Aaron Murray believes USC could win national championship this season

It’s been nearly 20 years since USC last won a national championship, but ESPN analyst Aaron Murray believes it is possible in 2023. The Trojans enter the second year under coach Lincoln Riley with aspirations of doing so after an impressive 2022 season in which they fell short at the end.

USC nearly made the College Football Playoff last season before a 47-24 loss to Utah in the Pac-12 Championship knocked them out of the conversation. That has led to plenty of talk about why the defense must improve heading into 2023 after surrendering 29.2 points per game.

However, Murray pointed out on the 3 and Out podcast with John Middlekauff that, with a quarterback like Caleb Williams, the defense doesn’t need to make drastic improvements for the Trojans to have a chance.

“They could easily win the national championship this year,” he said. “You don’t need an incredible improvement on defense. I don’t think all of a sudden you need it to be — they were giving up high 20 points per game — you don’t need all of a sudden to be giving up 18 points a game to be a national contender. With Caleb at quarterback and that offense and how good they’re gonna be this year, you just need to be a team that gives up, instead up 28 points per game, gives up 24 points per game. That’s it. You look at their games last year, their losses were one-score games. So if you can just get a little bit better, which personnel-wise they’re significantly better on defense, which should translate into points per game.”

The USC offense did more than enough to make up for the defense’s struggles this past season. The Trojans ranked third in the country with 41.4 points per game and 335.4 passing yards per game.

Williams won the Heisman Trophy after throwing for 4,537 yards, 42 touchdowns and just five interceptions. He now returns for what should be his final season as he is the projected No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Williams loses his top receiver Jordan Addison from a year ago, but both Tahj Washington and Mario Williams are back.

USC also added transfer receiver Dorian Singer from Arizona, so Williams won’t lack for weapons. The Trojans should once again boast one of the top offenses in the country, and Murray believes that’s a recipe for a title.

“To me, any time you have a quarterback like Caleb, you’re gonna have an opportunity to win a national championship,” he said. “Even though Georgia has dominated on defense the past two years, offenses still win championships. Look at two years ago against Alabama. Alabama beat the living crap out of Georgia in the SEC Championship Game. Probably would have beat Georgia once again in the natty had both receivers been healthy. Last year Ohio State probably should have beat Georgia if they’re healthy on offense. If both receivers are healthy. If Marvin Harrison doesn’t get knocked out. What had to win the game for Georgia? Their offense.

“Defense can get you there and it’s awesome to have. But if you want to win a championship in today’s game, it starts first with the offense. Right now, USC has a championship offense and a defense that just needs to get a little bit better, which they will. So yeah, they’re 100% contenders.”

Even with all that in mind, the USC defense should be much improved after adding three top 50 players according to On3’s Transfer Portal Rankings. That, combined with a lethal offense, makes them a threat to win it all.