The tone has been set for the 2024 USC football season. But first, let’s rewind back to December of 2023…
After the 2023 regular season came to a conclusion, the Trojans were presented with a unique opportunity. USC was scheduled to play No. 15 Louisville in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego, and the Trojans who elected to play in the bowl game banded together with the mindset of “new team, one game”.
USC’s moxie revealed itself on national television as the Trojans defeated the Cardinals 42- 28.
In the modern era of college football where instantaneous gratification is demanded and where patience is not often a virtue, USC QB Miller Moss changed the narrative. After backing up Caleb Williams (the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner) for two seasons who chose to opt out of the bowl game, Moss went 23-of-33 for 372 yards and 6 TDs in his first USC start.
Moss, who was named the Holiday Bowl Offensive MVP, gave the nation a preview of what was to come in the 2024 season and proved that values like hard work and loyalty are not to be overlooked. With his 6 TD passes thrown, Moss now holds the record for most TD passes thrown in a Holiday Bowl, most TD passes thrown in a USC bowl game, most TD passes thrown by a USC QB is his first Trojan start and tied the Pac12 Bowl Game passing TD record.
USC fans saw glimpses of greatness from the young bucks of the program: WRs Ja’Kobi Lane, Duce Robinson, Makai Lemon and Zachariah Branch, as well as steadiness from veterans like Holiday Bowl Defensive MVP Jaylin Smith and Bear Alexander. The energy around the program was revitalized as the Trojans stood underneath the celebratory fireworks in Petco Park, but there was still work to be done.
One of the more popular tools these days for New Year’s resolutions is a vision board. Vision boards give tangibility to our goals, allow us to think deeply about our desires and manifest them into reality.
USC head coach Lincoln Riley created his own version of a vision board when manifesting his ultimate defensive coaching staff.
“We rolled a whiteboard into my office, and we said our goal was to find the right coordinator, and then we wanted to find the best developers. Who do we think are the best developers of defensive talent, culture, all of that,” said Riley. “We ended up with seven names on the board. And it was the dream list — if you could get anyone, who would it be? And we ended up hiring four of those seven. So we batted a pretty decent…
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