The college football offseason is almost over as we are halfway through July. The season will get going in about a month and a half, and college football fans everywhere are eager for the new beginning. College football fever is rampant across the country as we get closer to the season, but also because of the new EA Sports NCAA 25 video game that just came out in mid July. All in all, it’s an exciting time to be a college football fan, and one fan base that is excited for the season is USC football fans. The Trojans have a big season ahead of them.
This college football season is going to be a big one for a number of reasons. The sport is going through big changes, and some of those changes are going to be seen for the first time this season. Let’s take a look at what some of them are.
First off, there are going to be some new rules seen this year in college football, and some fans aren’t really in favor of them. Perhaps the biggest change is the addition of the two-minute warning. Fans have already started getting sick at all of the commercials that are happening in today’s era of college football, and the two-minute warning is another way for tv networks to get more commercial times in.
The bigger changes, however, come with conference realignment and the expanded College Football Playoff. College football is going to look completely different next year because of those two things. California schools playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference? Yeah, things are changing.
Conference realignment has shaken things up big time in college football. The power five is no longer a thing as the Pac-12 is essentially dead. Every team left for a new conference except for Oregon State and Washington State. Those two teams have scheduling alliances with the Mountain West.
Every other Pac-12 school found a new home. Utah, Colorado, Arizona and Arizona State are now in the Big 12. Oregon, Oregon State, USC and UCLA joined the Big Ten. Lastly, Cal and Stanford joined the ACC (makes a ton of sense, right?).
The other big change with conferences comes in the SEC. Oklahoma and Texas are both leaving the Big 12 and they will join the SEC. The Big Ten and the SEC are loaded with good teams and seem on the verge of forming two super conferences.
This season, we will also see 12 teams make the College Football Playoff. For about a month, the College Football Playoff will be happening. Some people aren’t in favor of the big expansion, but there will be more marquee college football games, and it’s hard to be too upset about that.
All in all, this is going to be one of the biggest college football seasons of all time. The game is changing, and this is the start of a new era.
USC football has to be better this year
Last season was not a good one for the USC football team, and a lot of people think that if they have another underwhelming year in 2024, Lincoln Riley could be in danger of losing his job. Right now, it seems like he is pretty safe, but the Trojans certainly need to improve in 2024.
Year one at USC was great for Lincoln Riley. He led the Trojans to an 11-1 regular season record, and if they had beaten Utah in the Pac-12 title game, they would've made the College Football Playoff. Unfortunately, the Trojans couldn't get it done against the Utes, and defense was a big reason why. Defense was also a big reason why USC didn't come close to meeting expectations in 2023.
The USC football defense was one of the worst in the country last year, and it was a great example of why defense wins championships. The Trojans had the reigning Heisman winner, Caleb Williams, as their starting QB and they had a terrific offense, but they just couldn't get stops on defense. If your defense can't stop the other team, it doesn't matter how good your offense is, you're going to lose some games.
Lincoln Riley moved on from defensive coordinator Alex Grinch and replaced him with D'Anton Lynn, who was the DC at UCLA last year. USC fans are hoping that he can help fix the defense.
If USC has a better defense this year, they should be able to have a decent season. Here are three predictions for their first year in the Big Ten:
USC will win no more than eight games
Unfortunately, the issue with the USC defense runs deeper than their DC, and moving to the Big Ten is not going to help things. The Trojans were not physical. They missed tackles and they simply didn't look very strong on the football field. The identity of these Big Ten teams is toughness and smash mouth football, and it's going to be tough for the Trojans to keep up. They're going to lose to Michigan and Penn State, and they are also going to lose non-conference games against LSU and Notre Dame. It wouldn't be surprising to see them drop another game or two as well.
Miller Moss will throw for 3,500+ yards
The offense will once again be a bright spot for this USC football team, and Miller Moss will have a great first year as starter. He showed in the Holiday Bowl last year that he can be really good as he tossed six touchdown passes and threw for over 300 yards in that game. He is surrounded by talented weapons on this USC offense, and that will make his job easier.
USC will move on from Lincoln Riley after the season
There has been a lot of chatter about USC firing Lincoln Riley if he has another bad year, and it wouldn't be surprising if that happens. The Trojans just don't seem to have the tools to fully fix that dreadful defense, and that is the root of all their problems. If they do lose 4-6 games, Riley will either be fired or his seat will be extremely hot.
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