USC Football: 5 reasons why Trojans will stink in 2017

4. The oft-penalized Trojans lack discipline on field

Unfortunately, the Trojans lack the discipline to take advantage of the clear opportunity set before them. In 2016, Southern California was among the most penalized teams in the Pac-12. They ranked outside the top 100 in the FBS in terms of both penalties committed and yards lost to fouls. On average, the Trojans committed more than seven and a half penalties a game and lost 67 yards in the process.

After losing nearly half of last year’s starters, though, it will be hard to count on greener players to exhibit greater control. The result is likely going to be another season of infractions stalling otherwise stellar USC progress on the field. On both sides of the ball, the Trojans are going to find themselves conceding at least one first down per game thanks to flagged offenses.

Mitigating this issue is going to be one of the coaching staff’s biggest headaches with which to contend in 2017. Even in their Rose Bowl victory, the Trojans might have sweated out the result less had they not committed 10 penalties and lost 85 yards in the process.

The staff has certainly worked on coaching the issue during the offseason. But there is a very real possibility that younger players will naturally make more mistakes as they learn, and that older players will revert to bad habits once the pressure of game speed returns. Penalties could stink up an otherwise great season for the Trojans in 2017 if they recur at a similar rate as last season.