Lane Kiffin completes mediocre first year at USC

When former Tennessee football coach Lane Kiffin dumped the Volunteers in favor of the University of Southern California, it was believed that prosperity awaited him. Unfortunately for him, the NCAA dropped the hammer and put the program on probation earlier this year. So, entering the season, it was known the Trojans could not go to a bowl. However, I do not believe many expected the lackluster season they just experienced.

USC closed the season last Saturday with a win against UCLA. The Trojans finished with an 8-5 record, and there were some puzzling losses. A close loss to Washington was inexcusable as well as a loss at home to Notre Dame. Of course, the Trojans did not have starting quarterback Matt Barkley for that game, but the Irish was playing with its back-up quarterback as well.

Also, USC got stomped by Oregon State and gave up more than 50 points to Oregon.

Despite the probation, the program is still deep in resources, so Kiffin should have delivered more this year. Years two and three are when the impact of the NCAA penalties should really hit home. Because of this, can we expect losing seasons out of USC in the near future?

As upset as Tennessee fans were when he left, it may not have been such a bad thing.

This year, Kiffin delivered a mediocre performance in a league that is vastly inferior to the Southeastern Conference. If he could not compete in the PAC-10, how could we have expected him to do so here?

I have no hard feelings toward Kiffin for jilting Tennessee. USC was his dream job, and he took it.

However, based on what I have observed this year, I am happier to have Derek Dooley as our head coach than Lane Kiffin.