USC Football: 6 Reasons Why the Trojans Can Win the AP Championship in 2011

In college football, there is no true National Championship as there is no playoff, tournament or meet.

There are two “mythical” ones that count: the BCS National Championship and the Associated Press (AP) National Championship.

USC is ineligible for postseason play which makes them ineligible for the BCS National Championship but still eligible for the AP National Championship.

The previous and only time the winner of the AP National Championship was not also the winner of the BCS National Championship was USC in 2003. USC was ranked No. 2 until the final week of the season when LSU jumped USC in the BCS standings (USC was ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll). LSU won the BCS National Championship while USC beat No. 4 Michigan in the Rose Bowl. However, the AP kept USC at No. 1 thus giving them the AP National Championship.

To win a National Championship of any sort, a lot has to go right. In USC's case, when they are ineligible for the BCS National Championship, it makes it even harder.

But they still have a chance and here is why:

Skilled Positions

USC is loaded at the skill positions.

They possess arguably the second best quarterback in the country, behind Stanford’s Andrew Luck, in Matt Barkley. Barkley will be entering his third full season as the starter and more importantly, will be working with the same offense for the first time in three years.  

The Trojans field one of the deepest receiving corps in the country, with All-American Robert Woods and Rivals.com's 2010 top-ranked wide receiver, 6’5" Kyle Prater, who redshirted last season. Brice Butler, Brandon Carswell, De’Von Flourney and Markeith Ambles all have experience and add substantial depth (more on that later) to the position, giving Barkley ample options.

Those players do not include Rivals' top wide receiver from 2011, 5-star recruit George Farmer, who was a high school teammate of Woods and will look to duplicate Wood’s freshman season.

USC’s running backs are playing by committee (against what Head Coach Lane Kiffin likes), but when the committee is made up of former 4 and 5-star recruits, the talent is there for anyone to succeed.

Depth

Last year, USC only had 69 scholarship players, which was 16 players below the 85-player limit and the NCAA sanctions had not even taken effect yet.  

Also, USC redshirted 12 players, leaving 57 scholarship players at the coaching staff’s disposal at the beginning of the season, which was around 15 fewer players than what other schools had. This prohibited tackling in practice, which showed during the season. 

As the season wore on, players started to get banged up and that number of 57 started to dwindle. In one game, USC had a little more than 40 scholarship players available due to injuries.

Even with 57 players, USC finished 8-5 and were about nine seconds away from being 11-2.

This season, USC figures to have a roster of around 80 scholarship players—an increase of 11 and will have far more than 40-50 players to use during games.

USC also possessed the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class in 2010, which was largely redshirted last season to help in the future when the sanctions will start to be felt. Those players are now sophomores and redshirt freshman who have had a year to learn the system and are ready to go.

Offensive Line

Many people are saying this is the biggest question mark for USC this season as there are holes and uncertainty, which is true. However, as Michael Tierney points out, USC has the most skilled offensive line in the Pac-12, and if the linemen gel, Barkley and the running backs will have the time and holes needed to run a high-powered offense.

Left tackle and center were already marked off as solid with left tackle Matt Kalil—brother of former Trojan and NFL Pro Bowler Ryan Kalil—and center Khaled Holmes. Kevin Graf has now solidified the right tackle position and also has great bloodlines. That only leaves the two guard positions to figure out, but the Trojans do have loads of talent vying for those spots.

Defensive Front

USC thought last year that their front seven—more so front four—were going to be great.

That never happened as depth was a major issue. Jurrell Casey—who left early for the NFL this year—played almost every snap last season at defensive tackle which had him gassed—along with others—by the fourth quarter. This is where USC fell apart in three games squandering leads and ended up losing.

This year USC goes eight deep (instead of five) along the defensive line and has four more incoming freshman to provide depth now and in the future. Defensive end Nick Perry who is an athletic freak (6'3 250lbs and runs a 4.5 second 40 yard dash) has said his goal is 15 sacks this year.

At linebacker there is depth with nine players having been in the system or having college experience and an additional three freshman with one—Lamar Dawson—already proving he can play thus far in fall camp. This was why the USC coaching staff bestowed the iconic no. 55 jersey on him.

Schedule/Luck

USC is the only school to play all BCS opponents this season and is one of only three schools—UCLA and Notre Dame, their two main rivals, are the others—to never have played an FCS/Division II opponent.

USC will have to run the table and go 12-0 to get any consideration for the AP National Championship, but if they do, they will most likely have gone through a gruelling schedule.

USC will face preseason No. 3 Oregon on the road, No. 6 Stanford at home and No.18 Notre Dame in South Bend, along with any others who might pop into the Top 25 (Arizona State is currently ranked 26, Utah, 28, Arizona, 32, and Washington, 48).

If Oregon beats LSU in the season opener, Stanford beats Oregon and Notre Dame beats Stanford while USC goes undefeated, the Trojans' case becomes very strong.

Throw in LSU beating Alabama and other SEC teams, and it looks like 2003 all over again.

The only thing standing in the way will be a surprise undefeated SEC team and potentially one or all undefeated ACC, Big 10 and Big 12 teams.

USC has to be the only undefeated team by season's end with the aforementioned outcomes to get any consideration for the AP National Championship.

As mentioned before, USC is the only team ever to win an AP National Championship and not win a BCS National Championship in the same year.

Coaching Staff

USC has one of the best coaching staffs in the country.

Kennedy Polamalu is USC’s running backs coach/offensive coordinator and was the Tennessee Titans running backs coach previously where he helped Chris Johnson rush for over 2000 yards.

Monte Kiffin is the assistant Head Coach but calls defensive plays and with a full season and offseason for the players to understand his complex defence—which was simplified in the offseason—will greatly show and his experience is invaluable.

Linebackers coach Joe Berry was Monte’s linebackers coach in Tampa Bay from 2001-2006 where they won a Super Bowl, had one of the best defences in the league and had somebody named Derrick Brooks at linebacker.

Offensive line coach James Cregg spent two years in Oakland learning under the tutelage of Tom Cable—who is one of the best offensive line coaches in all of football—gaining valuable experience.

Ted Gilmore left Nebraska and was highly sought after as he is one of the best Wide Receivers coaches in the country and chose to sign with USC.

John Baxter has been dubbed the best Special Teams coach in college football and has had a full season and offseason to implement his style and formations.

Ed Orgeron is the defensive and recruiting coordinator that was the driving force behind USC getting their talented players in the early 2000’s in the same position. He returns and has brought in two top-five recruiting classes. He won a version of a National Championship with Miami in their heyday and USC during theirs. He is the defensive line coach that will be one of units of the strength this season.

Lane Kiffin was the master mind behind USC’s high flying offences during their dominance as offensive coordinator and is now the Head Coach—while again calling the offensive plays. He is in the same position for a second year and will fully have his mark on the offence that looks to improve on their 26^th national ranking from a year ago.

The coaching staff is also thinking outside of the box and adaptable. They moved former 5-star defensive end Devon Kennard back to his natural position from linebacker and converted safety Dion Bailey into a nickel linebacker to combat against spread offences. As well starting tight end, senior Rhett Ellison is being looked at as a fullback as the Trojans are blessed with three talented young tight ends and only have two true freshmen at fullback.

The talent is there as shown by top-10 recruiting classes and the coaches are there as well to develop it and take the players to the next level.

Conclusion

Of course without a bowl game and conference championship to play for, it makes it tough to win a national championship, but still possible.

If this is to happen, it would be a bonus for most USC fans who have the 2012 season circled on their calenders as USC's coming back party.

As mentioned in the slideshow, USC went 8-5 during a coaching change and with 69 total scholarship players. During their roster limits and scholarship reductions over the next three years, USC will have a solidified coaching staff, consistent top-end talent and more players compared to last season.