We hate to say it, but this isn't your father's USC.

It wasn't too long ago -- 1998 to be exact -- that the Trojans won their last national title. But the past few seasons, the Trojans have been anything but a contender on the national stage. Heck, they'd take being a Pac-10 contender at this point.

USC has amazing tradition and the most national titles in college baseball. Now we're all trying to figure out what it will take to turn this program around.

Does coach Chad Kreuter still hold the key?

We'll find out for sure in the spring.

The Trojans have some gaping holes to fill. The pitching staff is depleted with the departures of top reliever Daniel Cooper and starting pitchers Brad Boxberger and Robert Stock. The offense also suffered a hit with the departures of Grant Green and Stock.

The '10 campaign is huge for Kreuter and the Trojans.

Can they find a way to get back in the national picture?

USC's five fall keys

1. Look at the spring as a clean slate -- Amazing as it sounds, it has been five seasons since the Trojans reached an NCAA regional. It was 2005 and Mike Gillespie, who now is the head man at UC Irvine, was the head coach. The Trojans also won a regional and advanced to a super regional, where they lost to a determined and gritty Oregon State team. It has been a while since the Trojans had that winning feeling. That has to change in the spring. Sure, USC has experienced little success the past few seasons. But the current players and newcomers must view the '10 campaign as a completely new slate. If they don't, the results likely will be the same as the last four seasons. Not good.

2. Replace weekend starters Robert Stock, Brad Boxberger and Anthony Vasquez -- The Trojans have the incredibly tough chore of replacing Stock, Boxberger and Vasquez. Stock was a two-way star for the Trojans and finished last season with a 2.90 ERA in 77 2/3 innings. He also struck out 86 and walked 39 and teams hit him at a .223 clip. Boxberger, meanwhile, was a top-round draft pick and finished last season with a 3.16 ERA in 94 innings. He held teams to a .211 batting average. Lastly, there's Vasquez. The two-way players had a 4-6 record and a 4.33 ERA in 70 2/3 innings last season. He held teams to a .278 batting average. The Trojans welcome back Andrew Triggs, who started 10 games and had a 3.96 ERA last season. But outside of him, the crop of experienced weekend starters is small. It'll be interesting to see what happens with this unit.

3. Improve defensively -- I remember talking to coach Kreuter about this very thing after a Friday night game against Arizona State last season. In the upcoming campaign, the Trojans must field the baseball at a better clip. Sure, Grant Green and Robert Stock accounted for many of USC's errors last season. However, this still is a team that finished the '09 campaign with a dismal .954 average, which ranked 224th in the country. The Trojans also ended the campaign with 101 errors. USC will have to play perfect baseball in every other facet of the game if it continues to field this way. Look for the Trojans to show much improvement in the spring.

4. Greatly improve at the plate -- The Trojans also won't take a step forward anytime soon without some improvement at the plate. USC finished last season with a .274 batting average, which ranked 259th nationally last season. That's unacceptable. The Trojans are without Green and Vasquez and also lost Stock, who hit six homers last season. They welcome back Mike O'Neill and Ricky Oropesa, who finished last season with batting averages over .300. Oropesa is the key to the offense. He slammed 13 homers last season and protecting him in the lineup will be key to their success. USC isn't in great shape at the plate, but there's absolutely no reason to hit anywhere near .274.

5. Create more pitching depth -- The Trojans certainly have some talented arms on campus this fall, but they're not experienced arms for the most part. USC welcomes back pitchers Chad Smith and Kevin Couture. Smith made 18 appearances last season and compiled a 3.40 ERA in 45 innings. He also struck out 38 and walked 16 and teams hit him at a .273 clip. Couture, meanwhile, made 15 appearances last season and had a 5.66 ERA in 49 1/3 innings. There's a good chance Couture will be in the running for a weekend starting spot, but he also can contribute in the bullpen. Either way, this unit must create more depth between now and the spring.