Could an All-USC team win the Super Bowl?

Last month, we established that an NFL team made up entirely of Alabama alumni couldn’t win the Super Bowl. This time, we shift to USC, which has the largest contingent of alumni in the NFL.

QB: Carson Palmer — OK, off to a much better start with the veteran two-time Pro Bowler coming off a season in which he posted a 95.6 passer rating. Injuries and age are a concern, but he’s got a lot of support in Matt Cassel, Mark Sanchez and Matt Barkley.

RB: Reggie Bush — Not really a consistent No. 1 guy, but he’s a playmaker who would hold it down on a pass-first team.

WR: Marqise Lee / Robert Woods — Two talented young receivers (neither has turned 24) with a lot of talent, but neither has proven much.

TE: Jordan Camerson — The big 26-year-old had 917 yards and seven touchdowns two years ago in Cleveland.

OT: Tyron Smith / Matt Kalil — With two young Pro Bowl-caliber tackles, Palmer would have all day to find Lee, Woods, Bush and Cameron.

G: Marcus Martin / Khaled Holmes — With no active NFL guards hailing from USC, the two youngsters are forced to shift over from center. This is a big problem.

C: Ryan Kalil — Fortunately, Martin and Holmes benefit from the support of Pro Bowlers on the outside and Ryan Kalil inside. He was graded by Pro Football Focus as the fifth-best run-paving center in football last season.

DE: Everson Griffen / Frostee Rucker — The two had a combined 17 sacks for their respective NFL squads last season.

DT: Jurrell Casey / Mike Patterson — A solid veteran duo with a combined 169 starts under its belt.

LB: Clay Matthews / Brian Cushing / Rey Maualuga — All are above-average starters when healthy, maybe even Pro Bowlers. And Nick Perry and Malcolm Smith aren’t bad backups.

CB: Nickell Robey / Shareece Wright — This would easily be the worst starting corner duo in football.

S: Taylor Mays / Dion Bailey — Ditto for this safety duo. And no backups at either position.

Conclusion: Even with fictional backups and a stronger quarterback, this team wouldn’t fare much better than the All-Alabama team we figured would struggle to win four games. I’ll give them a 5-11 record, but that’s being generous.

About Brad Gagnon

Brad Gagnon has been passionate about both sports and mass media since he was in diapers -- a passion that won't die until he's in them again. Based in Toronto, he's worked as a national NFL blog editor at theScore.com (covering Super Bowls XLIV, XLV and XLVI), a producer and writer at theScore Television Network and a host, reporter and play-by-play voice at Rogers TV. His work has also appeared at Deadspin, FoxSports.com, The Guardian, The Hockey News and elsewhere at Bloguin, but his day gig has him covering all things NFC East for Bleacher Report.

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