Following the Holiday Bowl win, USC quarterback Cody Kessler he made it clear he'd remain a Trojan in 2015.
"I'm absolutely coming back," Kessler said. "I'm excited, it's going to be fun next year."
The redshirt junior says he knew all along that he would be back but didn't want to take anything away from the team during bowl preparations so he decided to wait until after the bowl game to make his announcement.
Kessler's goal is to win championships, he says.
A part of championship pedigree is closing out games. That's something USC had major issues with during the 2014 season.
The team was held scoreless in five fourth quarters this season, including in Saturday night's Holiday Bowl win.
That won't be a recipe for winning a Pac-12 South championship next season or any other championship for that matter.
Gallery: Trojans win wild Holiday Bowl
"There's a lot of levels to it all," Sarkisian said. "If we want to be a championship caliber football team we have to be better in the fourth quarter and we have to be better offensively in our ability to score points.
"That will be a huge focus of ours throughout this entire offseason. It won't just be physical. It won't just be emotional. It'll be, also, tactical because it is a huge component to really successful teams in your ability to be good in the fourth quarter and we have to improve."
Kessler did some wonderful things in 2014. He finished the year with 3,826 yards, 39 touchdowns, and just five interceptions.
His 39 touchdown passes ties Matt Barkley's school record for a single season which the current Philadelphia Eagle set in 2011.
Kessler's 315 completions and 69.7 completion percentage are new USC single season records.
But for as much good as he did in 2014 how much of the blame for USC's fourth quarter struggles falls on him?
There was a point during the season in which Sarkisian needed to push his quarterback to throw the ball downfield.
There were times Kessler did. He was even picked off on a shot he took down the field on Saturday night.
Holiday Bowl brings familiar territory for USC
So what more can he do to try to prevent USC's fourth quarter droughts in 2015?
The obvious answers would be converting on third downs and extending drives. But there's more.
"The end result is execution (and) understanding why we're calling what we're calling and then going and making our plays," Sarkisian said. "It's just about continuing to develop within the system, believing in the calls, and going and making our plays."
Kessler will have the next nine months to further acclimate himself to Sarkisian's offense. The Trojans kickoff the 2015 season Sept. 5 against Arkansas State.
