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college football, College Football Playoff, Exposition Park, Fight On, football, Heisman Trophy, L.A. Memorial Coliseum, NCAA, Pac-12 Conference, Pac-12 South, Rose Bowl, Trojan Family, Trojan Football, Trojans, University of Southern California, USC, USC Football, USC Trojans
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA TROJANS FOOTBALL – 2021 SEASON
Final Record: 4-8, 3-6 and tied for fourth place in the Pac-12 South
- Most losses in a season since 1991
- Had a 2-5 record at home
- Fired coach Clay Helton on September 13th after their 42-28 loss to Stanford on September 11th, Donte Williams taking over as interim coach and going 3-7
- Lost six of their last seven games, including to Notre Dame (31-16) and UCLA (62-33)
- Lost all three games to their in-state rivals (Stanford, Cal, and UCLA) for the second time in four years
- The 62 points that UCLA scored against them on November 20th were the most the Bruins scored ever in Crosstown Rivalry history, and tied a record for most points the Trojans have given up in a game ever
- Ranked tenth in the Pac-12 in overall defense (409 yards given up per game) and 11th in points given up (31.8 points per game)
High Point: Beating Washington State in Pullman in Williams’ debut as interim coach on September 18, with freshman quarterback Jaxson Dart leading the way in his first college game after an injury to starter Kedon Slovis.
Low Points: In a season full of low points, losing to UCLA by such a wide margin and leading wide receiver/main go-to player Drake London breaking his ankle against Arizona on October 30th are tied for that distinction.
Key Players:
- Kedon Slovis, QB: 64.98% completions, 2,153 yards passing, 11 TD, 8 INT
- Jaxson Dart, QB: 61.90% completions, 1,353 yards passing, 9 TD, 5 INT
- Keontay Ingram, RB: 911 yards rushing, 5.8 ypc, 5 TD
- Vavae Malepeai, RB: 502 yards rushing, 4.4 ypc, 6 TD
- Drake London, WR: 88 catches, 1,084 yards, 135.50 ypg, 7 TD
- Kana’i Mauga, LB: 91 tackles, 5.5 TFL, 1 sack, 1 INT
- Isaiah Pola-Mao, S: 57 tackles
- Tuli Tuipulotu, DL: 48 tackles, 7.5 TFL, 5.5 sacks
- Drake Jackson, LB: 37 tackles, 8.0 TFL, 5.0 sacks
- Jacob Lichtenstein, DL: 28 tackles, 6.0 TFL, 4.0 sacks
- Xavion Alford, S: 31 tackles, 3 INT
My Choice For Most Valuable Player: Drake London
- Had 1,084 receiving yards in just eight games as he led the Pac-12 in that category
- Led the nation in receiving yards per game with 135.5
- Was clearly the Trojans’ go-to guy before his injury
Analysis, Comments and Thoughts:
I know one thing for sure…
If I were an alumnus of the University of Southern California and a fervent fan of Trojan football,
I would be feeling a huge sense of relief and happiness that a season for the ages in the worst way possible,
Finally came to an end when Berkeley’s Golden Bears put ‘SC out of their misery with their 24-14 win over them in Strawberry Canyon on December 4th;
Which incidentally was a make-up game as because of COVID-19 issues with Cal’s team, a postponement had to be made from their original date.
From September 11th to this past Saturday, however, this football program from USC was both the epitome and the perfect illustration of Murphy’s Law as everything that could go wrong with that cardinal and gold bunch from Exposition Park did go wrong,
The only win during the Trojans’ final seven games coming against an Arizona team that had the fewest wins (one) in all of Division One FBS football.
And even that triumph was hollow as that featured a moment that I felt was the first final breaking point for that ‘SC squad;
Drake London breaking his ankle while scoring a touchdown against those Wildcats.
He was their go-to man in a crystal-clear way, as he caught anything and everything thrown in his direction and got major yardage in the process.
Indeed, while I was at UCLA’s last regular season game vs Cal, I told someone that if London had been healthy and played against the Bruins, he may well have been the difference as he would have likely caught at least ten passes for roughly 200 yards and at least three scores; probably four.
And that Crosstown Rivalry game, along with so many other games in which the Trojans got beat, may well have had a different result as throughout their last four games after London went down,
I noticed quite a few passes that USC’s other receivers didn’t catch that London would have definitely caught.
The other final breaking point for the Trojans was those record 62 points that their crosstown rival put on them in their house; I talked about that at length in my Crosstown Rivalry coverage on this blog, so I don’t think we need to go over that again.
Along with being exceedingly glad that this season is mercifully finished,
If I were a member of the Trojan Family, like everyone else in cardinal and gold I would be excited over the guy that Athletic Director Mike Bohn hired to be the new coach as after a five-year tenure as Oklahoma’s head man that saw him win conference titles and berths in the College Football Playoffs galore,
Not to mention the coach of two Heisman Trophy winners and a third that finished second in the voting in Norman,
Lincoln Riley is now officially the man in charge at Troy.
And judging from the number of recruits that have already jumped from their commitments to other schools to USC, the 38-year old from West Texas has hit the ground running.
Though I must warn the Trojan faithful to not expect a 13-0 record and a spot in the playoff right away.
Or at least to not be upset and begin calling for Riley’s head the moment he loses his first game, which will happen.
Or if ‘SC doesn’t win the Pac-12 crown in a dominating fashion and are getting ready for the Rose Bowl at this time next year.
Although I don’t think it will take that long for the Trojans to improve and be relevant again, it will take time as Riley and his staff need to clean up the mess left by Helton and change the culture of that program.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the transfer portal features several ‘SC players in the coming weeks and months.
But for now,
It’s officially a very much welcomed new day as far as USC football is concerned.
Let’s see how quickly they can, to coin a phrase, “become great again”.
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