College Football: 5 reasons USC wins 2017 National Championship

4. Experience/Building off last year

Whenever you think about USC, there are always going to be relatively lofty expectations. Whether that’s decades of prestige, the more recent Pete Carroll era or something else entirely that’s behind that, I’m not sure. Whatever the case, though, they’ve rarely been able to live up to those standards in recent years. And at the start of their 2016 campaign, that looked to be the case once again.

With Max Browne starting the season under center, the Trojans started the season losing to three ranked opponents (including a shellacking at the hands of Alabama) and only defeating Utah State. After losing to Utah in his first start, though, Sam Darnold took over the team and they found their leader and a groove. They went 10-1 under Darnold and even captured the Rose Bowl with a win over Penn State.

One of the defining characteristics of last season for USC — aside from finding the right quarterback — was how their confidence grew each week. Whether it was staring down a highly touted Washington Huskies team in Seattle or taking on the Nittany Lions in the Rose Bowl, no moment was too big. That type of confidence and experience is massive, especially with all the key contributors that the Trojans have returning for 2017.