Beats a loss in there. All versus D1 teams. in fact, USC is among a very small list of schools in the country that have 5 D1 wins right now. No one in the PAC12 does.
Are they a top 10 team? Maybe playing at home. Top 5? Probably not. But everyone else is collecting losses.
I saw them winning their first 6 and losing to Utah. I did not expect OSU or WSU to be this good. Didn't expect ASU or Stanford to be this bad. So overall I think opponents are about what I thought. Balances out over time.
I see a big loss at Utah and this all coming down to earth. I see potential losses to UCLA and ND. I assume USC of those 3 potential losses will steal one.
The one thing this team does seem refreshing is that it doesn't steal defeat from the jaws of victory. Lot of teams do. USC may not play good first half D but they sure seem to adjust and play good second half D.
I predicted 8-4 to begin win. I am seeing a safe 9-3 regular season now with a 10-2 strong possibility if they can steal a win versus UCLA ND or Utah. I don't see Cal, UA (even thought it's a road game) or Colorado beating USC. I think USC getting Cal, WSU and Colorado all at home mean average to poor teams coming into LA to play. 4 wins. I think playing UA on the road should be a win because they aren't that great. Utah is a good team with a tough environment, and the game is at altitude. Too many factors to overcome. UCLA gets them at home and will look much better IMO.
9-3 to 10-2 is quite a turnaround from 4-8. I don't ever remember one like it. Clearly a lot of work to do. But hats off to USC and their staff. They sure haven't been sitting on their butts for 9 months. Been working very hard and it shows.
getting 53 new players to work together and buy into the culture and coaching is probably the most impressive aspect of this staff
Great post