USC Trojans

The 2013 season will be the final year of the BCS era.

And there was much rejoicing!

So, what have been the Pac-12 highs and lows of this often confounding system? Thanks for asking!

Best

1. USC drubs Oklahoma for the 2004 national title: The 55-19 victory over unbeaten Oklahoma was the most dominant display of the BCS era. It was also the pinnacle of the Trojans' dynasty under Pete Carroll. It's worth noting that future Pac-12 member Utah also whipped Pittsburgh in the Fiesta Bowl to finish unbeaten that same year.

2. USC wins "real" national title: In 2003, USC was No. 1 in the AP and Coaches polls at season's end. If you had eyes and knew anything about football, it was clear the Trojans were the nation's most-talented team on both sides of the football, a notion that was reinforced the following season. Two teams picked by computers played in New Orleans -- most folks outside of Louisiana don't even remember who -- and that forced the Trojans to settle for three-fourths of a national title after dominating Michigan 28-14.

3. The year of the Northwest: After the 2000 season, three teams from the Northwest finished ranked in the AP top seven. Washington beat Purdue in the Rose Bowl and finished third. Oregon State drubbed Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl and finished fourth. Oregon beat Texas in the Holiday Bowl to finish seventh.

4. Oregon gets left out but finishes No. 2: One of the grand faux paus of the BCS era was Nebraska playing Miami for the 2001 national title. Nebraska was coming off a 62-36 loss to Colorado, but the computers failed to notice, and the Cornhuskers were euthanized by the Hurricanes before halftime. The Ducks would whip that same Colorado team 38-16 in the Fiesta Bowl and finish ranked No. 2.

5. Oregon and Stanford both win: The 2012-13 bowl season wasn't good to the Pac-12, but Oregon pounded Kansas State in the Fiesta Bowl and Stanford beat Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl. The Ducks finished ranked No. 2 and Stanford was seventh. It was just the second time two Pac-10/12 teams won BCS bowl games in the same season.

Worst

1. Just one BCS national title, lots of frustration: No conference has more legitimate gripes with the BCS system than the Pac-12. Multiple seasons saw the conference have teams skipped over, most notably Oregon in 2001 and USC in 2003 and 2008. And ask California fans about how Texas coach Mack Brown gamed the system in 2004, preventing the Bears from playing in the Rose Bowl.

2. USC's three-peat gets Vince Younged: It's difficult to look at Texas's epic 41-38 win over USC as anything but great college football art -- perhaps the all-time greatest game -- but Trojans fans don't feel that way. The loss prevented USC from claiming three consecutive national titles and, of course, a second BCS crown for the Pac-10/12.

3. Oregon falls short versus Auburn: Oregon looked like a great team and Auburn a team with two great players before the BCS title game after the 2010 season. The Ducks chose a bad time to play one of their worst games of the season, but they still nearly prevailed before being undone by a dramatic game-winning drive from the Tigers.

4. Make a field goal, Stanford: Stanford kicker Jordan Williamson missed three field goals, including a certain game-winner from 35 yards on the last play of regulation, in the Cardinal's 41-38 loss to No. 3 Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl after the 2011 season. Williamson also missed from 43 yards in overtime, which set the Cowboys up for the win. Stanford dominated the game, outgaining the Cowboys 590 yards to 412, with a 243-13 edge in rushing.

5. Ducks drop Rose Bowl: Oregon fell flat in Chip Kelly's first BCS bowl game, with the favored Ducks losing to Ohio State 26-17 in the Rose Bowl after the 2009 season. Buckeyes QB Terrelle Pryor had perhaps the best game of his career -- 266 yards passing, 72 rushing -- and the Ducks offense struggled, gaining just 260 yards.

In an article last week we wrote about how the USC running backs are well equipped to play a big role in the Trojans' increased commitment to the run game in 2013.
No amount of running backs will matter, however, if the Trojans offensive line is not doing its job as well.

When the Trojans were developing their reputation as “Tailback U” they were doing it behind offensive linemen such as Ron Yary, Anthony Munoz and Brad Budde. You aren’t going to get any better than that group. In recent years USC has produced first-round selections such as Tyron Smith and Matt Kalil, but it hasn’t been the consistently strong group that the Trojans have seen in the past.

In order to help meet the stated goal of controlling the line of scrimmage, USC coach Lane Kiffin brought in veteran offensive line coach Mike Summers to oversee the group while also keep previous position coach James Cregg on staff as well. Summers has experience in a man blocking scheme -- as opposed to the zone blocking that Cregg taught the last three seasons -- and his fiery, old-school style has resonated well with players so far.

The projected starting five that Summers inherits currently has Aundrey Walker at left tackle, Max Tuerk at left guard, Marcus Martin at center, John Martinez at right guard and Kevin Graf at right tackle. Those five players have combined to start 84 games at USC, so there is plenty of experience, but they have yet to show they can be a dominant force up front.

Of course, a big part of the reason why they have not shown that is because they haven’t been asked to carry that kind of load. That will change this season according to Kiffin. The Trojans did increase the physical contact in practices this spring, even as the injuries piled up, in an effort to further develop a mindset of toughness

It’s important to note that the starting group is not completely set, as Kiffin has indicated that there will be competition in fall camp. While the depth should be better in 2013 than it has been in recent seasons -- particularly with redshirt freshmen Jordan Simmons and Chad Wheeler making good progress -- it stands to reason that the starters will likely come as listed above since they represent the five best options at this time.

There are still question marks that must be answered before the line can be considered a strength -- primarily the maturity of Walker at left tackle and the need to solidify Martin as the replacement for Khaled Holmes at center. No player is more of a question mark than Walker, a guy with tremendous physical gifts but one who also suffers lapses such as the missed assignment which led to the clean shot on Matt Barkley by UCLA's Anthony Barr that ended Barkley's Trojans career.

The right side of the line has remained unchanged over the last two seasons, as Martinez and Graf have started next to each other for 25 straight games. There is a lot of pride in this unsung pair and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the senior duo lead the way for the line in 2013. Both players have talked about how important it is for them to change the fortunes of the Trojans away from what happened in 2013, and the ability to control the offensive line of scrimmage will go a long way toward making that happen.