After consecutive losses at Stanford and Texas in September, USC coach Clay Helton was defiant about his team’s direction, and he had every reason to be.
He had coached a season-long rally in 2016 that turned a 1-3 start into a 10-3 record and a Rose Bowl win. This time, he had a talented freshman quarterback who predictably took his lumps in two tough road games. Given the soft Pac-12 Conference schedule ahead, it was easy to imagine the Trojans bringing a respectable record and another South Division title into the season finale against intersectional rival Notre Dame at the Coliseum.