USC was set to have a challenging schedule in 2024, playing against the two teams that competed in this past season’s national championship game: the Washington Huskies and the Michigan Wolverines.
To be sure, USC still faces a very tough schedule. However, while there is uncertainty about the future of Michigan’s head coach, Jim Harbaugh, in Ann Arbor, it is now certain that the Huskies will face the Trojans with a new head coach in place. USC has to love that.
The AP and Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year for the Huskies, Kalen DeBoer, is leaving to take over for legendary coach Nick Saban at Alabama. (Follow Roll Tide Wire for full coverage of this story.)
In addition to DeBoer, the Huskies will also lose elite players. They will lose their Heisman Trophy runner-up, Michael Penix Jr., and one of the best receiving corps in college football to the NFL. Rome Odunze and Jalen McMillan were considered likely to leave for the NFL draft, but redshirt sophomore Ja’Lynn Polk has announced that he will join them as professionals, which might come as a slight surprise. It will also be interesting to see if any of the Joe Moore Award offensive linemen for UW will travel with DeBoer to Tuscaloosa in the transfer portal.
With Washington losing its star head coach and several key players from one of the sport’s best offenses, the daunting task of playing Washington in Seattle in 2024 — in USC’s inaugural season in the Big Ten — has become much more manageable. This is the break D’Anton Lynn needed as he installs his defense in Year 1.
The Huskies were a seasoned, well-oiled machine, and although they have Mississippi State Bulldog quarterback transfer Will Rogers joining the team in 2024, the loss of DeBoer and the key starters on offense will make this a complete rebuild for the Husky offense.
Visit our friends at Fighting Irish Wire, Buffaloes Wire, and Ducks Wire.