For USC coach Clay Helton, he has stayed upbeat when asked about how Browne might perform in his opening act. Helton worked as the program’s interim coach a year ago and was promoted to the full-time role in late November. The talent between the two schools isn’t necessarily drastic, but the leadership of a head coach with six national titles gives Alabama a prominent edge. Is Helton the right coach?
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For Nick Saban, it’s a chance to defend the national championship and while answering questions at both quarterback and tailback. Look no further than last season to figure that out, a season in which Alabama won the national championship.
We lost Heisman victor Derrick Henry from Alabama and the break-neck speed of Ezekiel Elliott at Ohio State.
October 15th @Tennessee. Bama has a very tough schedule with 4 games on the road vs the cream of the crop of the SEC, they have to go to Ole Miss go to Tennessee go to Arkansas and have to travel to LSU. Piersbacher started at left guard last season and was expected to replace first-round pick Ryan Kelly at center.
USC expects Alabama to run a familiar offense. Sophomore Chuma Edoga takes his place, with the unenviable task of trying to block Williams, who had 10.5 sacks last season in a situational role. In any case, much more will be known about them after Saturday night – and especially after September. Darnold made a strong push for the starting nod this offseason and brings more mobility to the position. The Alabama offense averaged 35.1 points per game with 199.9 rushing yards and 227.1 passing yards per game in 2015. There is also a new offensive coordinator (Tee Martin) and new defensive coordinator (Clancy Pendergast), and like Helton, neither are strangers at USC.
The quarterback competition also included true freshman Jalen Hurts, before Saban chose to extend it between Bateman and Barnett.
The USC Trojans will play the Alabama Crimson Tide to open up the season at AT&T Stadium in Texas. And if one struggles, how long of a leash will Kiffin and Saban have before making a change?
KIFFIN’S OLD TEAM: Tide offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin is plenty familiar with the Trojans, having coached 19 members of the USC team. It will be an important challenge for the first-time head coach.
Kaufman: Will Alabama’s defensive line measures up to its past standards?
Virtually since the final seconds ticked away on last December’s Holiday Bowl, Alabama has been all the buzz around USC – and with good reason. Can this unit win a few battles in the trenches and keep Scarbrough and Harris from getting on track? It’s about our players playing really well.
Alabama’s defense is always near or at the top of the statistics chart at the end of the season.
“(Ridley) reminds me so much of Marquise Lee when Marquise was here, because of his ability to not only make the deep ball plays but also his ability to catch short and run long”, Helton said. In the Trojans’ defeat of Nebraska, the lightning bug from Belleville, Illinois, scored touchdowns of 98 yards on a kickoff return, and 71 yards on a shovel pass from quarterback Cody Kessler. Jackson wants to be an elite cover cornerback.
Against Alabama where Minkah Fitzpatrick and Marlon Humphrey will be locking down receivers on the outside, slot receivers such as Mitchell will become all the more important.
Can USC pull off the upset? At nose tackle, Jefferson can collapse the pocket and disrupt the rhythm of Alabama’s offense by beating Bozeman at the line of scrimmage.
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John David Booty and Mark Sanchez both waited three seasons before becoming the Trojans starter, while Matt Leinart had to wait two seasons before becoming a Heisman Trophy-winning star and then theres Matt Cassel, who never became USCs starter at all. But for USC to be successful against Alabama, he’ll need to be heavily involved in the offensive workflow, whether in bubble screens, jet sweeps or intermediate crossing routes.
