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Perhaps the most-talked-about college football team in the nation over the offseason has been the USC Trojans.  Unfortunately, some of the press has not been positive and has focused on recruiting violations during the team’s heyday of the mid-00s and the subsequent sanctions from the NCAA. 

Additionally, USC will start next season with Lane Kiffin as the head coach after Pete Carroll left for the Seattle Seahawks.  Kiffin’s sudden departure from Tennessee and his subsequent hiring of a Tennessee Titans’ assistant coach have been criticized heavily in the press as well.

The Trojans are determined to get the focus back to their on-field play and seem poised to play well enough to get everyone to forget about the surrounding hoopla. While no one is arguing that they currently have the talent that they had under Carroll when they won 34 straight games and went five seasons without losing at home, they do have some solid recruits and have strong potential on both sides of the ball.

USC will feature an offensive line that is returning plenty of talent that will help their rushing game improve from their 166.8 yards per game last season (4th in the Pac 10).  Second year quarterback Matt Barkley will possibly benefit the most from a better rushing attack, and the experience he gained in 2009 should improve his decision making.

Last season, USC’s defense allowed 36 or more points to three different opponents.  They had not done so in the previous three seasons.  They did lead the Pac 10 in scoring defense, however, and feature a strong front seven that includes tackle Jerrell Casey and linebacker Malcolm Smith.

With all of the attention Kiffin has gotten in the media, he has yet to have a truly successful season as a head football coach.  The Trojans did not win the Pac 10 in 2009 for the first time since 2001, and Kiffin will be regarded as a success if he can get them back to the top.

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