Culver City Observer -

What can the Trojans do for an encore? The USC football team won nine games in a row last season after starting the season 1-3. Those nine wins included their dramatic victory over Penn State in the Rose Bowl on January 2. Now is time to see if USC can live up to the great expectations that comes with winning nine games in a row. The Trojans are ranked as high as No. 2 in some preseason college polls and they are picked to win the Pac-12.

G Laase

QB Sam Darnold

As usual USC is has star power and that starts with quarterback Sam Darnold. The 6-4 220 pound redshirt sophomore is coming off one the most spectacular seasons in USC history. During the Trojans'52-49 win over Penn State Darnold showed the nation how special he is. Some of the plays he made in that game looked like a video game. He threw five touchdown passes for 453 yards which was three yards shy of the Rose Bowl record. He had a Rose Bowl record 473 yards of total offense. If Darnold wants to lead the Trojans to the promised land he may have to curtail his running when the play breaks down. During the Pac-12 Media Day last week in Hollywood, Darnold had this to say about running the ball "I am still going to play my game, but at the same time, I need to play smart."

USC head coach Clay Helton had this to say about Darnold at the Pac-12 Media Day. To know who your leader is really helps our team. The thing that really impresses me about Sam is his humbleness and his humility. Helton welcomes the pressure of coaching at USC. We understand what USC is all about, said Helton. It's about winning the Pac-12 championship and winning national championships. That's always our goal. This is an exciting time for us. We know what the expectations are at USC