After a irritating season of setbacks and improper turns, USC will end proper again the place it began: In Las Vegas, up in opposition to a workforce from the Southeastern Convention.
USC will shut its season in opposition to Texas A&M within the Las Vegas Bowl at Allegiant Stadium on Dec. 27, 4 months after it opened the season with a press release victory over Louisiana State in the identical constructing. The bowl sport will air on ESPN.
After a powerful September win over LSU, the Trojans had increased hopes for his or her postseason than a return journey to Vegas. However USC misplaced 4 of 5 in devastating vogue to open its first Massive Ten season, squandering a fourth-quarter lead in every of the 4 losses.
The Trojans bounced again to win three of their final 5, narrowly securing bowl eligibility with a last-minute win over UCLA. The bowl bid marks a 3rd consecutive postseason look for USC below Lincoln Riley.
However at 6-6, the Las Vegas Bowl isn’t a lot of a comfort contemplating the place the 2024 season started. Now the Trojans will want a bowl victory simply to salvage a successful season.
Texas A&M had its personal excessive hopes within the SEC this season, its first below coach Mike Elko. The Aggies opened the season 7-1, with a win over LSU and their solely loss coming to Notre Dame. Like USC, they weathered a midseason change at quarterback, changing former five-star Conner Weigman with freshman twin menace Marcel Reed.
However the season fell aside within the ultimate month, as Texas A&M misplaced star operating again Le’Veon Moss in opposition to South Carolina. The Aggies misplaced their final three SEC video games to fall out of the convention race.
Weigman has since entered the switch portal. Many on either side of this bowl sport will presumably do the identical within the coming days.
USC has already misplaced beginning wideout Kyron Hudson and younger edge rusher Sam Greene, who earned a beginning job by season’s finish. Each introduced their intent to enter the switch portal final week.
Then there are a number of different key contributors who may decide out for different causes. USC’s star operating again Woody Marks isn’t anticipated to play within the bowl sport as he begins his preparation for the NFL draft, whereas it’s unclear if different potential draft entrants equivalent to security Kamari Ramsey, cornerbacks Jaylin Smith and Grasping Vance, offensive linemen Emmanuel Pregnon and Jonah Monheim and linebackers Easton Mascarenas-Arnold and Mason Cobb will play within the sport.
USC might be with no linebackers coach after Matt Entz left to develop into the top coach at Fresno State. Riley mentioned final week that he didn’t anticipate any extra workers modifications by way of the bowl season.
USC has performed within the Las Vegas Bowl twice earlier than, in 2013 and 2001. The final journey got here below particularly tumultuous circumstances. Lane Kiffin had been fired as USC’s coach halfway by way of the 2013 season and changed by interim coach Ed Orgeron, who left the workforce earlier than the bowl after USC employed Steve Sarkisian as a substitute of selling Orgeron. Clay Helton in the end led the Trojans to a win within the bowl sport.
The earlier journey, in 2001, was Pete Carroll’s first bowl sport as coach. And it didn’t go as deliberate. Distracted by the journey to Vegas, the Trojans put up simply six factors in a loss to Utah.
