MORE TAKE TWO: Could Hugh Freeze eventually return to the SEC?
Take Two returns with a daily offering tackling a handful of issues in the college football landscape. Rivals.com National Recruiting Analyst Adam Gorney lays out the situation and then receives takes from Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell and a local expert from the Rivals.com network of team sites.
THE STORYLINE
It was an ugly season at USC. The Trojans finished 5-7, they averaged only 26 points per game despite having elite playmakers all over the field, assistant coaches were fired, coach Clay Helton was on the hot seat himself and the defense looked pitiful at times.
Enter Kliff Kingsbury, who got fired himself at Texas Tech, to run the offense and it seems like the fan base is energized again around someone who has a proven track record as a phenomenal offensive coach.
Kingsbury went 35-40 as Texas Tech’s head coach with only one eight-win season and four losing seasons in six years, but the Red Raiders always scored points - lots of them.
Defense was always the issue in Lubbock but as USC’s new offensive coordinator, and with high-level players at nearly every position other than across the offensive line, USC might be able to outscore teams if it cannot stop them.
There are plenty of problems at USC. With that level of talent, going 5-7 is inexcusable. Is Kingsbury the savior of the program since his offense is tried and true or are there deeper issues - especially on defense - that the Trojans need to fix before they can once again become conference and national title contenders?
FIRST TAKE: RYAN YOUNG, TROJANSPORTS.COM
“Defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast is admittedly not a fan favorite, yet a defense that was significantly undermined by injuries often — albeit with inconsistency — did its part for USC. The offense was clearly the greater problem and frustration in 2018, and the Trojans just hired the most exciting offensive coach on the market.
"It’s hard not to buy into the notion that Kingsbury’s offense matched with USC’s deep stable of talented playmakers will lead to significant improvement in the win-loss column. It should be an easy fix on that side of the ball, and if USC had gotten a little more from the unit this fall it would have had a chance to win almost every game regardless of the defensive ebbs and flows.
"Fans may remain unsatisfied with Pendergast at the helm of the defense, but the bigger issue there could be personnel — USC has zero proven cornerbacks returning and needs more out of its pass rushers next fall.”
SECOND TAKE: MIKE FARRELL, RIVALS.COM
“I don’t think you can count Kingsbury as the savior. The offense will improve and his offensive system has been proven to be very successful. He’s the guy who developed Patrick Mahomes, who has turned out to be one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. It will help the quarterback play, it will help get the offense more uptempo, a little bit more of a passing attack, it will help the receivers but there are more problems than Kingsbury can solve at USC right now.”
