his money in a shootout at the L.A. Coliseum this past season, but could not pull off the upset. But now, it is Barkley who will be in Luck's shoes.

Everyone will be gunning for Barkley and the Trojans, who will likely come into the season ranked in the top five and favored to win not only the Pac-12 championship, but also the national championship.

Barkley is not only an experienced, tested and proven QB, but also a leader. Matt Barkley is USC football and he's ready to live up to the hype.

Receiving Corps

Barkley can't do it all come game time (although he can be seen on campus tossing a football himself), so it helps that he's got one of the best receiving corps in the nation lining up along side of him.

With the emergence of freshmen sensation Marqise Lee and the proven superstar Robert Woods out there with him, the Trojan receivers are always a tough cover.

Joining the already talented duo will be two new talented recruits Nelson Agholor and Darreus Rogers. Two of the top players in the nation last year, they will get their time to shine as defenses focus on Woods and Lee.

Not to be forgotten are tight ends Xavier Grimble and Randall Telfer, two big targets with soft hands.

Barkley will have many reliable options to choose from and he seems to always go with the right choice. The combination of his arm and this receiving corps is a deadly one.

Lane Kiffin

Lane Kiffin has earned his stripes.

Most recently he brought in one of the top recruiting classes in the nation. He has gotten players to commit to a program unable to compete for a national championship. Now it is all paying off as it seems that USC is once again at the forefront of the college football world.

People do not give Kiffin enough credit for creating a program that Barkley would want to come back to and for putting out some of the most talented players in the country on the field despite the sanctions.

Kiffin even went through some turmoil at the beginning of this last season, especially when his team dropped an early game to ASU.

However, the team continued to improve each week and capped off their season with a 50-0 victory over their crosstown rivals UCLA.

All the pieces are in place for Kiffin and company to make a run at the national championship this year. He has earned the respect of the fans, players and coaches and has played a big role in keeping/putting USC on the map.

Improved Running Game

Often overshadowed by the impressive passing offense of the Trojans, USC's run game showed much improvement as the season progressed.

Although they lost Marc Tyler, it was Curtis McNeal who emerged as the star running back this past season.

He may be only 5'7", but he is a lot to handle on the field. He is not afraid of contact and keeps his legs moving toward the end zone at all times.

However, the entire game will not rest on McNeal's shoulders. I look for some of the new recruits who are simply speedy and hard to tackle to get some handoffs.

With Woods and Lee it will be hard to incorporate a lot of other passing threats, but players such as Darreus Rogers could step in and have an immediate impact by taking handoffs and picking up some good yards.

Young, Talented, Experienced Defense

The title of this slide may be an oxymoron, but it describes the USC defense perfectly.

The young and talented applies to players like Dion Bailey, named Pac-12 Freshman Defensive Player of the Year, and fellow freshman Hayes Pullard, who tied Bailey with 81 tackles.

The experienced tag can be applied to returning senior safety TJ McDonald, who could have easily elected to take his talents to the NFL after leading the team in interceptions in 2011.

These are just a few of the talented players that will look to bolster the Trojan defense. 

Nickell Robey was the only corner selected to first-team All-Pac-12 and made countless big plays throughout the season, including picking off Andrew Luck and running it back for a touchdown.

They are athletic, they are focused and they are ready to shut down the high-powered offenses in the Pac-12 as best they can.

USC's defense will be severely underrated coming into the season, but will earn its respect game by game.

You heard it here first.

Special Teams

This past season USC arguably had the best special teams in the nation. They made big plays on defense, blocking kicks and harassing punters.

Trojan punter Kyle Negrete is one of the toughest and is not afraid to get his hands dirty when it comes down to it, while kicker Andre Heidari was one of the bright spots for USC all season long.

On the offensive end of special teams, Marqise Lee and Robert Woods are some of the most deadly punt and kick returners in the nation. 

Special teams are something taken very seriously by not only the players and coaches, but also by the fans.

While some teams simply look past the importance of special teams, USC realizes the effect that a big special teams play could have on a game.

Something to Prove

The bottom line is that USC football feels like it has something to prove.

It should have been them competing for the Pac-12 championship this past season instead of their crosstown rivals. The players know this. The fans know this. Even UCLA knows that deep down inside.

During the past year instead of the Trojans falling apart, they have come together and feel as though they are poised for greatness and a national championship.

USC will be on a mission this season and won't stop until they reach all their goals.

Look out for a motivated and determined team that will stop at nothing to make their fans, coaches and families proud.

Not to mention satisfy their hunger for a championship.