USC should be aware of where — and how — it must improve for 2025

Everyone at USC football has to be honest and candid about how the Trojans need to improve in the future. No shortcuts and no wishful thinking.

The USC Trojans are preparing for Maryland this Saturday. USC football has a game to win and a 2024 season it must salvage. That’s the most immediate point of focus for Lincoln Riley. However, with USC at 3-3 through six games, the high-end goals for this year are already dashed. There might be a very slight outside chance that USC can finish 9-3 and maybe sneak into a top bowl game, but if we are being brutally honest and realistic about this season, it will almost certainly end without any significant achievement.

Any attempt to improve USC football — or any other team which is falling short of the mark — begins with honest self-assessment and sober, candid self-evaluation. In the attempt to provide this, Trojans Wire offered an extended explanation of USC’s problems at The Voice of College Football. We discussed line play, line recruiting, the perils of playing to the level of the competition every week, and being good enough to separate from the opposition on a more consistent basis. There’s a lot to chew on, so here’s our segment at The Voice of College Football on where — and how — USC football has to improve:

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