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2009 USC College Football Predictions

Written by Jimmy Boyd

USC7809 Pete Carroll has led the USC Trojans to seven straight Pac-10 titles while winning at least 11 games each year. That equates to seven straight BCS bowls and top-4 finishes in the final AP poll. Find out if USC can make it eight straight Pac-10 titles in this 2009 college football betting preview. USC is listed at +600 to win the 2009 BCS championship.

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Offense – While the defense earned all the headlines last season, an offense which returns eight starters should grab them in 2009. If sophomore Aaron Corp can adequately replace Mark Sanchez at quarterback, the Trojans have enough playmakers to put one of the most dynamic offenses in the country on the field this season. Corp gives the Trojans a wrinkle they haven’t had under Carroll – a dual-threat quarterback. Defenses have had enough trouble shutting down the USC playbook and a guy like Corp will allow new offensive coordinator John Morton to leave it wide open. The Trojans are as deep as any team in the nation at the running back position with six capable rushers. Stafon Johnson, Joe McKnight, and C.J. Gable lead the group. Johnson rushed for 705 yards and nine touchdowns last season and McKnight is a threat to go the distance every time he touches the football. Damian Williams and Ronald Johnson are a nice looking pair of wideouts. Williams is coming off a 58-catch, 869-yard, nine-touchdown season. The offensive line returns intact, and there’s so much talent here that sophomore Tyron Smith is expected to beat out one of last year’s starters.

Defense – There’s only one way to go after losing eight starters from a unit which ranked no. 1 in the country in scoring defense (9.0 points per game allowed), no. 2 in total defense (221.8 yards per game allowed), no. 1 in passing defense (134.4 yards per game allowed), and no. 5 in rushing defense (87.4 yards per game allowed). With that said, Carroll reloads better than anyone in the country and you can expect the field to be lined with speed and talent once again. This won’t be the same record-breaking defense we saw in 2008, but it will still be a very good unit. In fact, the secondary could be as good as we’ve seen in Carroll’s eight seasons in L.A., led by two-time All-American safety Taylor Mays. The Trojans lose the hands down best linebacker corps in the nation, but Chris Galippo is ready to step in and perform steadily in the middle and Malcolm Smith and Michael Morgan bring plenty of speed on the outside. The defensive line looked like it could be a concern heading into the season, but the coaching staff loved the way both nosetackle Jurrell Casey and end Armond Armstead looked in the spring.

Prediction: 1st Pac-10 Conference – The Trojans lost eight starters off their 2008 defense, their starting quarterback, and their offensive and defensive coordinators. They also face a daunting schedule with games at Ohio State, Cal, and Oregon. But Pete Carroll returns tons of offensive talent and he has proven his ability to reload each of the last seven years. USC is listed at -350 to win the Pac-10 in 2009.

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