USC football’s 2023 frustrations are magnified by one NFL draft fact
The USC Trojans had a bitterly disappointing year on the gridiron in 2023. USC football won only seven regular-season games and failed to make the Pac-12 Championship Game. The Trojans didn’t get a New Year’s Six bowl bid. They didn’t beat their two rivals, UCLA and Notre Dame. There was nothing the Trojans could look back on in 2023 and say they achieved, other than winning the Holiday Bowl, the one shining moment for the 2023 team. At the 2024 NFL draft, USC was reminded of how much it underachieved. The draft elicited this unwelcome and uncomfortable fact: The Trojans had more 2024 draft picks than any other team which ended the season unranked.
Given that USC lost five games last season, it was hard to legitimately view the Trojans as a top-25 team. They weren’t. They made the discussion relatively simple in the end. The Trojans underachieved so much that Alex Grinch got fired, Donte Williams left the program, and a new defensive coaching staff was brought in to fix things. Lincoln Riley and Bennie Wylie developed a different strength training program. A lot of changes swept through USC. The NFL draft reminds us why these changes were made.
Most 2024 NFL Draft picks from teams that finished season unranked
USC 7
Auburn 5
Utah 5
Illinois 4
Kentucky 4
Miami 4
South Carolina 4
Texas A&M 4— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) April 29, 2024
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