Legendary USC quarterback Matt Leinart spoke at Big Ten media days last week. He offered his thoughts on the Trojans’ chances this season in the Big Ten. With USC under a lot of scrutiny, who better to come to the Trojans’ defense and give fans a little bit of optimism for this season other than Matt Leinart?
In a recent article, Charlie Viehl with USC Trojans on Sports Illustrated highlighted Leinart’s exact feelings of optimism this season, noting what the Trojans need to do to be a top team in the Big Ten
“(Ashley) Adamson asked Leinart about his thoughts on USC’s upcoming season, and Leinart revealed his expectations for USC coach Lincoln Riley in 2025.
“You look at USC, UCLA. I mean, both teams need to get better. USC in particular. I’m actually very interested in this year. They made huge strides on defense a year ago. I think that we saw that. They were so close last year in a lot of games, and you can’t have excuses. But those plays go the different way, maybe they’re 10-3 and in a playoff or 10-2 an in the playoffs, so they need to learn how to finish.”
As for how to fix USC’s problem of finishing close games? The former Trojans quarterback talked about how Riley and the current coaching staff is emphasizing it over the offseason.
“I always say this and Pete Carroll at USC, our whole program was built on finishing. Whether it was schoolwork, whether it was in the gym, whether it was meetings just be the best and finish until the very end. You start to develop that mindset,” Leinart said. “I know that’s kind of been a big thing for them this offseason. Hopefully that translates into the games. I think they’re preseason ninth (in the) poll, which means nothing, but people are gonna overlook them this year. I think they’re going to be pretty good,” the former Trojan continued.
How far will “pretty good” get in this year’s Big Ten?
To Leinart’s point, the Trojans did take a massive step forward with the addition of Rob Ryan. This defense should be even better this season. This new and improved defense should help them finish games. With more stability at quarterback and with elite weapons, the Trojans are aiming to right all of last season’s wrongs.
The Trojans should not be overlooked this season with everything they have, but maybe for Lincoln Riley and the rest of the team, that is exactly how they should want it.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Former Trojan Matt Leinart is hopeful about USC football this year
Reporting by Micah Huff, Trojans Wire / Trojans Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
