The Past
Relief, that is the feeling Trojan fans felt after the four year probation the NCAA slammed down on the program after Reggie Bush, punishing kids who came to the program 10 years after Bush left. I could go on and on about how unfair the punishments were towards USC and the hypocrisy the NCAA has committed since, but I will refrain to what this article is really about, the present and future.
The Present
USC just capped its season off with a huge Holiday Bowl victory against Nebraska, another storied program that fired its coach after a 9 win season. Was it pretty? No. USC had to hold the Cornhuskers off after blowing a huge fourth quarter lead, a game that seems to have been on replay all season long for Trojan fans, who believe that their team could have gone at least 11-2 without embarrassing (to say the least), late game collapses all season long. Many called for Steve Sarkisian and Justin Wilcox to be gone after just one season because of the terrible collapses asking questions like, "Didn't they learn their lesson after ASU?" "Why is the play calling so abysmal and conservative when we have the lead?" "Is Sark really what we need to bring this program back to dominance?" Many Trojan fans find this as a season to forget, even with the 9 wins many programs deem to be successful and believe it is time to compete for a title NOW.
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The Future
So far, Cody Kessler has announced that will be returning to the program for his senior year, a move that everybody expected, and Leonard Williams has declared for the draft (also expected). USC waits on RB Bucks Allen and WR Nelson Agholor, who are both expected to be leaning towards the NFL. If you think of one second that USC won't be functional at WR or RB without those players, however, you are greatly mistaken. RB Justin Davis showed he is more than capable to fill Allen's hole, if he learns to protect the ball better, and Freshman Juju Smith has shown to be a huge threat in USC's passing game. USC also has WR Darreus Rogers, George Farmer, and multi-threat Adoree Jackson. Although, there will probably be no one who can fill Leonard's role as good as he did. USC's whole offensive line is expected to return as well. The defense loses Leonard, as mentioned before, Hayes Pullard, J.R. Tavai and Gerald Bowman. Finally, and maybe most important, USC is allowed to sign 25 players this season, a luxury that they have not had in the past 3 years, being limited to only 15. USC is always able to recruit the best players in the nation due to name and they always have the attention of the pollsters as well. With a whole lot of new weapons coming back and a whole lot more coming his way, expect Sarkisian and Cody Kessler to compete for a title in 2015.