In 2013, the sanctions-stricken USC Football defense ranked among the best squads in the country.
Under defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast, the Trojans improved from 30th in S&P+ in 2012 to fourth by the end of the 2013 season. That was Year 1.
Pendergast didn’t get a chance at Year 2, when the most marked growth usually occurs for teams under new management. Instead, Steve Sarkisian brought his own DC, Justin Wilcox, along with him when he took control of the program.
Two years later, newly-minted head coach Clay Helton had the foresight to bring Pendergast and his aggressive defense back to Troy and history repeated itself, to a point.