USC Trojans have one of the most difficult 2017 schedules in the nation. Ranked #2 in most consensus reports which do vary of course but on average ranked #2. No slow burn here. We take on the best of the best. We wouldn’t want it any other way as USC Trojan Football is always about targeting the best to be recognized as the best as measured by results not hype.
Right now the offseason is all about the hype as that is what drives the intrigue and excitement towards the upcoming season. We have seen this before. During the nine years of Pete Carroll we saw it result very strongly from beginning to end when that engine got rolling after year one. We are on the cusp of an amazing new era with Coach Helton. The pressure is always there. Beware of job description for a Power Five school let alone a Top 5 program school for the decades.
The media is skeptical. The schedule is key. Will the Trojans come out of the blocks following fall camp and crush the gauntlet of Western Michigan, Texas and Stanford? Lessons learned from last year should be pasted in on the inside of every locker in Heritage Hall. The coaches the trainers and equipment staff should all have this on the tip of their tongues. No stone unturned.
Hype can be counter productive. It tends to place pressure on those that handle it in different ways. Some excel in the pressure, Kobe Bryant. Some retreat and can’t sleep at night thinking about failure versus going out and conquering the path in front of them. Who will rise up on this years team? Who will take that leap of faith and stare at the offseason Hype with the enthusiasm of a winner?
The good news is that we will know and we will see it in the first three weeks of the season.
Fight On Trojans
Comments