USC hopes San Jose State football opener is a prelude to excellence

3 years ago 464

LOS ANGELES — The value of Saturday’s crippled against San Jose State can’t beryllium understated for USC. The archetypal crippled of 2021. The archetypal crippled successful beforehand of fans astatine the Coliseum since 2019.

And, the Trojans hope, the archetypal measurement of thing bigger.

The 15th-ranked Trojans participate Saturday arsenic the dense favorites, but San Jose State is simply a formidable nonconference opponent: winners of the Mountain West past year, ranked 24th to decorativeness the season, with the bulk of the roster backmost for different go-around.

“It’s a large situation for america close disconnected the bat. It’s what you want, to beryllium honorable with you,” caput manager Clay Helton said this week. “You play teams similar San Jose, BYU, Notre Dame nonconference, it gives you a large accidental to nutrient a large résumé.”

A résumé is lone important successful assemblage shot for 1 reason: The playoff, for which a committee sits astir a array (or possibly implicit Zoom, these days) and decides which 4 teams merit the close to vie for a nationalist championship.

It’s been 5 years since a Pac-12 squad made the playoff, and 16 since USC played with a nationalist title connected the line. It would instrumentality a cleanable play and immoderate luck for the Trojans to get into that presumption again.

A much attainable extremity is to triumph the Pac-12 championship. A triumph implicit San Jose State doesn’t assistance successful that regard, but it would physique momentum up of adjacent week’s league opener against Stanford.

But USC has a consciousness of assurance arsenic it enters 2021.

“We cognize we person a truly bully squad and each the pieces are successful spot this year,” backmost Kedon Slovis said. “I look astatine the pieces that we have, I deliberation this is simply a truly implicit team. We don’t person a full batch of weaknesses. And if we do, I consciousness similar I’m nitpicking to effort to find them.”

When San Jose State has the ball

The Spartans (1-0) instrumentality 9 starters connected offense, with conscionable 2 receiver spots to replace. But the shot was dispersed astir to 9 targets by backmost Nick Starkel, a erstwhile Arkansas transportation who completed 64.2% of his passes past season, successful their 45-14 opening triumph implicit Southern Utah past Saturday.

“He’s got a batch of weapons to propulsion the shot to, he’s precise accurate,” USC antiaircraft coordinator Todd Orlando said. “But he’s got the acquisition factor, and immoderate clip you person that, you’ve got a accidental to beryllium successful.”

Starkel is allowed a batch of clip successful the pouch by an violative enactment that ranked eighth nationally past play successful sacks surrendered (1.0 per game). All 5 starters from that enactment instrumentality successful 2021, presenting a situation for USC’s formidable walk unreserved of Nick Figueroa, Tuli Tuipulotu, Drake Jackson and Korey Foreman.

“They play arsenic a portion up beforehand connected the violative line,” Figueroa said. “We’re conscionable preparing the champion we tin due to the fact that we cognize they’re a bully team.”

When USC has the ball

There volition beryllium respective caller faces connected discourtesy for the Trojans. Slovis remains, a third-year starter trying to bounce backmost from an up-and-down 2020. And his favourite target, Drake London, is inactive successful place. But helium volition person a enactment of caller receivers to propulsion to aft a churn astatine the presumption group.

Texas transportation Malcolm Epps and Memphis transportation Tahj Washington fig to play a large relation successful the passing attack, arsenic bash existent freshmen similar Michael Trigg and Joseph Manjack IV. And it won’t beryllium a tight, four-man receiver rotation similar it has been for USC successful caller years.

“I deliberation we’ll rotation much than astir apt successful the past conscionable due to the fact that I deliberation that benignant of wherever we are with our guys, that fits america more,” violative coordinator Graham Harrell said. “Now I deliberation we’ve got a batch of guys playing astatine a precocious level astatine a truly akin level, truthful due to the fact that of that I deliberation we’ll beryllium capable to support them caller and rotation guys and person assurance successful those guys to marque plays.”