Last week a clip of USC practicing in 2008 went viral and a few friends sent it to me.
Watching it brought me right back. Every rep felt like your position was on the line. Every drill had juice. And what stood out most was that everyone welcomed it. It was competitive, it was fun, and players thrived in it.
Today’s Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth podcast, fueled by our founding sponsor 76, keeping you on the GO GO GO so you never miss a beat, focuses on this year’s Trojans.
And I’ll admit this. Being around this freshman class at the Navy All-American Game, speaking to the team last month, and now watching spring ball, I finally sense that this roster has the type of competitive depth that can make it feel like that again. Daily.
I’ve been around USC for a long time. As a camp counselor in 2002 and 2003 while playing at Pitt, on the coaching staff from 2005 to 2009, and now broadcasting their games for nearly two decades. I’ve seen a lot of cardinal and gold.
One of the biggest takeaways from my time with Pete Carroll, and from learning alongside him since, is his definition of competition.
Most people think of it as striving against one another. He always went back to the Latin root. To strive together.
That’s what the best teams do. They compete every day knowing their job is on the line, but their focus is on the present moment and getting better through it. That’s not easy anywhere, and in Los Angeles, it might be the hardest place in college football to truly live that out.
What helps is talent. Real talent. At every position.
And this year’s Trojans might have that.
The freshman class has elevated every room. The portal additions have done the same. But the reason I’m leaning toward USC making a run at the CFP isn’t just the talent. It’s how the returners are responding to it. The offensive line, the quarterback room, the running backs, the defensive front, the linebackers. They’re welcoming the competition. They’re leaning into the idea of striving together, not against.
After being at practice, I don’t think talent alone is driving this. It’s their disposition.
This team feels blue collar.
That might sound odd in Los Angeles, but if you’ve been around this program, you understand. There has always been a tension between internal reality and external expectations. The hype can get loud, and at times, it can get in the way.
This group feels different.
The young players aren’t arriving expecting anything. They’re arriving ready to work. And the veterans are responding to that, not resisting it. There’s a shared understanding that competition is the path.
Up front, the offensive line looks like one of the better units in the country with real experience and depth. At quarterback, Jayden Maiava has a calm confidence that comes with ownership of the role at USC. Along the defensive line, there are multiple players who can impact a game and look like future pros.
And maybe most importantly, when you watch this team walk onto the field, there’s no drop off. It looks like a complete roster. Head coach Lincoln Riley and GM Chad Bowden deserve a ton of credit for that.
Now let’s be real. It’s March. Spring ball creates optimism everywhere. And USC’s path is not an easy one. Hosting Oregon, Washington, and Ohio State. Traveling to Rutgers, Penn State, Wisconsin, and defending national champion Indiana. That’s a B1G schedule.
But this team feels like it knows exactly what it has. And more importantly, what it’s building toward.
So yeah, I’m leaning into the hype.
Because I’ve seen what it looks like when it gets rolling here. And once it does, it’s hard to stop.
Thanks for all the support of Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth and our YouTube channel. Be sure to subscribe, share, and let me know what you’re seeing as our spring tour continues and if you’ve missed the last two episodes, be sure to run it back to learn from Curt Cignetti and my takeaways from Nebraska.
Much love and stay steady,
Yogi
