USC Football: Why People Should Be Wary About Trojans' Return

From the minute Matt Barkley announced that he would return to USC for his senior year, people have been betting on the Trojans to win the BCS National Championship. There is some merit to that, but it isn't completely foolproof.

We all know how teams in college football with a ton of hype do. Just ask Oklahoma or my own Seminoles.

Well, USC is no different.

We are all aware of their strengths. Matt Barkley and their offense are very dangerous and have the explosiveness to match up with any team in the nation. Couple that with some great recruits and you have an offense that is set up for years.

On the defensive side, the Trojans were decent, but the main story line is the amount of returning starters they have. USC is returning 21 total with nine starters on the defense, which will provide veteran leadership to incoming recruits. 

Seems like a recipe for success right? Great offense with a decent defense. Assured championship.

Well, like everything in college football, nothing is a given. 

While a good offense is essential to success, you cannot rely on it. USC does have the most balanced attack in college football, but their defensive side does not measure up. 

Yes, they have a bunch of returning starters, but look at how those players did last year. While it helps to have experience and new recruits, they have a long ways to go from the 54th ranked defense overall. They will need to improve a lot and fast if they want a legitimate chance of winning the BCS Championship.

While it's nice to just say that a good team will get you the Championship, it's not true. You know why? Because other teams stand in the way.

I don't wish to ignite an SEC vs. PAC-12 flame war in the comments, but let's take a hypothetical route (actually it's not even that abstract.) 

Let's say that USC gets to the National Championship and faces an SEC team. This is something that is possible and very likely to happen. As of now, the SEC has four contenders (Arkansas, LSU, Alabama, Georgia) that all have a good chance of making it. 

While they all might be good games, I cannot see the Trojans coming out victorious. Georgia, LSU and Alabama all are ranked Top 3 in defense while Arkansas' offense is similar to that of the Trojans. 

The problem is that USC does not face very tough defenses in the PAC-12. They only played one team last year with a Top 25 defense–Stanford. Look at how that game went. 

Okay, maybe it isn't the best example considering the game went to triple overtime, but one does think about what would happen when Barkley and the Trojans face a very rounded defense.

It also doesn't help that their head coach Lane Kiffin has not really seen this level of success. It is a big question mark on whether or not he can really lead this team to a victory in the Championship. 

Look, I'm not saying the Trojans aren't good. They are definitely Top 5 in my book. But I am not completely sold on this USC comeback just yet. They still have a lot of things they need to work on.

As of now, I am not jumping on the bandwagon for the Trojans.