3 biggest question marks for USC football heading into 2022

Could USC football make the College Football Playoff in year one under Lincoln Riley?

The biggest question on everyone’s mind is probably the question that will be hard to answer until we see this team in action after they face the Rice Owls in Week 1 and the Stanford Cardinal in Week 2.

Will the Trojans annihilate the Owls, as they should? Anything less than a 20-plus point blow-out may raise concerns about the offense and whether or not they can gel together.

Standford will be the first real test in Week 2 on the road at Stanford. They’ve split the last 10 meetings and haven’t won at Stanford Stadium since 2014.

For all the talk and hype we give to the USC football team’s offense, it will really be up to their defense and whether or not they can rise to the expected level of play from the offense.

A few returning starters will make the transition to new defensive coordinator Alex Grinch’s schemes a bit easier.

Tuli Tuipulotu, a junior defensive end from Hawthorne, Calif., is one of those players and will anchor the team’s defense. Tuipulotu was a rare bright spot in a defense that gave up 31.8 ppg and 408.9 yards per game in 2021.

Transfer linebackers Shane Lee (Alabama) and Eric Gentry (Arizona State) are going to provide a ton of stops. Lee played in 13 games for Alabama in 2019 (86 tackles, 4.5 sacks), but played a combined five games in 2020 and 2021.

Gentry recorded 45 tackles, including five tackles for a loss and one sack as a freshman last season for the Sun Devils. His efforts were outstanding and he was named a freshman All-American after helping anchor one of the best defenses in the conference in 2021 (allowed just 20.8 ppg).

If Grinch can get his defense clicking, this is a team that could absolutely contend for a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Obviously, they have to win the games they are supposed to win (Rice, Fresno State, etc.), but they will likely need to secure sizable wins at Utah and at home against Notre Dame to get consideration for the Playoffs.

This is absolutely within the realm of possibility for the Trojans. If things are clicking on offense from the get-go, the defense holds their own, they may be able to work their way into the College Football Playoff.