It's starting to look like the pressure is off for Lane Kiffin at Heritage Hall. The USC Trojans are looking mighty again. The two-year sanctions that plagued the program in their recruiting efforts are gone. The team is a national championship contender with a Heisman Trophy favorite at quarterback. Despite the scholarship restrictions that are still in place, they have a good shot to finally prove that the Pac-12 can reign supreme over the rest of the country.
Dan Rubenstein of SB Nation caught up with Kiffin at Pac-12 Media Day last month, and the two of them discussed the pressures of coaching as the favorite at USC, where all the pressure will be foisted upon him. He also went further in-depth into some position battles and the quality of the opposition within the conference.
Indeed, the worst that Kiffin has had to worry about is a silly Coaches Poll kerfuffle. Kiffin briefly ruffled weathers when he said he would never vote USC No. 1 when he ended up actually doing so in his preseason ballot. This eventually led to Kiffin conceding his ballot for the remainder of the season.
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