Yesterday, head football coach Clay Helton was fired from his job at Southern California. The Trojans were 40-27 during Helton's tenure as head football coach.
Here is a look at the Southern California Trojans
football program since 2008 (the
first year that I collected all the variables needed for the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model).
This time period spans the last two seasons under head coach Pete Carroll
(2008-2010),
head coach Lane Kiffen (2010-2013), head coach Steve Sarkisian (2014-2015), and Clay Helton
(2016-2021*). After the figure below is a more detailed look at
the Southern California Trojans football program during head coach Helton's
tenure based on the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model using data provided by www.cfbstats.com. (The vertical school color bars represent seasons where head coaches changed).
Clay Helton (2016 - 2021*)
2016
USC finished the regular season at 9-3, and were bowl eligible, where they defeated #12 ranked Penn State to finish at 10-3 overall. The Trojans
played against an “average”
strength
of schedule (SOS), meaning that the Trojans' SOS was plus or minus
one standard deviation of the "leagues" average SOS for that season. USC's
best regular season victory was against #2 ranked Washington (26-13)
and their worst
loss was to #57 ranked Stanford (10-27).
USC was the #28 ranked team overall, with the #44 ranked
offense and the #38 ranked defense using the
Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from
www.cfbstats.com.
2017 USC finished the regular season at 11-2, and were bowl eligible, where they were defeated by #2 ranked Ohio State by a score of (7-24) to finish at 11-3 overall. The Trojans
played against an “average”
strength
of schedule (SOS) for that season. USC's
best regular season victory was against #30 ranked Utah (28-27)
and their worst
loss was to #46 ranked Washington State (27-30).
USC was the #24 ranked team overall, with the #12 ranked
offense and the #78 ranked defense using the
Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from
www.cfbstats.com.
2018
USC finished the regular season at 5-7, and were bowl ineligible. The Trojans
played against an “average”
strength
of schedule (SOS). USC's best regular season victory was against #33 ranked Washington State
(39-36)
and their worst
loss was to #103 ranked UCLA (27-34).
USC was the #77 ranked team overall, with the #91 ranked
offense and the #57 ranked defense using the
Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from
www.cfbstats.com.
USC finished the regular season at 8-4, and were bowl eligible, where they were defeated by the #21 ranked Iowa Hawkeyes by a score of (24-49) to finished the season at 8-5 overall. The Trojans
played against a “tougher”
strength
of schedule (SOS), meaning that the Trojans' SOS was between
one and two standard deviations lower than the "league" average SOS. USC's best regular season victory was against #8 ranked Utah (30-23)
and their worst
loss was to #61 ranked BYU (27-30).
USC was the #52 ranked team overall, with the #29 ranked
offense and the #94 ranked defense using the
Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from
www.cfbstats.com.
2020
USC finished the COVID-19 shortened regular season at 5-1. The Trojans
played against an “average”
strength
of schedule (SOS). USC's
best regular season victory was against #44 ranked UCLA (43-38)
and their only
loss was to #59 ranked Oregon.
USC was the #51 ranked team overall, with the #95 ranked
offense and the #12 ranked defense using the
Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from
www.cfbstats.com.
2021
After games of the 2021 season Helton
is no longer with the football program. USC played against an “average”
strength
of schedule (SOS). USC defeated #93 ranked San Jose State (30-7) and lost to #108 ranked Stanford (28-42).
USC is currently the #101 ranked team overall, with the #79 ranked
offense and the #102 ranked defense using the
Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from
www.cfbstats.com.
2021 FBS Head Coaching Changes
