College Football: 5 reasons USC wins 2017 National Championship

1. Sam Darnold

There’s obviously a reason that the USC star quarterback was saved for last: he’s the engine that makes the Trojans tick. That was the case when he was slotted as the starter after beginning 2016 as the backup. And that’s even more so the case coming into the 2017 season. If USC is going to return to the College Football Playoff and win it, it’s going to be on the shoulders of the projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.

Darnold didn’t throw more than eight passes in the first three games of last season for the Trojans. However, he was handed the reigns on Sept. 23 against Utah and didn’t look back after that. The then-redshirt freshman and USC lost that tilt to the Utes, but proceeded to go undefeated from that point, including a thrilling victory in the Rose Bowl over Penn State, a game that was Darnold’s opus.

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After going 9-1 as the starter and throwing for 3,086 yards, 31 touchdowns and only nine interceptions while completing 67.2 percent of his throws, expectations are to the moon for Darnold. However, the big quarterback with sneaky athleticism and a penchant for shining in crunch time seems primed for the opportunity. He’s the star of this offense and the team as a whole. He has every tool to be a Heisman Trophy winner and megastar.

More importantly for the program, he’s the type of player that can put a team on his back all the way to a National Championship.