After last year’s 7-6 finish, Lane Kiffin is under pressure to turn things around at USC. (Jonathan Moore/Getty Images)

By Zac Ellis

Throughout the offseason, SI.com will spotlight several teams, players and coaches with something to prove heading into the 2013 season. To check out every edition of this series, click here.

Lane Kiffin has his share of doubters, but few of those critics had much to say around this time last year. Entering his third season as USC’s head coach, Kiffin had a team that was primed for BCS title contention. The Trojans boasted a potentially Heisman-worthy quarterback (Matt Barkley) and the nation’s top receiving duo (Robert Woods and Marqise Lee). Coming off a two-year bowl ban, USC seemed on the verge of finding its glory days once again.

Then the season happened, and nothing went according to plan. The Trojans limped to a 7-6 finish capped by a loss to Georgia Tech in the Sun Bowl, and Barkley watched his draft stock plummet from unanimous first-rounder to eventual third-day selection. Now, for arguably the first time since he shot up the coaching ranks, Kiffin heads into a season on the hot seat. It’s time for him to prove his worth.

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By Zac Ellis

We’ve seen plenty of trick-shot mixtapes hit the web before, including Johnny Manziel’s famous highlight video. But the clip above is a bit different: It involves the typically unsung position of long snapper.

Zach Smith, an Atherton, Calif. native and the No. 2 long snapper in the class of 2013 according to ChrisSailerKicking.com, put his spin on the trick-shot video phenomenon. A preferred walk-on at USC, Smith snapped footballs into a basketball hoop, several trash cans and through a car. He also coolly knocked water bottles off peoples’ heads.

The video first emerged through Reddit’s college football forum.

Larry Scott’s Pac-12 is focused on finding a way to limit student-athlete injuries. (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

By Zac Ellis

The Pac-12 is launching a venture to focus on the health and safety of its students athletes, the league announced Monday. The effort will include limiting contact in football practices.

The conference and its CEO Group made up of university presidents and chancellors agreed to the “Student-Athlete Health and Well-Being Initiative” after last weekend’s Pac-12 spring meetings. The initiative will kick off for the 2013-14 academic year.

“The health and well-being of our more than 7,000 student-athletes competing within the Pac-12 each year is of paramount importance,” said Pac-12 CEO Group Chair Ed Ray. “This new initiative is a great step towards taking advantage of the full resources of our research institutions for the benefit of our student-athletes.”

The Pac-12′s release notes that while it is “impossible to eliminate all injuries,” the league is committed to reducing injuries by employing new practices, studies and research. The initiative will include:

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Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott took in more than $3 million in 2011-12. (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

By Zac Ellis

Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott pulled in more than $3 million for the calendar year 2011-12, according to tax documents released by the conference on Sunday. That number makes Scott the highest-paid conference commissioner ever, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Scott’s total surpassed that of Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany, whose $2.8 million in compensation made him the highest-paid conference commissioner as recently as last week. Interestingly, Scott’s compensation is almost double that of the SEC’s Mike Slive, who netted $1.6 million.

Scott took home a base salary of $1,575,000 with a bonus of $1,376,000. Other compensation accounted for $71,462 of his total.

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By Zac Ellis

UCLA offensive guard Alberto Cid will end his career by taking a “medical retirement” due to concussions, Chris Foster of the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.

#UCLA OL Alberto Cid (concussion) annoucned he will take a medical retirement.—
chris foster (@cfosterlatimes) April 25, 2013

Cid missed all of spring camp after starting seven games over the past two seasons for the Bruins. The 6-foot-2, 325-pound lineman transferred to UCLA from Citrus Junior College in 2011.

In the wake of Cid’s departure, UCLA will likely look to incoming freshmen Caleb Benenoch, Kenny Lacy and Christian Morris to build depth on the offensive line.

By Zac Ellis

The Mountain West has approached the Pac-12 about a potential partnership, Jeremy Fowler of CBSSports.com reports. MWC commissioner Craig Thompson hopes the two leagues can form an alliance around nonconference scheduling, bowl matchups and officials. Together, the MWC and Pac-12 count 24 West Coast teams as members.

#MWC approaches #Pac12 about "best practices" partnership of resources, scheduling, etc, commish told @CBSSports cbssports.com/collegefootbal…—
Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerCBS) April 24, 2013

The Mountain West, which only a year ago saw conference realignment threaten its very existence, convinced Boise State and San Diego State to remain with the conference instead of defecting to other leagues. Thompson said he believes the Pac-12 is open to the possibility of a partnership.

Matt Barkley, Lane Kiffin and the USC Trojans suffered through a painful season in 2012. (Bill Kostroun/AP)

By Zac Ellis

Matt Barkley’s senior season at USC didn’t exactly go as planned. And coach Lane Kiffin could be a big reason for that — at least, according to Barkley.

In an interview with Yahoo! Sports’ Michael Silver, Barkley reflected on his senior season in 2012, when the preseason No. 1 Trojans stumbled mightily in the shadow of high expectations and limped to a 7-6 record after a 6-1 start. But Barkley alluded to internal issues that might have soured the atmosphere within the program, saying he wishes he’d been more vocal as a leader in the locker room.

“Yeah, I’ve thought about it long and hard,” Barkley said. “I learned how to handle adversity last season, and maybe I could have done a few things differently. I could’ve had a bigger voice, given more input and taken it to the next level — pretty much as the owner of the company might … not just letting things happen.”

“You put faith in your coaches, but when you see trends, things not happening the right way, and when the team rests on your shoulders, it’s almost like you have to step up. You can’t just let these things go by and watch them disintegrate in front of you. You’ve got to put the glue in somewhere. Looking back, I wish I’d been more forceful.”

Though Barkley never mentioned Kiffin by name, the implication of “trends, things not happening the right way” seems to point to a leadership problem. Barkley said the ups and downs of last season took a toll as the year progressed.

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Notre Dame defender Louis Nix stole the spotlight Saturday with this rumbling two-point conversion play. (USA Today)

By Zac Ellis

After yet another weekend full of spring football games, here’s a rundown of the latest news and notes from across the nation:

• Notre Dame: The Irish defense came to play in the annual Blue-Gold game on Saturday, accounting for 10 sacks, two interceptions and a safety in the scrimmage. The offense, however, failed to find its groove, with second-year quarterback Everett Golson finishing 6-of-13 passing for 98 yards with one interception. He was also sacked three times. Coach Brian Kelly said he wasn’t concerned with the offense’s struggles, admitting he’d seen improvement on that side of the ball throughout spring. But the offense did find a spark late in the game when nose guard Louis Nix III took a goal-line snap and rumbled in for a two-point conversion. Perhaps Kelly should consider that package for the fall.

• Alabama: The Crimson Tide were anything but streamlined in Saturday’s A-Day game. The Crimson and White teams combined for nine turnovers — six interceptions and three fumbles — in the contest, leaving coach Nick Saban understandably upset. “The biggest thing I was concerned about was how the team would go out there and what would be their energy, their enthusiasm, and their attention to detail,” Saban said. “I don’t think that there were enough guys that answered that question in a positive way to my liking. But I’m never satisfied.” SI.com’s Lars Anderson reported on the game from Tuscaloosa. Oh, and AJ McCarron’s famous female companion Katherine Webb also made an appearance.

• Penn State: Around 28,000 fans ventured to Happy Valley for the Nittany Lions’ spring game this weekend, braving the icy elements in State College. But there wasn’t much closure for fans hoping to get a feel for Penn State’s quarterback situation, in which Steven Bench and Tyler Ferguson are battling for the starting job. Coach Bill O’Brien was non-committal when discussing both passers after the game, but the competition may become more heated when five-star recruit Christian Hackenberg arrives on campus this summer.

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True freshman Jared Goff, a Marin Catholic product, is currently in a three-way tie for the Cal QB job. (Landov)

By Zac Ellis

The Cal quarterback situation is apparently still up in the air. The Golden Bears released their first depth chart of the season on Thursday, and new coach Sonny Dykes seems to still be mulling his team’s options under center.

The chart lists a three-way quarterback tie between Jared Goff, Austin Hinder and Zach Kline. But perhaps fans can read into the order in which the players are listed. The names aren’t alphabetical, instead appearing as follows: Goff, Kline then Hinder.

None of the three players in the running for the job threw a pass for Cal last year. Kline redshirted during his true freshman season in 2012, while Hinder was a sophomore reserve. Goff, a former four-star pro-style recruit out of Marin Catholic, is a true freshman this season. The Golden Bears are looking to replace starter Zach Maynard, who was 180-of-296 passing for 2214 yards, 12 touchdowns and 10 picks last season.

The good news for ASU: Todd Graham is well-versed in the art of dumping teams. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

By Zac Ellis

On Tuesday, news broke that Notre Dame was adding Florida State to its upcoming ACC schedule for 2014. The Irish are joining the ACC in every sport except football, but will still play five football games against ACC teams in their inaugural season.

Alongside that news came word that Notre Dame might be dropping Arizona State from its 2014 slate. According to Fox Sports Arizona, neither team has made anything official, so as of now the two programs are still slated to face off in Tempe on Oct. 25, 2014. But Sun Devils athletic director Steve Patterson didn’t let that stop him from opening up on Notre Dame’s apparent disinterest in keeping his program on its schedule.

In an interview with Phoenix radio station XTRA Sports 910 AM, Patterson went after Notre Dame’s manner of handling business:

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