The 2027 USC Trojans football season has started and there have been major changes within the coaching structure. Head Coach Marcus Roberts and Quarterbacks coach Ronald Gilmore both tendered their resignations announcing their retirement. Roberts compiled a 43-10 record and Gilmore was with the Trojans for 9 seasons, both won a National Championship. The Trojans wasted no time in promoting Defensive Coordinator Dustin Palmer to the Head Coaching role. Palmer has led the USC defense to a top 5 finish the past 3 seasons in the NCAA. Earl Coover was signed to replace Gilmore, Coover was previously the tight ends coach for the Oregon Ducks. Running Backs coach Michael Houston is expected to be announced as the defensive Coordinator tomorrow.

In other news the Trojans have 2 big announcements regarding transfers that will be joining the squad this season:

WR- Marcus Gragg (from Florida) Gragg playing time been greatly reduced in the Florida offense the past season. He will be joining a deep receiving corps and expected to get significant playing time.

DT- Carl Barajas (from Oklahoma State) Carl started 27 games for the Cowboys the past two seasons. He is expected to start at Defensive tackle and new Head Coach Palmer was happy for the transfer. “We are fortunate to have Carl joining the squad. He has a winning attitude with a championship pedigree. We are looking forward to his influence”.

On the dawn of the 2027 the Trojans football excitement has taken over the campus. The excitement is a celebration of tradition and the happiness in the consistent winning formula that has become USC.

Changes that normally go unnoticed took center stage in the off-season as the Head Coach Marcos Roberts retired and that created a domino effect with the removal and addition of several members of the coaching staff. There will be new faces of the coaching staff on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. Those were not the only changes as with the new coaching staff 2 players decided to transfer. They are WR Marcus Gragg and DT Carl Barajas, both are penciled in as starters.



Here we go Trojan fans, another season and here are the projected offensive starters:

QB Plank
RB Carr
FB Dixon
TE Curtis
WR Gragg, Jackson III(fr), Burnett
OL Dinges(fr), Burrow, Zuvich, Quinones(fr), Harvey

Plank will be given the job, unless he shows he can’t handle it, in that case the ball will be turned over to Freshman Slovis. It is Planks job to lose. The RB, FB, TE, and WR positions will be a rotation. All of them will be in a rotation along with Ware, Jones, Castle, Chambers and Hardman. They will be no set positions. The players that line up will be the players that produce. The offensive line is set.

The defensive projected starters:

DL Murphy, Barajas, Gil, Musser
LB Houston Jr, Coney, Ferguson
DB Marshall, Rice, Mongomery, Walkup

Transfer Barajas takes over at DT, Murphy replaces Rector at LDE, and Houston Jr takes over for Smith at SLB. There are no questions who the starters are and these players will start, unless injured.

“The coaching philosophy has changed in the football program, but the goal is the same. Win the division, get to the bowl game, and win a national championship” said AD greyghost

The smoke rose from the battle, hard fought is an understatement. The critics and some fans had signed off on the Trojans loss to National Champion powerhouse Oklahoma State. There was one big problem, the Trojans football team didn’t. The did however show up to play and to put it mildly gave one of their best performances over the past couple of seasons jumping out to 35-14 as QB Plank finally found his groove completing 25-36, 252 yards, and 4 td’s. The Trojans had 8 receivers catch passes, but there were 2 players that made a significant impact. That is RB Stephen Carr who caught 7 passes, 115 yards and 2 scores. Carr finished with 231 totals yards and player of the game honors. The other player was RB Aca’Cedric Ware, who totaled 15 carries for 91 yards, while his 40-yard td scamper set the stage for the 2nd half. The Cowboys came storming back in the 4th quarter and came up just short. the final 35-26. “We are obviously happy with outcome and hopefully can add more highlights this season” said AD greyghost.

That's a powerhouse you got there...
<Bows politely and gets the **** off the road>

The words that Trojans AD greyghost said was the best “Wow is about the only thing I can say at this point. We expected to start the season 1-3, maybe 2-2 at best. This start is an incredible credit to the coaches and the players that put in the hard work”. The Trojans have jumped out of the gate to go 4-0 with wins over strong competitors Oklahoma State, Texas, and Notre Dame. The schedule ahead does lighten up as the Trojans go on the road to play Kansas, Rutgers, and rival UCLA. “We need to keep our focus and play one game at a time. We expected to be 4-4 at the midway point, so every win we get now keeps us in a stronger position going forward.” added ghost.

There has not been anyone that has been more important to the offense than running back Stephen Carr. Carr has accumulated 901 total yards through 4 games with 10 td’s. It seems like it would be impossible to maintain this pace. If he does continue, he would finish with 1300 rushing yards, 1600 receiving yards and 40 td’s. His total yardage would be 3600, One would think this could put him in the running for the Heisman trophy. Don’t think he is the sole Trojans threat as backup Aca’Cedric Ware has also stepped up gaining a career high 198 rushing yards, with a 40 yard scamper in game one against the Cowboys. He is 41 yards from eclipsing his total from his first 3 seasons. Then of course the rebounding season of QB Mary Plank. Plank already has as many td passes as he had last season with a league leading 70 percent completion percentage.


On defense the Trojans are as efficient as last season, while being led by 2 players. The first CB Jonathan Rice accumulating 17 tackles, 1 forced fumble, and 5 ints. He was pretty much solely responsible for holding Notre Dame superstar Paris Campbell to 1 catch while tallying 3 ints. The one player that has surprised first year defensive coordinator Michael Houston is DE Connor Murphy, “We saw his improvement in training camp and he won the job” said Houston. Connor has proven to be a great move totaling 8 sacks and 4 hurries while playing mostly injured in the first 4.

The schedule for the Trojans reads as a war zone with games remaining against ranked Rutgers, BYU, Army, Navy, Oklahoma, and 2 against the Bruins. One thing for sure, if the Trojans make it the bowl games this season, they have earned it.

“Yes, the Trojans football team is very happy right now. We expected to be 4-4 or possible 3-5 at this point. For our team to rise up to the level they have and be sitting at 7-1 is amazing.” said AD greyghost. The Trojans reeled off 7 in a row before losing a hard-fought contest to the rival UCLA Bruins. “At this point we believe that it will take 12 games to win the Pac 12 South. It is very possible that a team in Elite Conference could win 11 games and not get a bowl bid. We are fortunate to be where we are right now.”

There is no question in the Trojan locker room who the 2 players that have the team playing winning football right now. It is a consensus that RB Stephen Carr who has 1300 total yards currently and DE Connor Murphy with 9 sacks and 9 hurries have been the difference makers. Carr who sat out against UCLA will be a game time decision against BYU. In addition, on offense Florida transfer Marcus Gragg has started making an impact with his clutch catches. He is on a pace to set career highs in catches and yardage. WR Deontay Burnett seems to have regained his old form as he is averaging 19 yards a catch and has 346 total. The rookies have started maturing with OL Quinones and Dinges showing stability, while WR John Jackson III is figuring out defenses catching 7 in the last 2 games.

The defense has shown flashes of brilliance at times allowing over 20 points only twice this season, with two shutouts. Murphy has been a force as mentioned along with CB Jonathan Rice is playing at an elite level. He leads the team in tackles and interceptions, also forcing one fumble. LB Te’von Coney also is playing at his normal consistent level with 34 tackles, 2 ints, and a forced fumble.

“We fully expect the Bruins to be there to the very end. They have a great AD in otterpop and a great football team. It would a great thing for the Pac 12 South to pull out 2 bowl bids at the end. We are ready, let's get it going!” added ghost.

“Yes, we are very happy to be sitting at 10-2 right now. We expected 7-5 or even 8-4 at best and battling it out with UCLA for the division title. We knew UCLA had the horses to keep up with us. Otterpop is a great owner and it is very conceivable that it is going take us 13 wins to take the division title. That means we must win 3 of 4.” said AD greyghost.

The Trojans have won 3 of their last 4 and although everything appears to be going in the right direction, but there are concerns. On the offensive side of the ball, Stephen Carr is essentially it. He is 9 yards from breaking his personal single season total yards mark and 1 td away from a career season high. He has already broken his single season yards receiving and is expected to once again shatter the 100-reception mark for the 2nd consecutive season. He missed one game due to injury and that is where the concern lies. The inept offense managed 7 points in the contest, with no player really stepping up. The second issue is QB Maryland Plank has stepped back in time to his interception days from last season. He has thrown 9 ints over the past 4 games. If he doesn’t get this corrected it doesn’t bode well for the Trojans going forward with bowl bid hopes. He must become the leader that he has shown he can be.

The defense overall has been good over the past 4 games, but nothing like the juggernaut that started. “We hope with Murphy and Musser back from injuries that will enable us to get back to business and create more turnovers.” added ghost. Early in the season USC had several players among the league leaders, but they have trailed off. In order for the Trojans to maintain their defensive presence, the playmakers must step up.

When looking at the Trojans, although there are names recognizable, no one has All-American numbers, but somehow they continue to win. “I guess it will have to be a mystery, we are 5-2 against current top 10 teams (for Garrok) and have played tough in the games we need to. We would be happy going 13-3 with another division title, but UCLA is for real and they will have a say in that.” added ghost