USC Football: 5 reasons why Trojans will stink in 2017

Coming off a Rose Bowl victory, USC football hopes to return to the top of the Pac-12 this season. Here are five reasons why the Trojans will struggles instead.

Last year, USC returned to national prominence for the first time since emerging from sanctions from the Reggie Bush era. Though they did not win the Pac-12 last season, the Trojans were still invited to Pasadena after a 9-3 regular season. On New Year’s Day, USC beat Penn State in an instant classic for the school’s first Rose Bowl win in nearly a decade.

After that victory, Southern California enters 2017 with aspirations of returning to the top of the Pac-12. They also aim to earn the program’s first trip to the College Football Playoff. Clay Helton’s team is a preseason favorite in that regard, picked by many coaches and in the media to take the league crown.

Of course, the Trojans still need to find a way past all the other teams in their own division before that can become possible. USC will be challenged by its crosstown rival UCLA as well as Utah and defending South champ Colorado this season. Only the Arizona schools are unlikely to pose too much of a challenge, though both are capable of playing spoiler as they fight for their coaches’ jobs.

Fans in Los Angeles have expectations that winning time has returned to the Coliseum. After ceding ground to the rest of the Pac-12, they demand nothing less than greatness. They might be getting a bit ahead of themselves. Click ahead to see five reasons why the Trojans will stink instead of succeed in 2017.