Our extensive USC vs. San Jose State game preview

Game 1: ‘Throw Out Your Cares and Fly, Wanna Go for a Ride?’

The consensus No. 6 USC Trojans open their 2023 season Saturday, Aug. 26, against the San Jose State Spartans at 5 p.m. PDT in the 100-year-old Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and in front of a national Pac-12 Network television audience. The Trojans are a 30.5-point favorite over their Mountain West Conference foe as of Thursday evening. USC has won the previous five meetings, all since 1995 and all in the Coliseum, including a 30-7 victory in 2021. USC is 98-24-8 in season openers (winning 24 of the past 25) and 102-19-7 in home openers. 

Lincoln Riley (11-3 at USC; 66-13 overall including five years as the head coach at Oklahoma) launches his second season as the Trojans’ leader. While he orchestrated an incredible turnaround from 2021’s four-win campaign, Riley and the Trojans look hungry to atone for a disappointing final two games of the 2022 season (losses to Utah in the Pac-12 title game and Tulane in the Cotton Bowl). Meanwhile, Brent Brennan (27-42) begins his seventh season at the helm of the Spartans. Since losing 22 of his first 25 games in San Jose, Brennan became the first coach to lead SJSU to two bowl games (2020 Arizona Bowl and 2022 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl) since Claude Gilbert in 1986 and 1987. 

The Trojans return 16 starters (six offense, eight defense, placekicker and punter) but have supplemented their talent level – particularly on the offensive and defensive lines – via the transfer portal. The most important returnee, of course, is junior quarterback Caleb Williams, the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner.

San Jose State returns 14 starters including quarterback Chevan Cordeiro, who led the MWC in passing yards in 2022, and four offensive linemen. The Spartans turned the ball over just nine times last season and finished second in the conference by forcing 20 turnovers. SJSU also topped the MWC with 39 sacks, but the players responsible for two-thirds of those are no longer with the program.

Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Kevin McGiven is in his sixth season at SJSU. A season ago, San Jose State led the Mountain West in passing offense (272.5 yards per game, 25th nationally) but struggled to run the ball consistently, while Cordeiro was under seemingly constant fire (the Spartans allowed a whopping 42 sacks in 2022). Even with that pressure, SJSU took care of the ball — a full third of the team’s nine turnovers came in the Potato Bowl loss to Eastern Michigan. Cordeiro played four years at Hawaii before transferring to SJSU prior to last season. He passed for 23 scores and ran for nine more, while completing 60.7 percent of his passes. And though he only averaged 1.9 yards per on 138 carries as a rusher (thanks, 42 sacks), he’s a capable dual threat. Oregon transfer Jay Butterfield appears to have the inside line as the backup. 

Five-foot-seven senior running back Kairee Robinson returns after leading the Spartans with 752 yards (4.8 per carry) and 10 touchdowns a season ago. He also caught 26 passes for 144 yards. Robinson is backed by a pair of newcomers: Utah Tech transfer Quali Conley (1,095 yards and eight touchdowns in 2022) and redshirt freshman scatback Jabari Bates from St. John Bosco HS.

There are some questions in the receiving group, as 6-foot-4 playmaker Elijah Hooks (69 catches, 15.6 yards per, 10 touchdowns) and Jermaine Braddock (26, 11.3) exhausted their eligibility. The top returning pass catcher is senior Justin Lockhart, who averaged 16.1 yards on 36 catches in 2022 after transferring from Nevada. Lockhart, though, is questionable with an arm injury. He’s backed by junior Isaac Jernagin (six catches, 48 yards in 2022). Junior Charles Ross is the only other returning wideout who had double-digit catches a season ago (14, 14.6 avg., one TD). Former quarterback Nick Nash had four of his six 2022 receptions in the Potato Bowl, including his first career receiving touchdown. At tight end, junior Dominick Mazotti (21, 10.3, three touchdowns) is a factor, as is classmate Sam Olson (14, 8.2 avg., one score).

There’s plenty of experience returning on the offensive line, though with all those sacks allowed, is that a good thing? The group is anchored by returning starters Anthony Pardue (senior center) and Jaime Navarro (senior right tackle). Another returnee, redshirt sophomore Fernando Carmona, Jr., is slated for left tackle. Sophomore Ryan Stewart (three 2022 starts before losing the season to injury) and junior Marist Talavou (two starts in 2022 after transferring from Utah) appear to have the inside lines on starting at left and right guard, respectively.

 Defensive coordinator Derrick Odum, who came to San Jose with Brennan in 2017, saw his group lead the Mountain West in sacks (39) and finish second in the conference in takeaways (20) and red-zone defense (teams scored less than 72 percent of the time when they got inside the Spartans’ 20). But while the Spartans gave up just 22 points per game overall, they allowed nearly 30 points per contest in their final six outings, going 3-3 in that span. With big losses in the front seven, how will the Spartans reload?

With SJSU legends Viliami “Junior” Fehoko (nine sacks, 19 tackles for loss in 2022) and Cade Hall (7.5 sacks, 12 TFL) gone, the Spartans front three is rather green. Expect junior Soane Toia (25 tackles, two sacks) and senior Jay Kakiva (10 stops, one for loss) to see time at nose guard Saturday. At one end, senior Noah Lavulo (12 tackles, one sack) looks likely to get the nod ahead of transfer (and junior college All-American) Tavarius Pitts. The other end offers a pair of redshirt sophomores on the depth chart: Tre Smith (who appeared in one game last year after playing in 10 in 2021) and converted quarterback Natano Woods. 

There’s more returning juice at linebacker, with junior Byrun Parham (74 tackles, five for loss three sacks) and sophomore Jordan Pollard (51, 3.5 for loss, one INT) back to handle two spots. However, all-everything linebacker Kyle Harmon (442 tackles in his stellar SJSU career) and Alii Matau (50 tackles, 5.5 sacks in 2022) might be tough replace. Senior Matthew Tago, who missed most of 2022 (two games, four tackles) will get a first look at one spot, while sophomore Elijah Wood (29 stops) will likely start across from him. 

The strength of the Spartan secondary is up the middle, with senior safeties Tre Jenkins (60 tackles, seven for loss, two sacks, two INTs) and Chase Williams (40 stops, two picks for the USC transfer last season) on patrol. Junior cornerback Kenyon Reed, who began his career at Kansas State, made 20 tackles (one INT) in eight games (three starts) last year, while sophomore CB Michael Dansby (18 stops, two picks) came on strong at the end of 2022. The hope is that Virginia Tech transfer DJ Harvey provides some depth at corner and/or nickel. Cal Poly transfer Jay’Vion Cole is also on the two-deep at corner. 

Hawaii transfer Kyler Halvorsen was a kickoff specialist for the Rainbow Warriors (his 38 touchbacks led the MWC) but may be in line to handle all the kicking duties. Junior Taren Schive is back, as well, after making 37-of-40 PATs and 12-of-18 field goal attempts. Senior Alex Weir (40.6 yards per on 25 boots) is the starting punter after splitting time last season. Bates and Jernagin (15.6 yards on five returns last year) are likely the lead kick returners, while Harvey should get the first crack as the punt returner.

How does USC improve on ranking in the national top three in scoring, total offense, pass offense, pass efficiency, third-down conversions, and total first downs gained? Will another year in the system make Williams more efficient than a 42/5 TD-to-INT ratio? Does losing leading receiver Jordan Addison to the NFL matter with how deep the 2023 receiving corps looks? 

If there’s a question here, it’s how effective the replacements for All-American offensive linemen Brett Neilon and Andrew Vorhees will be (USC also lost Bobby Haskins and Courtland Ford from last year’s group). Both returning starters have shifted positions: sophomore Jonah Monheim from right to left tackle and senior Justin Dedich from right guard to center. They’ll be joined at the start Saturday by a trio of transfers: junior left guard Emmanuel Pregnon (Wyoming); senior right guard Jarrett Kingston (Washington State); and senior right tackle Michael Tarquin (Florida). Behind that group, senior Gino Quinones is the de facto backup at both center and right guard; freshman Alani Noa pushed Pregnon enough to earn an “OR” with him on the two-deep at left guard; and sophomore Mason Murphy should see time at right tackle.

Williams will have a bevy of weapons at his disposal. The receiving unit includes seniors Tahj Washington and Brenden Rice, juniors Mario Williams, Michael Jackson III, and Dorian Singer (the Arizona transfer caught 66 passes for 1,105 yards last season), sophomores Kyron Hudson and Raleek Brown (who’s shifted from running back to the slot), and freshmen Duce Robinson, Zachariah Branch, Makai Lemon, and Ja’Kobi Lane. Plus, leading tight end Lake McRee is back, along with running back Austin Jones. Jones is likely to split carries to start with South Carolina transfer MarShawn Lloyd. And senior Darwin Barlow is still in the backfield mix.

Whether USC will improve on last season’s results will be decided by two things: Williams’ health and a turnaround by the Trojan defense. There’s no doubt that the talent drain that occurred in the final years of the Clay Helton Era was the biggest factor in last year’s defensive struggles. But it’s also clear that – by season’s end – there were simply too many issues to count for a group that was embarrassed by Utah in the Pac-12 title game and Tulane in the Cotton Bowl. Outside of the ability to create turnovers (USC finished third nationally with 19 interceptions and fifth with 29 total takeaways), the Trojan defense earned the guffaws delivered by the national college football press.

Riley decided to retain defensive coordinator Alex Grinch. We’re about to find out if that confidence was misplaced. USC went hard into the transfer portal to upgrade a front seven that – even with departed All-American Tuli Tuipulotu – gave up just a tick under five yards per carry. All five D-line transfers will factor into how much the Trojans improve: seniors Jack Sullivan (DT, Purdue), Kyon Barrs (NT, Arizona), and Jamil Muhammad (RUSH, Georgia Southern); and sophomores Anthony Lucas (RUSH, Texas A&M) and Bear Alexander (NT, Georgia), the No. 1 player in the transfer portal. 

Two newcomers are also set to start at linebacker Saturday: true freshman Tackett Curtis and senior Oklahoma State transfer Mason Cobb. Both players could be game changers for this group, especially with both Eric Gentry and Shane Lee still battling nagging injuries. Will there be spots available to them to return to? And what about past touted recruits like Raesjon Davis and Korey Foreman?

USC’s secondary will certainly miss All-Pac-12 corner Mekhi Blackmon, but the offseason performances of sophomores Ceyair Wright and Domani Jackson have folks wondering if the Trojan secondary will be a revelation in 2023. With Arizona transfer Christian Roland-Wallace and part-time 2022 starter Jacobe Covington, the two-deep at CB looks solid. Junior All-American strong safety Calen Bullock is expected to provide physical and emotional leadership. A pair of seniors – Max Williams and Bryson Shaw – are listed atop the free safety depth chart, while junior Jaylin Smith is the starting nickel. All that said, there are a lot of interchangeable parts in the Trojan secondary, and some interesting young talent in reserve – most notably, redshirt freshman Zion Branch (brother of receiver Zachariah). 

Brown and Jackson III were USC’s leading kickoff and punt returners in 2022, but more than a half-dozen athletes remain in the mix for the spots this season. A season ago, placekicker Denis Lynch and punter Aadyn Sleep-Dalton had decent seasons. But both could be supplanted: Arizona State transfer Eddie Czaplicki averaged 44.8 yards on 95 boots the past two years and added touchbacks on more than half of his kickoffs. He’s expected to handle both for USC this year. However, indications are that Lynch has held off preferred walk-on freshman Tyler Robles for PAT and field goal duties.

A Week 0 start seems appropriate for a team that has a reachable goal of zero losses. Yes, it took just one solid season under Riley to bring the buzz, the hype, the glitz back to USC football. Now we have L.A. Times columnists best known for declaring the city a “Bruin town” shouting USC should go undefeated, and the host of college football’s most-viewed Saturday pregame show picking the Trojans to make the playoff. 

Will USC field a competitive enough defense to allow Riley to guide the Trojans to the playoff (and a likely national semifinal game up the road in Pasadena)? Can Williams become the first quarterback to win back-to-back Heismans? While some may still be wary of the buzz, you must admit: These questions are a lot more fun to consider than asking when the other shoe will finally drop on your overmatched head coach? 

As for Saturday, the goals for breaking the seal against a decent but seemingly overmatched Spartan team: make plays and stay healthy.