Pre-season outlook 2008 USC Trojans football team

the trojans finished 2007 season decisive rose bowl victory, #2 ranking in coaches poll , #3 ranking (with 1 first-place vote) in ap poll. in january 2008, after bowl season, usc ranked @ #4 sports illustrated online , #5 espn.com; general opinion while trojans facing key player departures, losses mitigated overall talent level of program. georgia ranked pre-season #1 team. sports illustrated , espn.com revised rankings #3 , #4, respectively, after draft-eligible juniors decided remain program instead of entering nfl draft. going spring, usc ranked premier team in pac-10 conference, taking advantage of deep talent pool, including number of talented running backs holding on previous season.

the trojans biggest question entering spring practices take on starting quarterback position john david booty. junior mark sanchez entered spring practice acknowledged leader, having started 3 games previous season due injury booty, winning two; however, arkansas-transfer , former razorback starter mitch mustain had college game experience, having started , won 8 games 2006 razorbacks team freshman year while putting on impressive performance on scout team in 2007 season during ncaa-mandated waiting period. both sanchez (2005) , mustain (2006) considered top quarterback in nation coming out of respective high school classes. trojans entered spring number of qualified running backs, not quite many in 2007. battling starting position top returners junior stafon johnson (673 yards) , sophomore joe mcknight (540 yards); challenging them redshirt sophomore c.j. gable, started 5 games freshman in 2006 , first 2 of 2007 before season-ending injury, junior allen bradford, injured redshirt freshman broderick green , marc tyler. 6 running backs earned parade or usa today all-american honors in high school, 4 earned both. questions remained around wide receivers, had struggled consistency previous season; starters returned, special attention focused on arkansas transfer damian williams, caught 19 passes razorbacks in 2006 sat out 2007 along fellow arkansas teammate mustain. offensive line hit hard graduation, returning one starter. defense lost several important players graduation, linebacker corp returned key players such brian cushing rey maualuga , clay matthews.

by end of spring practice, usc coaching staff announced sanchez designated starting quarterback going fall camp. crowd of 22,000 watched trojan huddle, usc s spring game ends spring practices, sanchez, mustain , redshirt freshman aaron corp performed against trojan defenses; white team defeated cardinal, 39–36, in double overtime. number of talented linebackers, carroll , defensive coordinator nick holt began experimenting using 3-4 defense variation implementing elephant position , features hybrid end/linebacker position. trojans had used cushing in elephant position during 2006 season before returning traditional 4-3 during 2007 season. in 2008 variation, position filled senior clay matthews, former walk-on. after spring practices finished across nation, sports illustrated revised rankings , placed usc #3 team, behind georgia , ohio state; while espn ranked trojans #4, behind ohio state, georgia , oklahoma. running tandem of stafon johnson , joe mcknight compared thunder , lightning combination of lendale white , reggie bush, mcknight mentioned top ten heisman trophy contender going fall.

at pacific-10 conference media day, trojans near-unanimous pre-season pick win conference. usc took 38 of 39 first-place votes; california, picked finish fourth in overall standings, received other vote. usc s sixth year in row favorite win conference title, longest streak since trojans 18-year run 1965–1982.

on release of preseason coaches poll, usc ranked #2 in nation, behind 2008 georgia team: georgia received 1438 points 22 first-place votes while usc received 1430 points 14 first-place votes. meanwhile, 2008 ohio state team ranked third 1392 points equal number of first-place votes 14. preseason associated press (ap) poll ranked usc #3 in nation, behind georgia , ohio state. usc received 12 first-place votes , 1490 points, compared georgia s 22 first-place votes , 1528 points , ohio state s 21 first-place votes , 1506 points. both polls added interest in osu-usc game on september 13.

a major concern arose in first week of fall camp, when sanchez suffered dislocated left kneecap while warming practice. trainers able put kneecap place, injury sidelined sanchez , threw availability season opener @ virginia (and beyond) question. result, mustain , redshirt freshman aaron corp began alternating repetitions first team offense , competing possible starting spot. after missing 3 weeks, sanchez cleared play in opener on final day of fall camp; corp selected back-up.

the biggest issue facing team entering season how rebuilt offensive line perform, though had improved on course of fall camp. sanchez, cushing, offensive lineman jeff byers, , senior safety kevin ellison elected team captains teammates.

in week preceding regular season, twelve experts polled espn picked usc win pac-10 conference, , 3 expected them make bcs national championship game 2 expecting them prevail. 7 experts polled sports illustrated picked usc win conference, 3 forecasting them in championship game 1 selecting them prevail. rivals.com s panel of 4 experts unanimously picked usc play in title game.