USC Trojans 2022 College Football Preview
June 18, 2022
2021 Recap
Record – 4-8
ATS – 4-8
Calling last season’s fiasco a DUMPSTER FIRE would be an insult to DUMPSTER FIRES. They finished with an impossible mark of 4-8 which was their worst performance since they went 3-8 under your pal Larry Smith back in 1991. The four wins? San Jose St, Washington St, Colorado, and Arizona. Yikes.
We are thrilled to report that a new sheriff is in town and his name is LINCOLN FREAKING RILEY. He did magical work with Oklahoma and there’s no reason to think he can’t do the same with USC.
Let’s goooooooooooooo!
USC Trojans 2022 Outlook
OFFENSE
Last year’s starting QBs have departed via the transfer portal but in comes HALF-MAN HALF-ZEUS Caleb Williams who looked fantastic in his work with Oklahoma last year (21-4 TD to INT, 442 rush, 6 TD). It’s yuuuge to have familiarity with what Riley wants to do on offense and their are plenty of weapons in the THROW GAME. They bagged a massive addition in the transfer portal in 1st Team AA and Biletnikoff winner (!) Jordan Addison who dominated with Pittsburgh LY (100, 1,593, 17 TD). He’ll fit in nicely with an extremely talented group, notwithstanding the loss of #1 WR Drake London who was taken in the 1st round of the NFL draft. Losing your top-two RBs doesn’t sting that much when you consider that they add Travis Dye from Oregon (over 3,000 yards career) and Austin Jones from Stanford. Four starters return up front and the OL room boasts well over 100 career starts. Yup, this looks like a lethal offense.
DEFENSE
It was MEDIOCRITY all around in 2021 (#88 run D, #112 pass efficiency D, #104 3rd downs) and the hope is that their fine DC Alex Grinch can mold three (!) returning starters and a PLETHORA of bodies from the transfer portal into a solid unit. Leading sack man DT Tuli Tuipulotu is a good piece to build around on the DL with the aforementioned transfers. LB is a bit of a BLACK HOLE given the loss of a few key men including leading tackler Kana’i Mauga. The secondary is a complete rebuild (no returning starters) but they added a number of Power 5 transfers during the offseason. The INTREPID Phil Steele notes that this unit is DEEP so they may be able to cobble together a decent performance on the back end. We foresee improvement on this side of the football but worry about the pass rush and don’t think they have too many legit STUDS. Time will tell.
SPECIAL TEAMS
The kicking game took a KICK IN THE JACOBS with the departure of punter Ben Griffiths and PK Parker Lewis (17-22 FG LY). Primary return man Gary Bryant is back in the mix.
Schedule Analysis
Overall – Yes, guy. They miss Oregon and Washington and don’t have a challenging non-conference tilt until the regular season finale when they face Notre Dame at the Coliseum.
Potential ATS Trouble Spot – September 17th – Fresno St
They shouldn’t have much trouble with the pesky Bulldogs but covering the spread is another matter. This is a sandwich spot between two PAC 12 rivals (Stanford, Oregon St).
Season Win Total
Per 5Dimes June 16
Over 9.5 -135
Under 9.5 +105
MEGALOCKS says:
No leanage.
We set the line at the market price. Ten wins is a legit possibility but it’s not cheap to take that stand.
MEGAmazing Tidbits
The Trojans are an impossibly-pathetic 52-72 ATS (.419) over the L10Y.
MEGALOCKS Outlook:
Hey, now. This should be exciting. College football is always better when USC is really good and this team has the potential to do serious damage. The PAC 12 isn’t exactly loaded from top-to-bottom and we love the way the schedule sets up. Longshot possibility for PAC 12 title and a playoff berth.
Fight On!
Want more USC Football ?
WEBSITE
https://usctrojans.com/sports/football
FORUM
https://www.on3.com/boards/forums/garryps-trojan-huddle.33/
http://usc.247sports.com/Board/Trojans-Message-Board-29
https://usc.forums.rivals.com/forums/trojan-talk.18/
NEWS
http://www.latimes.com/sports/usc/
http://www.conquestchronicles.com/
http://www.espn.com/college-football/team/_/id/30/usc-trojans