SEASON OUTLOOK

WR/CB Adoree Jackson is fast — just not fast enough on this play.

“The Trojans’ entire schedule is a meat grinder,” said FOX Sports’ Bruce Feldman. “Eleven of their 12 opponents played in bowl games last season. The opener is against defending national champion Alabama in Texas. The closest of their three non-conference games to being seen as a breeze is against a Utah State team that has won 36 games the past four seasons and is 3-3 against ranked opponents under coach Matt Wells. The third game is against Notre Dame, which like Bama should be a top-15-caliber team this fall.”

Nick Saban’s Tide are currently 10.5 point favorites in the Week 1 matchup with the men of Troy. SB Nation’s Bill Connelly projects USC will win 7.7 games this year, with the Trojans entering as underdogs against Alabama, Stanford, Washington and UCLA.

Vegas has placed 7-to-4 odds on the Trojans winning the Pac-12’s south division and 11-to-2 odds on them prevailing in the Pac-12 championship game.

NEW FACE AT QB

Credit: Scout.com

Quarterback Cody Kessler has graduated and has been placed in a real unfortunate situation: Competing for the same job with the Cleveland Browns. In all seriousness, Kessler had a pretty good senior season. He completed 66.8 percent of his passes for 3,536 yards, threw 29 touchdowns and just seven interceptions.

Although the Trojans have four quarterbacks on their roster, the competition is considered to be between junior Max Browne, a former 5-star recruit, and redshirt freshman Sam Darnold. Both have similar builds, but Darnold is more mobile and impressed coaches and fans with a strong spring. Browne has made the most of limited playing time, completing 11 passes out of 19 for 143 yards over two seasons backing up Kessler.

I’d imagine Browne gets the start against the Tide. But the Irish may face Darnold, depending on how the season plays out.

SIMILAR STORY AT RB

Trojans running back Justin Davis (22) runs the ball against the Utah Utes Credit: Gary A. Vasquez – USA TODAY Sports

It’ll be interesting to see which tailback on the Irish squad gets the majority of carries this year. Senior Tarean Folston is returning from an ACL injury, but led the team in rushing the prior year (889 yards on 175 carries). Sophomore Josh Adams made an unexpected splash last year, rushing for 835 yards in 117 carries – a record for a freshman at Notre Dame. Folston is the considered the back that can get the hard yards on 3rd-and-2, while Adams is faster and flashier.

A similar situation is playing out in Los Angeles, with senior Justin Davis and sophomore Ronald Jones. Davis is considered the reliable one, with Jones being the flashier of the two. Both are projected to eclipse 1,000 yards, the first Trojan pair to accomplish this feat since Reggie Bush and LenDale White in 2005.

Coach Clay Helton will likely rely on his two talented running backs to get crucial yards if his quarterbacks begin to falter.

WIDE RECEIVERS ARE DEEEP

USC has one of the most talented receivers in all of college football – junior JuJu Smith-Schuster. He was the Trojans’ go-to receiver last year, catching 89 balls and amassing 1,454 yards after being targeted 135 times. USC also returns their No. 2 and No. 3 receivers from last year: junior Steven Mitchell (37 catches for 355 yards) and senior Darreus Rogers (28 catches for 289 yards). We simply cannot overlook notorious speedster Adoree’ Jackson, who caught just 27 passes last year – but torched the Irish on an 83-yard catch-and-run during Notre Dame’s 41-31 win last year in South Bend.

The Trojans can afford to have a game manager at quarterback if that individual can get the ball in the hands of Smith-Shuster or Jackson, who can take any seemingly inconsequential gain and turn it into six points.

GUESS WHO’S BACK? (CLANCY’S BACK)

Clancy Pendergast has returned from his two-year stint as the San Francisco 49ers’ linebacker coach to re-take the reins as USC’s defensive coordinator. Pendergast was, by all accounts, successful in his first time with the Trojans, leading a defense that was ranked #13 nationally in 2013. Steve Sarkisian opted not to keep Pendergast, but the Trojans’ defense struggled under the tutelage of Justin Wilcox. Pendergast is back, and with him comes a transition from a 3-4 defense to a “really aggressive” 5-2 formation that requires little thought, according to players. (Read more about that here.)

Credit: Conquest Chronicles/Draft Breakdown

The Trojans defense has battled injuries this spring, but there’s a lot of talent ready to step up. I’ll be keeping an eye on sophomore Porter Gustin, who replaces Scott Felix at the weak outside linebacker position. Felix lost his appeal to play another year after testing positive for a banned substance. Gustin is a five-star recruit who had an outstanding freshman season – 19.5 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks – in 14 games.

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY

Josh Webb, Athlon Sports: “The past five seasons for USC have been a mix of impressive, unimpressive, and impressively unimpressive. Sanity requires a wait-and-see approach with this team. … As usual, how far USC goes is largely dependent upon the players. The past several offseasons have been littered with bad press, suspensions, dismissals and growing pains for young Trojans. On the field, self-inflicted mistakes did more damage to USC than anyone not named Christian McCaffrey. The Trojans have been the kings of getting in their own way and any success they plan to have in 2016 must start with them getting out of their own way for a change.”

Bill Connelly, SB Nation: “If USC is somehow 2-1 after three games, the Trojans will probably be the Pac-12 favorite. But a 1-2 start won’t be the end of the world. USC will have a lot of time to recover before a brutal three-game stretch to finish the season. In a way, this schedule is a blessing. USC could lose three to five games while playing at a top-10 or top-15 level, and it’s so blatantly tough that all but the least tolerant USC fan would probably give Helton a grace period.”

Pete Fiutak, Campus Insiders: “8-4 might be a major disappointment most seasons. But seriously: Alabama, Stanford, Arizona, Washington and UCLA all away from home and several tough home games, get ready for the grumbling.”

Eric Murtaugh, One Foot Down: “Barring a complete collapse with Helton fighting for his job by mid-October or earlier this should be a very difficult game for Notre Dame. One of the USC quarterbacks will have enough experience in the offense by the finale and if that production is paired with Pendergast-led improvement on defense it would make sense if the Trojans are favored.”

The post Scouting Report: USC appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Nyles Morgan (Credit: Chicago Tribune)

Notre Dame coaches “undersold” sophomore linebacker Nyles Morgan last year in an effort to conceal a significant weakness in Brian VanGorder’s defensive scheme.

Blue & Gold Illustrated’s Bryan Driskell criticized VanGorder, the Irish’s defensive coordinator, for being too faithful to scheme and sticking with Joe Schmidt – although he graded out as one of the worst linebackers last year.

“Why did you run a defense that required you to put such an inferior player on the field in order for your defense to work?” asked Driskell on a podcast he co-hosted with BGI senior editor Lou Somogyi. “Why can’t Notre Dame, in two years, find a way to get a player like Nyles Morgan on the field? And now all of a sudden we’re to believe that this spring, Nyles Morgan went from – he was so bad that he couldn’t beat out the third worst linebacker in the country. We’re supposed to believe that now all of a sudden, according to the coaches, he’s this tremendous player and go out and lead the defense. That’s the frustration.”

Somoygi said Coach Brian Kelly admitted in a recent one-on-one interview that the staff may have “undersold” Morgan and were “loyal to a fault” to Schmidt last year.

Credit: Irish Sports Daily

Driskell said, despite the loss of Butkus Award winner Jaylon Smith, Notre Dame’s linebacker group could be better this year than last.

“The defense was built around the Mike linebacker making plays,” said Driskell. Schmidt, he said, consistently failed in that regard – noting that he both failed to sack USC’s Cody Kessler despite being sent on a blitz repeatedly and registered zero tackles (and seven missed tackles) against Clemson last year. Smith was used as an “eraser,” in Kelly’s terminology, for the errors of the both the defensive line and Schmidt in 2015.

“Now you have a player at Mike linebacker who is a more athletic, more effective, more productive player,” the analyst said of Morgan. “The key is: Can Nyles Morgan be a consistent player, avoid some of the big negatives that hurt him? But I think you’re going to see more production from the linebacking corps simply because – just by the nature of who he has – there is that weapon now at Mike linebacker that the defense can be built around. Whereas last year, when they tried to build their defense around Joe Schmidt, it just didn’t work because he wasn’t a good enough player.”

Morgan, Driskell said, will be the player who will most impact the success or failure of the defense if VanGorder’s approach remains unchanged. Somogyi noted that national experts, such as Phil Steele, had low expectations for the linebacker group. Steele slotted them as 45th best out of 128 teams entering 2016.

“This is a guy who has the physical tools. This is a guy who has been credited by Brian VanGorder, Brian Kelly, Mike Elston as working his tail off,” said Driskell. “I’ve heard great things behind the scenes about how hard he’s working, his attitude, the leadership he’s shown – all those kind of things. So I believe that position is poised to have much better production this season. Now, will Nyles Morgan take that step and become a legitimate playmaker? That remains to be seen.”

The entire podcast is worth a listen. Check it out here.

The post Expert: Nyles Morgan Scapegoated To Cover Coach’s Weakness appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Nov 1, 2014; Navy Midshipmen running back Geoffrey Whiteside (29) runs for a touchdown in front of Notre Dame Fighting Irish cornerback Cole Luke (36) in the third quarter at FedEx Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Yes, Navy!

Before readers attempt to tar and feather me – or worse – I’m going with the Midshipman for a couple of reasons. But wait, what about the vaunted option attack and Ken Niumatalolo’s offense? Remember the years Notre Dame has struggled with it?

Consider this: In the last five meetings with Navy, Notre Dame’s average margin of victory has been 22.6 points. This includes a decisive 41-24 victory last year against a Navy team that featured Heisman Trophy candidate Keenan Reynolds. The 2016 Midshipmen also face extensive losses on both sides of the ball. In fact, the Naval Academy returns just eight starters which is the fewest of any team on Notre Dame’s schedule.

On offense alone, Navy returns just two starters. They must replace the quarterback (Reynolds) and fullback, both of which are staples in the option attack that Navy employs. Of the seven players that carried the ball last year versus Notre Dame, only two return to Annapolis.

If there is a bright spot for Navy, it is that they return six starters on defense. However, it is a defense that has consistently struggled to stop the Irish in recent years. This is no disrespect at all to Navy, as it is a given the Middies will play hard and to the final whistle. That being said, given the inexperienced Navy offense and the talent “gap” that is always present in this game, it has the feel of a two to three touchdown spread.

The Scariest: Texas

Courtesy of Fansided.com

Wait you mean the team Notre Dame beat 38-3 last year? The team coached by Charlie Strong, who is on the hot seat? Yes, that’s the one.

One of my biggest concerns is that Strong is that he is a good football coach. You don’t have the success he had at Louisville without being a good coach. Despite the struggles that Texas had last season, they still knocked off Baylor and Oklahoma. This is also a Texas team that lost three other games by a combined seven points. A few more breaks last year, and Texas is perhaps coming off an 8-4 season.

The other major concern is the timing. You have a Sunday night nationally televised game on the road in a tough environment. Opening games are always tricky, and most often are not won but rather lost by mistakes and sloppy play (see South Florida, 2011).

In addition, you have a team that returns 14 starters (7 offense, 7 defense) and is looking to erase the humiliation of last year’s blowout loss on national television. Texas returns their top two running backs, D’Onta Foreman and Chris Warren, who averaged 7.2 and 6.6 yards per carry, respectively. They will certainly test the middle of an Irish defense that was hit hard by graduation and early departures to the NFL. A big upset here could jumpstart Texas, which follows with UTEP and Cal minus Jared Goff. A win over Notre Dame likely sends Texas to their bye week at 3-0. Las Vegas has Texas pegged for 6.5 wins. However, I seen some outlets forecasting as many as 9. As spring turns to summer my concern over the Longhorns is growing. This has all the makings of a disaster. If I was Brian Kelly, I would be on upset alert today!

Most Likely To Look Like Clemson: USC

Not Miami?

What about Stanford or Sparty?

This was a really tough call; the biggest difference is that USC is the only road tilt of these games. It also comes during a difficult section in the schedule. I always hate the trip to California around Thanksgiving. At this point in the year, you have run a really long gauntlet and your team is fatigued. Now you have to go on the road and play a good team, and particularly this year where you are likely are coming off a physical and emotional senior day vs. Virginia Tech.

The Trojans have been ranked as high as 11 in ESPN’s pre-season rankings and return 16 starters to Troy. More importantly, the Trojans return their top 4 pass catching targets and their top 2 tailbacks.

The most obvious question will be the quarterback position where they have to replace team leader and three year starter Cody Kessler. The quarterback will not matter nearly as much in this game due to stage of the season when the two teams meet.

Another major question for USC will be the coaching staff changes by Coach Clay Helton. How quickly his staff gels and builds chemistry will go a long way in defining USC’s season.

It is always hard to pick a most likely loss. USC has been a wild card recently. In some years they have been ranked highly in the pre-season and finished outside the poll (2012 and 2015) and in other years (2011) they began the season ranked 25^th, but finished the season in the Top 10. The recent roller coaster element of their program makes this road tilt a major concern. While there may be stronger candidates to deal the Irish a loss, the location and timing in the schedule place USC as the most likely loss.

The post Notre Dame’s Easiest, Scariest & Toughest Games appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Irish Player to Watch:

Everett Golson Malik Zaire, Junior

6’0”, 222 Lbs.

Recently I’ve been Netflixing (is that a word?) a lot of “The Office” episodes. The U.S. version. I’ve already seen every episode. Heck, I’ve probably seen every episode at least two times. I’ve been doing it because the show’s mindless and comforting. At this point, I know the jokes that are coming, and even if I didn’t, I could figure out what’s coming next because the episodes are all so similar. Someday I have a dream of an ND offseason being like that. Particularly as it relates to the QB position. Boring. Redundant. Predictable. This was not that offseason.

The Music City Bowl was indeed music to many fans’ ears and eyes. Swagger-master Malik Zaire got his chance to start a game and took advantage. The rush heavy spread option attack saw some extended play with positive results. The 263 ground yards represented the 8^th highest game total of the Brian Kelly era. If we further limit that query to games versus Power 5 teams, only the 2012 Miami game and the 2011 Purdue game amassed better rushing totals. There were a lot of firsts in that game for Zaire: first start, first rushing touchdown, first bowl MVP award, and plenty to build upon for the 2015 season.

It’s important to remember, though, that we don’t really know all that much about Zaire. As andrewwinn discussed earlier this offseason, 103 snaps doesn’t tell us much about Zaire’s potential. Zaire’s just as likely to be Dayne Crist/Tommy Rees as he is to be Brady Quinn (in terms of production) if we’re just considering the snaps we’ve observed. No question that Zaire is a different type of player than his immediate predecessors, Golson included. Where Golson appeared to struggle with mental demons as much, if not more, than on field demons, Zaire has done nothing but exude supreme, unwaivering confidence in his own abilities. It’s Clausen’s self-confidence with Golson’s physical gifts. Whether Zaire and new coordinator Mike Sanford can harness these skills will go a considerable way in determining the success of the 2015season.

It seems fair and reasonable to anticipate the team running more with Zaire under (or more appropriately behind) center. His natural skill set lends itself to a power option attack. Sanford’s background with both Stanford and Boise State involved a healthy dose of power running, and the stacked Irish offensive line is built to run. However, the stable of running backs is shallow, and even shallower to start the season with Bryant’s suspension. Quarterback has no experience behind Zaire’s limited experience so the team cannot afford for Zaire to get hurt meaning balance is still key.

The dwindling memories but stubborn resolve of the #RTDB’ers will force the conversation back to the 2012 season being both Kelly’s most successful and most rush heavy play mix. Zaire’s equipped to appease this crowd. However, it wasn’t just running the ball more that made the 2012 team successful. Zaire’s got a big arm to make throws with. He’s a player that will want to extend plays and awe the crowd, but he must avoid Rees and Golson’s propensity for turnovers. The corollary to 2012 that does not get press is that 2012 was the only season in the Kelly era in which the offense had an interception percentage* low enough to finish in the top half of CFP teams (27^th nationally). The team can’t abandon the pass. Zaire must take advantage and be efficient with his pass attempts. Save the football. Save the team. Or something like that. You get my point…

(* “Interception Percentage” is the number of drop backs t0 pass that resulted in an interception)

Enemy Player to Watch

All of them, Cody Kessler, Senior

6’2”, 215 Lbs.

Just recently the “watch” lists for all of college football’s awards were released letting us know who ESPN should start framing narratives around. One such award is the Davey O’Brien Award which is presented to the nation’s top quarterback. Six of Notre Dame’s opponents (Clemson, GA Tech, UMass, USC, Stanford, and Navy) will boast watch list members this year.

Aside from six of Notre Dame’s 2015 opponents, other guys on the watch list: Connor Cook (MSU), Marquise Williams (UNC), Taysom Hill (BYU), and Gunner Kiel. Notre Dame really needs to adopt Gary Pinkel’s plan of joining a conference so they could tack on some FCS opponents and avoid all of these quarterbacks. I finally get what he was thinking.

Okay, back to the task at hand. In 2013, Tex selected Kevin Hogan as the enemy to watch. He’s still around and is a watch list member, but the Irish have actually handled Hogan pretty well. Both of ND’s scary as f— option opponents, Navy (Keenan Reynolds) and Georgia Tech (Justin Thomas) boast O’Brien watch list members as well. You bet I’ll be watching them, and drinking heavily while doing so. But, even with all of these options there’s a guy on there that led me to learn the art of dry walling after punching out many a hole in his honor: USC’s Cody Kessler.

You might remember Kessler from such performances as his one man re-enactment of the Tommy Lee Jones classic Blown Away. In case you were wondering, the ND fan base is represented by Jeff Bridges in this scene. Staring around, looking at the rubble, unsure what in the world happened but knowing exactly who the hell did it. I can’t live…with or without you.

Kessler’s final line in the 2014 game:

372 yards, 6 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, 80% completion percentage.

Screw him. I used to average that in NCAA Football 2011 (RIP) with Dayne Crist. I mean, “ND QB #10.”  So, he’s not all that special.

Only, Kessler actually is that good. That Kessler didn’t finish in the Top 11 for Heisman voting last year is an indictment of just how silly that voting actually is. Among Kessler’s national finishes last year:

3^rd in completion percentage (1^st among Power 5 players) – 69.7%

4^th in touchdown passes (2^nd among Power 5 players) – 39

T-10^th in fewest interceptions – 5

3^rd in passer rating – 167.1 (Only 2 ahead: Mariota [won Heisman], J.T. Barrett [5^th in Heisman voting])

While Kessler lost 3 of his top 4 targets from 2014 including his BFF Nelson Agholor, the Trojans do not lack for speed or skill at the receiver position. Kessler excelled in year 1 of the Sarkisian tenure, and he comes into 2015 as trendy Heisman pick making him worthy of all the derision you loyal readers can muster.

The post Know Thyself, Know Thy Enemy: Quarterback appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

The sanctions are over as is the Lane Kiffin era. The Trojans are climbing their way back to full strength with former Washington head coach, Steve Sarkisian at the helm.

Let’s find out what’s in store for the end of the 2014 Irish campaign.

Previous Opponent Previews:

• Rice
  
• Michigan
• Purdue
• Syracuse
• Stanford
• North Carolina
• Florida State
• Navy
• Arizona State
• Northwestern
• Louisville

Credit: The Helmet Project

Vitals

Offense

Pop quiz: who was Southern Cal’s leading receiver in 2013? If you answered Marqise Lee, you would be wrong. That would be Nelson Agholor who returns to the Trojans this season as to Southern Cal’s top two rushers, Javorius Allen and Tre Madden.

Simply put, Southern Cal is still loaded with talented weapons on offense. That was never their issue in 2013, consistency was. The Kiffin and Orgeron swap had them looking for identity all season. The Trojans never hit their stride and it showed throughout a simply terrible season.

With Cody Kessler returning to the helm again this season, Sark has a chance to lead the Trojans back to a level of offensive excellence that they are used to.

Don’t let 2013 fool you, this is a dangerous offensive unit.

Defense

One thing that was never an issue for Southern Cal last season: their defense. In fact, if it wasn’t for their defensive performances, the season could’ve been far worse.

The huge F/+ adjustment shouldn’t be a big surprise, especially when you consider that the inept offensive continued to put these guys out on the field continuously.

The defense only loses four starters; however, they are being replaced some solid talent. To put it another way, the depth has slowly started to return for Southern Cal.

What to Expect

With Sark having all season to prepare and work this talented Trojan squad, this will rank right up there with Florida State in terms of difficulty. That isn’t hyperbole in the least, that is my 100% honest-to-God opinion.

Of course, there is also the small matter of this being ND/USC which will crank the intensity up on this game to a level that only ND/Michigan will match in 2014.

This will be a very, very hard game for the Irish to win. The offense will face a solid defense and the young ND defense will face on of the most talented offensive units in the nation. It won’t be as big of an uphill battle as Florida State will be, but make no mistake Irish fans, this ain’t Kiffin’s group of failure any more.

Study Your Enemy

I recommend checking out the following USC sites:

• Conquest Chronicles (SBNation)
• Reign of Troy (FanSided)
• The Ripist Blog (Official)
• Inside USC with Scott Wolf

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