(Vasha Hunt/AL.com via AP, File). USC also brings back its entire offensive line from last season, led by 6-foot-9 right tackle Zach Banner.
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(Vasha Hunt/AL.com via AP). He has worked with inexperienced quarterbacks who did not start until their senior seasons, Sims in 2014 and Jake Coker in 2015. They are up against Alabama Crimson Tide, the defending National College Football Champions.
Helton took over from there, instilling a more physical approach, especially on offense, where the Trojans featured a rejuvenated ground game that helped them win the Pac-12 South.
The Southern California vs Alabama football game will be televised on ABC on Saturday, August 3 at 8pm.
It’s the first meeting between these teams since 1985.
“Well, I’d rather play here in Tuscaloosa”, Saban said this week on campus.
“If you don’t like the bar set that high, then don’t take the job”, Helton said on Pac-12 Media Day.
“This morning my son Knox says, ‘Hey Daddy, we’re going to be in Dallas and we’re going to whip USC next year, “‘ he said. So next year we wouldn’t make any money, this year we would.
“He reminds me so much of Marqise Lee (who is entering his third season with the Jacksonville Jaguars) when Marqise was here because of his ability not only to make the deep-ball plays”, he said, “but also his ability to catch short and run long, he’s so risky with yards after the catch”. Ohio State is ranked as high as No. 5 in the polls, and is expected to compete for a national title once again.
UCLA, with much-hyped sophomore QB Josh Rosen, is probably the favorite to win the Pac-12 South while Texas A&M is decidedly an also-ran in the hard SEC West, with head coach Kevin Sumlin on the hottest of hot seats.
Trend: USC is 1-5 ATS in its last six games.
“What an unbelievable opportunity”. “It’s why you come to USC, for sure. You do your job”.
Alabama coach Nick Saban announced this week that he had narrowed his quarterback competition to two – redshirt junior Cooper Bateman and redshirt freshman Blake Barnett – without closing the door on dual-threat true freshman Jalen Hurts at some point this season.
Head coach Clay Helton toyed with the idea of limiting Jackson’s use on offense, despite past year catching 27 passes to rank among the Trojans’ most productive pass-catchers.
Four USC assistant coaches were first hired by Kiffin, along with Helton, who was on his initial staff as the quarterbacks coach. “It won’t be about me, just like it wasn’t about me when we were at Tennessee”, Kiffin said early in preseason camp.
Unlike most voters in the AP and coaches polls, we’re not Wednesday to our previous rankings, so there’s a fresh look every week. Meanwhile, fellow QB, and serious Heisman contender, Deshaun Watson will have a big opportunity to win some Heisman votes when his Clemson Tigers take on the Auburn Tigers, and the same thing can be said about QB Baker Mayfield when the Oklahoma Sooners play the Houston Cougars. “All we can do is put our players in the best position to win”. The talent should allow defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast to vary looks and challenge opponents.
The Trojans’ previous defensive coordinator, Justin Wilcox, was a frequent target of criticism for his limited use of the blitz.
PROLIFIC RECEIVERS: If the quarterbacks are unproven, their top targets are pretty obvious.
USC: WR JuJu Smith-Schuster is coming off a huge season with 89 catches for 1,454 yards and 10 touchdowns.
“He wasn’t just a coach”, McKay had said of Bryant. Three starters return to the offensive line and the Tide also boast one of the best receivers in the nation, Calvin Ridley, and one the best tight ends in the nation, O.J. Howard.
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According to oddsmakers from online sports book Bovada.lv, the Crimson Tide are 11.5-point favorites versus the Trojans while the over/under for Saturday’s game now sits at 53.5 points. They have won their last 14 openers overall, which is three fewer than USC’s streak of 17 consecutive seasons with a win in the first game.
