3 reasons to believe USC will win the Pac-12 this year

The USC Trojans can win the Pac-12 in 2021 on the back of an improving defense, a manageable schedule and, most importantly, a star quarterback.

USC made it through the 2020 regular season without a loss, pulling off stunning comebacks to keep their record clean.

However, the unusual campaign caught up with them in the Pac-12 Championship Game against Oregon.

The Trojans proved they have the fourth quarter mettle to challenge for the conference title again in 2021. Can they get over the hump this time?

3 reasons to believe USC will win the Pac-12 in 2021

Kedon Slovis is the guy

Kedon Slovis is the best quarterback in the Pac-12. That’s the case even after a slight dip in 2020.

Coming off a late elbow injury from 2019, the sophomore quarterback couldn’t throw consistently crisp balls for much of his second campaign. His passer rating and completion percentage slipped, but he still led the conference with 17 touchdowns and 320 yards per game.

Slovis is fully healthy this time around and in Year 3 working in Graham Harrell’s offense. He has a talented receiving corps at his disposal once again. Despite losing Amon-Ra St. Brown and Tyler Vaughns to the NFL, Drake London could end up being the best USC receiver of the past decade. The Trojans have also recruited the position exceptionally well, with Bru McCoy and others coming through to reload the group.

The quarterback will also have four of five returning offensive linemen in front of him with a new offensive line coach with Air Raid experience now setting the blocking schemes.

Critically, Slovis channeled Sam Darnold with his late-game heroics. He has an ability to keep USC in games and come up big when it matters in the fourth quarter. That’s the kind of skill any conference contender needs.