Looking ahead: Middle portion of USC schedule looks highly unforgiving

It can be something of a fool's errand to look too far ahead in the schedule. Certainly, it can be an entertaining aspect during the summer months to look at future matchups and attempt to make projections. Those are, even when correct, guesses. 

A lot unfolds every year that is unforeseen in college football. Injuries happen. Some players end up underwhelming, while others overproduce after initially flying under the radar. How the ball can bounce from quarter to quarter and on a weekly basis too can drastically alter seasons in ways that are impossible to predict.

Not that anyone would ever hope for an injury. Just to list an example, a top preseason team's season can quickly go downhill in the event of the starting quarterback suffering a season-ending injury. That is to say, any number of possibilities can rather easily render any thoughts during June and July more or less useless by the time the games actually start.

Even so, it can be interesting to look at how the schedule looks to get something of an early impression.

There is a specific four-game stretch from the end of September to the beginning of November. As the span should indicate, there are fortunately two byes scheduled in October. And it is a good thing. The first week of October and the last week of the month will see the Trojans away from the action. During the rest of this given timeframe, it is a difficult part of the calendar.

It starts with a September 27 matchup. USC will be on the road against Illinois. On October 11, the Trojans will host Michigan. October 18 is the last currently scheduled game against Notre Dame, due to the Fighting Irish's unwillingness to accept the proposed offer to preserve the rivalry. November 1 will then have the Trojans travel to Lincoln to face Nebraska.

Tell-tale portion of USC's upcoming season

For all the talk of how difficult a certain SEC conference can be, this is as tough a slate as anyone in the sport has. Seeing how USC comes out on the other side of this part of the season and into the rest of Big Ten play will say a lot about this team.

Trojan fans are looking for improvement. The most optimistic are hoping to even see a College Football Playoff appearance. Regardless of what the record implications will mean later on, how this team looks and is able to compete around this time will provide a lot of answers that people are looking for.