It seems like it was just yesterday that the college football season ended as Michigan topped Washington in the national title game in Houston. When the game ended, the worst time of the year began for college football fans: the dreaded offseason. Nearly eight months without college football. It feels like it just started, but we are now in June, and college football is less than three months away. The weather is getting warmer, and we are inching our way closer to football season. The 2024 season is almost here for USC football, and Trojans fans can't wait for the new year to roll around.
Spring football is one of the best times of the college football offseason as a sense of hope comes to every fan base around the country. It's exciting to see your team in action in the first time, even though it's just a scrimmage. You start to see the roster taking shape and projected depth charts start trickling out. Spring football is the first sign of the season, and now that it's been over for awhile, college football fans are really in the home stretch. The cold winter months are tough to survive without football, but the excitement that comes with spring football makes everything easier. We're getting closer and closer to the season, and it will be here before we know it.
This next season of college football is going to be an exciting one, and there are a ton of reasons to be looking forward to it. There are a lot of changes coming to the game like rule changes, coaching changes, conference changes and playoff changes. Perhaps the most intriguing part of the new season will be the new conferences. The Pac-12 is gone, and the Big Ten and SEC are going to be loaded. They both seem to be on the verge of forming super conferences.
The SEC will be welcoming Texas and Oklahoma to the conference next year, and the Big Ten is getting a good crop of Pac-12 teams as USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington are all joining the conference. Both the Big Ten and the SEC are going to be absolutely loaded next year, and it seems like more schools will potentially join the conferences in the future.
Next season, the College Football Playoff will look different as well as it is expanding to 12 teams. There will also be first round games on college campuses. More teams will have a chance to make the CFP, and there will be more games. It's going to be fun.
Year one in the Big Ten is a big one for USC football
One team that has a massive offseason ahead of them is the USC football team. Head coach Lincoln Riley and the Trojans are coming off of a very disappointing season that resulted in a 7-5 finish. USC was very close to winning the Pac-12 and getting into the College Football Playoff in 2022, but they came up short in the Pac-12 title game. They returned most of their talent from that team, including Heisman winner Caleb Williams, but they took a major step back last year.
When Lincoln Riley took the head coaching job with USC football, it looked like the Trojans were poised for success. However, after last year, some USC fans are beginning to question Riley. The team was loaded with talent coming into the season and expectations were through the roof. The season just didn't pan out, however, and now they are losing Williams to the NFL.
This upcoming 2024 season is a huge one for Lincoln Riley and USC. Another disappointing season like last year could put Riley's job in jeopardy, and things will be much tougher on them this season as they are making the move to the Big Ten. The new-look conference is going to be loaded, and the Trojans have to be ready.
The first window of the transfer portal got USC football pretty good as the Trojans lost some good talent. Domani Jackson, Malachi Nelson, Mario Williams and more hit the portal after last season ended. USC has gotten some good talent in the portal as well, but they ended up losing 29 guys and gaining 17.
Now, the spring transfer portal is closed and we are close to seeing finalized rosters for teams. There are still some players that haven't committed to new teams yet, but we have a good idea of what each team will look like for the 2024 season.
USC football lost some good talent, but the transfer portal goes both ways. They have brought in some new guys as well, and this familiar face has a chance to make an impact for the Trojans this year.
Kyle Ford, WR, UCLA
One thing that is becoming more popular in this era of college football is seeing players transfer to their rival. Kyle Ford has down that twice now. He started his career with the USC football team, and then he decided that he was going to transfer to UCLA football. He played three seasons with the Trojans before transferring to play for the Bruins last year. Now, he is back with USC.
USC has a decent amount of transfer players coming over from UCLA football, but most of them are on defense. New Trojans defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn was the DC for the Bruins last year, so a fair amount of his players are coming to join him with his new team.
Kyle Ford, however, is an offensive player, and he is one that will have a chance to make an impact. He has a few things going for him that a lot of other transfer players don't.
Number one, Kyle Ford is coming in with a lot of experience. He has already played four seasons of power five college football, and the 2024 season will be his fifth. Ford knows what to expect at this level of the game, and he should be ready for anything.
Secondly, Kyle Ford has already played on this team for three years. He is very familiar with USC football, the players, the coaches, the schemes, everything. There isn't going to be much of an adjustment for Ford as he was only away from the program for one season. It should be a good transition.
Two seasons ago, when Ford was on USC, he caught 20 passes for 365 yards and two touchdowns. He is hoping to have a bigger role this season, and he has a lot of things going for him heading into the season. He is certainly going to be an intriguing player to watch this year for the Trojans.
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