Heading into Friday night's Las Vegas Bowl against Texas A&M, there are some major questions about the future of the USC football program. After winning 11 games in Lincoln Riley's first season in 2022,

Defensively, it will be tough for USC to slow down the Aggies, specifically through the air without cornerback Jaylin Smith. The 49 points Notre Dame put up on the Trojans in the regular-season finale were the most they’ve allowed all year, though most of the damage was done on the ground. A shootout might be the best-case scenario for the Trojans.

Las Vegas began blooming on the Nevada desert nearly a century ago thanks in part to the building of the Hoover Dam, and now Texas A&M coach Mike Elko hopes his program’s holidays sojourn to the bright lights on the sand helps bring a similar mushrooming for the Aggies.