USC and all other FBS college football teams play 12 regular-season games, not including a conference championship game. Every team plays 12 regularly-scheduled contests. If a team can earn a 13th game by finishing in the top two of its conference or by winning a division championship, so much the better.
Yet, while the season is 12 games in full, USC’s season can be broken into two segments: the main nine-game season which begins on Saturday, September 23 in Tempe against Arizona State, and the three-game mini-season which begins this upcoming Saturday, August 26, versus San Jose State.
USC gets an off week on Saturday, September 16. The three games preceding Sept. 16 have a preseason-like feel for the Trojans, who will then play nine straight weeks from Sept. 23 through Nov. 18. The three-game mini-season needs to establish some good habits and provide a measure of increased clarity about the strengths and weaknesses of each player. This will give the coaching staff a chance to plan in greater depth during the Sept. 16 off week and shape the roster for the main nine-game season, particularly the big midseason battles at Notre Dame (Oct. 14) and against Utah (Oct. 21).
We talked more about the three-game mini-season for USC with Mark Rogers at The Voice of College Football:
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