USC Football: 5 reasons why Trojans will stink in 2017

1. Sam Darnold is overhyped as USC’s quarterback savior

After USC went 1-2 with Max Browne as the starter to open last season, Clay Helton and offensive coordinator Tee Martin turned to redshirt freshman Sam Darnold. He played admirably if unspectacularly in defeat in his first start at Utah, throwing for 253 yards without either a touchdown or an interception.

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Then he proceeded to win eight straight as Southern California played its way into a Rose Bowl invitation. That included a defeat of Pac-12 champ and College Football Playoff participant Washington in Seattle. In that game, Darnold threw two interceptions and was not necessarily the catalyst for the upset of the Huskies. Five-touchdown games against the porous Arizona and California defenses are worth little.

The biggest reason for the hype this year is USC’s Darnold-fueled comeback against Penn State in Pasadena. Yes, the redshirt freshman threw for 453 yards and five touchdowns. He also threw an interception and was rendered ineffective for stretches of the game. It is hard to read too much into one game, in either direction.

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Thus the hype machine might want to be dialed back a bit. After all, this time last season it was all but a given that Browne was clearly better than the redshirt freshman he was battling to start the 2016 season. It also remains to be seen how he performs with three new starters on the offensive line.