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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The post Notre Dame 2014 Opponent Preview: Southern Cal appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

IRISH PLAYER TO WATCH: DaVaris Daniels, Senior, WR, 6′ 1.5″, 203 lbs.

Via AP

Senior DaVaris Daniels went from being one of Notre Dame’s brightest stars to one of its prodigal sons when academics derailed his Spring season. Readmitted to the University, Daniels is the most talented and experienced of Notre Dame’s receivers. As a sophomore, he caught six passes for 115 yards in the National Championship against Alabama. The next season, 2013, Daniels nabbed 49 catches for 745 yards and seven touchdowns. The next-highest yards by a returning player were 209 by Chris Brown. Given the youth and inexperience behind him, Daniels is the key to the Notre Dame’s ability to strike quickly down the field.

Daniels is capable of shredding secondaries, as his two one-hundred yard performances, one against BYU and a gaudy 167 yards against Purdue, will attest and as you can see for yourself below:

ENEMY PLAYER TO WATCH: Nelson Agholor, Junior, WR, 6′ 1″, 190 lbs.

Nelson Agholor. I know it was you. You broke my heart. No, I am not channeling my inner Michael Corleone or setting up a long-winded BC-is-Fredo thing.  Nope. What I am doing is longingly thinking back to 2012 when Agholor picked Troy over Notre Dame. Ah, what could have been.

Heading into the 2014 campaign, Agholor is the lone Trojan on the Walter Camp watch list and is a preseason favorite to win the Biletnikoff Award, which goes annually to the nation’s top wide receiver.  In 2013, over fourteen games as a starter, Agholor caught 56 passes for 918 yards and six touchdowns. He also returned eighteen punts for 343 yards and two touchdowns, both against Cal, and ten kickoff returns for 175 yards. Agholor was the country’s second-best punt returner and the best in the PAC-12.

Last year against the Irish, Agholor had a fairly workman-like 89 yards receiving, but returned four punts for one hundred yards, total. This year, his performance against Coach VanGorder’s new-look defense could very well spell the difference between a triumphant finish to Notre Dame’s regular season or a shattering end to Notre Dame’s recent streak.

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