Carrol was extremely relatable to young kids and really had a west coast appeal to him.
He backed into the best OC in college football.
LA as a sports town was awful at the time. USC became the cities team. Which made them even more appetizing to recruits.
LA now has two NFL teams, one that is a legit super bowl contender as well as Lebron and the Lakers. As long as that continues, USC will continue to be the same old boring stadium and atmosphere.
UCLA with Kelly has the potential to be really good and create their own buzz. Which will keep USC from the insane recruiting classes they had under Carrol.
I know I'll get push back on this, but I'd be much more worried about Franklin taking the job. Back to back 11 wins seasons and looking like he could have a 10 win season this year. If you look at their recruiting, it's nothing insane like he will automatically get at USC.