USC Football Roundup: Old Coliseum seats for season ticket holders (7/12)

Trojan fans will have the chance to get two complimentary seats from the Coliseum renovations this summer. Here’s the USC football roundup for July 12.

USC football is giving away two complimentary Coliseum seats which have been torn out during renovations on the historic stadium this year. But only current season ticket holders are eligible to receive them.

The Trojans have mentioned this possibility since the renovations started, but on Thursday USC confirmed emails will be sent out on August 12 with details for current season ticket holders to take advantage of the offer.

“We want to show our appreciation to our fans during the Coliseum’s ongoing renovation in the 2018 season,” said USC associate athletic director Craig Kelley. “We know these free seats will be very popular with our fans and will make wonderful Trojan mementos.”

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• 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

The seats won’t be available to be picked up until early next year and they will come “as is,” though fans will have the option to have them mounted to a base or refurbished for an additional charge. Specific seat numbers will not be available.

So if you’re a season ticket holder, keep your eyes out for that email. If not, maybe this is the promotion that makes the season ticket commitment worth your while.

It all starts upfront

Dan Weber of USCFootball.com lays the wood talking about USC’s offensive line going into the 2018 season.

“Most of the preseason prognosticators think USC could be just fine. How many teams return four starters? Phil Steele projects USC’s O-line as a Top 10 group in the nation just because of those veteran numbers.

“But is that enough?” Weber asks.

That’s the crux of the skepticism aimed at the Trojans from within and without. Replacing Sam Darnold, Ronald Jones II and Deontay Burnett is easy with the skill position players USC has consistently recruited. But no one will thrive if the offensive line continues to falter in the most important moments.

Top NFL trios by school

NFL.com’s Dave Dameshek ranked the top quarterback-running back-wide receiver trios in the NFL by college with USC’s trio of Sam Darnold, Buck Allen and JuJu Smith-Schuster at No. 8.

Dameshek expects Ronald Jones II to take Buck Allen’s place this time next year. If that happens, and Darnold lives up to expectations, the Trojans should also expect to rise in general.

More Pac-12 predictions

Sporting News released their Pac-12 predictions on Thursday, unsurprisingly picking USC to win the South once more.

USC’s tilts with Stanford and Utah comprised two of the Top 3 games in conference this year as well.

Best names in college football

Bleacher Report compiled a list of the best names in college football this week, organizing by conference. With representatives at each position, the Trojans only had one name make the cut: freshman wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.

St. Brown’s inclusion is absolutely on point. His brother, Osiris, also got a nod for Stanford.

Were there any USC snubs? Marvell Tell is still a great one. And Stephen Carr at running back could make his own argument. But there’s some tough competition.

Today’s Trojan Trivia

The most popular days USC has played on in the regular season are October 24 and November 7, with 18 games each. the Trojans will play on neither in 2018.

January 1 remains the day USC has played the most on full-stop, having played 33 times on a New Year’s Day Rose Bowl. They can add to that tally in 2019.