USC Football: 5 bold predictions for the 2017 season

2. The Trojans will still end up Pac-12 champions in 2017

Sure, USC will suffer an early loss in the season. They might very well lose another game in the course of conference play. But Utah and UCLA have just as many question marks, Colorado is due for regression, and the Arizona schools are on life support. The Trojans are going to swoop in and win the Pac-12 South.

That will allow Clay Helton’s team to play in the Pac-12 championship game for the first time. Sanctions put 6-6 UCLA in the 2011 title game instead of the 10-2 Trojans. Last year Colorado won the tiebreaker in their head-to-head matchup. Luck has not been on Southern California’s side in recent years.

This time around, though, things are going to change. Even with a few losses on the record, USC will arrive in Santa Clara ready to play the Pac-12 North champ. That team will most likely be Washington, a team the Trojans knocked off 26-13 in Seattle last season. Either that, or they could have a rematch against Stanford.

Either way, Darnold is going to have a big second half as USC pulls out a close victory at Levi’s Stadium. It won’t be enough to boost his Heisman hopes, but it will be enough for the Trojans to win the team’s first conference championship in nine long years.