Season will start and end with Cody Kessler

Quarterback. The only position that can bring about devout praise and unheralded hate in a single game. Every team, no matter the conference, surrounding players or level (pro or amateur), starts and ends with the quarterback. If you don’t believe me, just look at Alabama and LSU last year. Two stacked teams at every position besides quarterback.

This season will be no different for the Trojans. The team will rise and fall depending on the performance of senior quarterback Cody Kessler.

I know what you’re all thinking. Kessler was fantastic last season, putting up numbers that not even Heisman winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart could reach.

And yes, on paper Kessler looked amazing, completing nearly 70 percent of his passes en route to 3,826 yards, 39 touchdowns and just five interceptions. Kessler led the Power 5 conferences in completion rate and trailed only Heisman winner Marcus Mariota in touchdowns.

To say the least, Kessler had a pretty phenomenal year. The problem? His team went 9-4, lost two games in the final minutes and got steamrolled by UCLA for a third consecutive year.

If you dive into Kessler’s numbers from last year, you’ll notice a disturbing trend. Against teams ranked outside the Top 25, Kessler put up video game-like numbers. Against top ranked teams, though, not so much.

For example, in games against Fresno State, Boston College, Oregon State, Colorado, Washington State, Cal and Notre Dame — all non-ranked teams at the time — Kessler threw for 2,434 yards, 32 touchdowns and just one interception.  Pretty amazing to say the least.

Now in games against Stanford, Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and UCLA — much better competition — Kessler managed just 1,071 yards (214 yards per game), four touchdowns and three interceptions. USC went 2-3 in these games, but it could have been 0-5 if Stanford had scored one of their 10 possessions inside USC’s 10-yard line and Arizona hadn’t missed a last-minute field goal.

Many will come to Kessler’s defense and claim the scholarship reductions severely hurt USC in the fourth quarter of games. While this may be true, against both Arizona State and Utah, the Trojans had the ball with a chance to seal the game with a first down. In both situations the Trojans failed to convert and lost in the final seconds.

Though Kessler had a monster year statistically, the jury is still out on whether or not he can follow in the footsteps of those before him and become the next great Trojan quarterback.

The losses of Nelson Agholor and Buck Allen to the NFL will hurt Kessler, but the pieces still surrounding him should pick up the slack. Sophomore wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and redshirt sophomore Steven Mitchell are both another year older and junior wide out Darreus Rogers have made strides throughout camp. The threat of sophomore cornerback Adoree’ Jackson should also open things up for Kessler down the field.

Kessler has the benefit of sitting behind one of the most experienced offensive lines the Trojans have had in years. The Trojans return most of their offensive line, including preseason All-American Max Tuerk.

After somehow flying under the radar all of last season, Kessler now has the spotlight shining directly on him. ESPN rankedKessler third in their pre-season Heisman watch and named the senior quarterback to the preseason All-Pac-12 team.

If Kessler manages to lead the Trojans through the first half of the season undefeated, that spotlight will only grow. It will be interesting to see how the humble star out of Bakersfield responds once the lights are all on him.

It may be unfair to put all the pressure on Kessler, but when you play quarterback for the University of Southern California that’s the reality. Injuries, coaching and luck will all play a major factor this season, but it will all come back to Kessler.

If the Trojans go undefeated, Kessler is a hero. If they go 9-4 again, Kessler is just another quarterback, even if he puts up ridiculous numbers once again.

Honestly, I believe Kessler has the ability to lead the Trojans to a Pac-12 title and an appearance in the College Football Playoff. All of the pieces are there for this to be a successful season and Kessler has shown tremendous growth since he took over the starting job midway through the 2013 season.

The sanctions are over. Sarkisian is in year two. The Trojans have depth on both sides of the ball for the first time in years. Jackson is a star in the making.

All that’s left is for Kessler to lead us back to the promised land.

Nick Barbarino is a senior majoring in business administration. His column “Beyond the Arc” runs Thursdays.