A year after being a contender for the College Football Playoff and duking it out with Utah over who would be the top team in the Pac-12, USC is looking to use a tough schedule to accomplish what it couldn’t in 2022.

Former Florida and Mississippi State coach and current analyst Dan Mullen joined “The Matt Barrie Show” to discuss the Trojans heading into the 2023 season.

Mullen believes USC will take time to come into midseason form with all the new faces. Luckily for the Trojans, they have the anchor of their offense, Caleb Williams, returning after his Heisman Trophy season.

“They’re not going to come out and be clicking on all cylinders Week 1, but that’s not the goal. You don’t need to,” Mullen said. “With all these new faces, let’s work everybody in, let’s work out the kinks, let’s get ready to go for the long haul during the season, because they’re going to have a really tough schedule as it goes down the road.”

Mullen believes USC will be tested later in the year, so the work done early in the season will be important.

“They’re going to be tested throughout the year,” Mullen said. “They’re going to have a chance to work out all the kinks before it starts hitting, because when it hits, they’re going to have a tough schedule.”

Barrie says USC is “loaded.” He also said the Trojans should be 6-0 at the midpoint of the season.

You can see the full discussion below: