Adam Bradford’s first set of USC game predictions for the 2024 season produced a mixed bag against San Jose State, with a couple of easy wins, one obvious miss, and one call that got wiped out by an injury before kickoff.
The cleanest hit came on the freshman receivers. Bradford had predicted that at least one true freshman wideout would catch a touchdown in his first college game, and USC got more than that. Trent Mosley and Kayden Dixon-Wyatt both reached the end zone in their college football debuts.
Bradford also leaned into the scoring total, and that one turned into a winner too. He pointed to the over/under of 61.5 points on Action Network and said it would not stun him if USC cleared that number by itself. The Trojans did not do it alone, but San Jose State’s fourth-quarter push helped send the game over the total.
Not everything broke his way. Bradford’s first-touchdown pick was Waymond Jordan, but it was Jayden Maiava who opened the scoring with a quarterback sneak, making that prediction a clear miss.
Another forecast never really had a chance. Bradford expected both Sam Huard and Jonas Williams to see action at quarterback once the game got out of hand, but Huard did not suit up because of an injury. Bradford noted that there were no reports of the injury before Saturday, making the miss a tough one to pin on the prediction itself.
He also made a lighter, unofficial call about the heat. With a noon kickoff in August and temperatures projected to reach the 90s, Bradford guessed that more than 100,000 bottles of water would be consumed inside the Coliseum while the gates were open. He added that he had no real way to track it, and no data ever came in to settle the bet.
By Bradford’s own accounting, four of the predictions were actually trackable. Two landed, one missed, and one was affected by the Huard injury. He called that outcome not great, but not terrible either.
Bradford said he’ll be back later this week with five more predictions for USC’s game against Fresno State.
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USC Is About To Get An Early Test Up Front
USC is getting a useful measuring stick early, and it comes in the form of a Fresno State defense that was the best unit in the Mountain West a year ago. The Bulldogs held opponents to just 286 yards and 19 points per game, and the strength starts up front under defensive coordinator Nick Benedetto, who brought his system over from Northern Illinois and has plenty of experience to lean on in the trenches.
The matchup should tell plenty about where the Trojans are on the line of scrimmage, especially against a front that has made life hard on the run game. Fresno State went 9-0 last season when it kept opponents under 140 rushing yards, and linebacker Tytus Khajavi is expected to be one of the key players helping set the tone. Against a USC offense that wants to establish itself early, that kind of resistance can reveal a lot quickly. [Read more 🡒]
USC Fans May Not Love This Name In The Next Coaching Cycle
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For Trojans fans, the part worth tracking is not just who lands where, but which coaches remain in the conversation if jobs at the top of the market open up. Kingsbury, Norvell and Sitake each bring a different profile and a different recent track record, which is why speculation around them is starting to build now, well before any actual vacancy is filled. [Read more 🡒]
USC Already Has One Clear Strength And One Growing Concern
USCs season opener against San Jose State offered an early look at what this roster might already do well, and which parts still need work. Jayden Maiava handled his first game of the year with plenty of positives, while defensive tackle Jide Abasiri also stood out in a performance that gave the Trojans something to build on. There were encouraging contributions, too, from wide receiver Trent Mosley and running back King Miller, suggesting the offense has multiple pieces ready to matter right away.
The concern showed up on the other side of the ball, where the secondary and some individual defenders had a rougher time keeping things clean. Kam Crawford was among the players who struggled, and that mattered because USCs defense is still trying to sort out its identity as the schedule moves forward. One game does not settle the bigger picture, but it did give the Trojans a pretty clear snapshot of where the strength is and where the questions are likely to linger. [Read more 🡒]