Pac-12 Roundtable: How Can USC Rebound Next Season?

Let’s face it, USC is one of the biggest preseason number one failures in college football history. The last team to finish the season with five losses and unranked was Mississippi in 1964.

Lots of blame has been put on USC’s head coach Lane Kiffin for the disappointing season. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE)

What do you believe needs to change in order for them to rebound next year?

Brian: This team wasn’t a number one team to begin with due to the lack of depth. However, there’s enough talent on this team to win 10 or more games. This defense went into the tank late in the season. Lane Kiffin needs for his dad to retire, and Lane’s late game managing skills must improve.

Mike: Pat Haden needs to fire Lane Kiffin and bring in an “SC” guy. Kiffin has made a laundry list of strange moves during his time in Los Angeles which must frustrate the fan base. The probably excuse doesn’t fly with me given that Southern Cal is located in a talent rich area with tradition. But a change needs to be done and not just getting ride of the D-line coach and defensive coordinator.

Ricky: With USC, I think it came down to Matt Barkley being too overrated. Max Wittek played well in his first start against Notre Dame. Plus, the Trojans could have Redd, Woods, and Lee all returning next year. If USC cannot do anything next year then we can put Kiffin on the hot seat, but the Trojans still have potential next season.

Raymond: USC needs a new coach. Lane Kiffin just brings too many distractions to the team. The last straw should have been the incident in the Ducks game when he wasn’t aware a ball boy was deflating the balls. There’s no chance anyone at USC didn’t know that was happening. He left the NFL on shady terms and Tennessee as well.

The Autzen Zoo staff includes lead editor Brian Spaen along with staff writers Mike Vamosi, Raymond Mencke, Jr., Ricky Widmer, and contributor Joe Soriano.