USC Football Trending In Right Direction For Second Half Of 2016 Season

USC football is trending in the right direction as the second half of the 2016 looms, playing their best football in a suddenly plausible bid for the Pac-12 South crown.

You have to applaud the way USC is now playing after such a difficult start to the season.

A three-game winning streak has the Trojans in the thick of the Pac-12 South race. Pick whatever cliche works best for you, but winning out could mean Roses.

So what needs to happen for that to become a reality? First off, it will not be easy but not as daunting as it seemed at the beginning of the season.

The biggest challenge will be the Washington Huskies in Seattle on Nov. 12.  But that’s the only game that won’t be played in Southern California. Four of the remaining five games are at home or just up the road in Pasadena.

For that matter, if USC keeps winning, the Pac-12 Championship Game on the neutral field at Levi Stadium wouldn’t take the Trojans out of state and the Rose Bowl is still in Pasadena.

Is Washington so much better than last year’s Utah team that was ranked in the top five when the Trojans pulled the upset?

The Huskies’ two big wins so far are against Stanford and Oregon, both were home games, and neither team is ranked any longer.

This upcoming weekend will reveal much as a hot, one-loss Utah team will host the Huskies in Salt Lake City.  After that game it will be clearer how dominant the Huskies really are.

USC cannot overlook any team on the remaining schedule. They will face two big rivalry games, an improved Cal team, the Ducks and,of course, the Seattle showdown.

The Trojans almost played well enough to win the road game against Utah but turnovers made sure that didn’t happen. If USC plays a disciplined game against Washington, it should be a close one, but there’s little room for mistakes, penalties and turnovers.

The good news is today’s Trojan football team is still peaking. The defense is aggressive and swarming with excellent coverage and tackling.

Justin Davis’ injury hurts the offense but if the offensive line continues to control the line of scrimmage, other running backs, like Ronald Jones II and Aca’ Cedric Ware, will be able to step up. Quarterback Sam Darnold continues to improve on his overall game and deserves all the accolades he’s receiving.

More from Reign of Troy

• Markese Stepp enters transfer portal intending to leave USC football
• USC football’s Alijah Vera-Tucker declares for NFL Draft
• USC football adds Xavion Alford as transfer from Texas
• USC Podcast: RoT Radio Ep. 396 on the Football Season’s Fallout
• Talanoa Hufanga named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, USC football with five first-teamers

Nobody will look forward to playing this version of 2016 Trojans. They’ve already played the best team in the country so nobody will intimidate them. How much did the team learn from that loss is the question.

No doubt the coaching staff learned a whole bunch as evidenced by the new and improved lineup and more aggressive play calling.

There’s a lot to be said for playing your best football after seven games with momentum and confidence.

Whether this team can really deliver a spectacular season remains to be seen but it’s certainly trending in the right direction.