USC Football Preview 2026: Can Lincoln Riley Finally Get the Trojans into the CFP?
To everyone who wants to put Lincoln Riley on a hot seat, or wants to complain about what USC isn’t right now …
THIS … IS … (almost) WORKING.
You wanted Lincoln Riley for his offense, and that’s what you got.
Have to Beat the Good Teams
Quick, who was No. 1 in total offense in the Big Ten last year?
It was USC, and it wasn’t even that close.
That Indiana powerhouse led the way in scoring, and Oregon was second, but USC was a solid third in the loaded conference and 13th in the country.
It was among the best in offenses in the nation in pass protection, fifth in the nation on third downs, and yes, No. 1 in the Big Ten in passing, No. 1 in yards per completion, and a decent sixth in rushing offense.
Okay, so you also wanted Riley to take USC up a few notches to be at a national championship level, and there does need to be a College Football Playoff appearance soon.
The loss to Illinois came on a late heartbreaker. The other losses were to Notre Dame and Oregon, both on the road (whatever on the late Alamo Bowl collapse to TCU).
And, okay, no excuses.
USC should be great no matter who it’s playing, and it’s way past time to be more of a player.
This year’s team has the experience, the coaching, the offensive pop, the defensive front, and everything in place to finally take that next step.
(Even if this year’s schedule screams otherwise – more on that at the end.)
- Head Coach: Lincoln Riley (5th year, 35-18; 10th year overall, 35-18)
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Best Case / Worst Case: Win the Big Ten Championship and be in the national title hunt/Also-ran Big Ten status
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Key Player: Jide Abasiri, DT Jr.
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2025 Record: 9-4
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Biggest Question: Can all of the great talents and veterans make USC the type of team that can beat the elite?
Head Coach: Lincoln Riley (5th year, 35-18; 10th year overall, 35-18)
Best Case / Worst Case: Win the Big Ten Championship and be in the national title hunt/Also-ran Big Ten status
Biggest Question: Can all of the great talents and veterans make USC the type of team that can beat the elite?
- Second half scoring: USC 240, Opponents 121
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Total offense: USC 6,051 yards, Opponents 4,560 yards
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Sacks: USC 31 for 204 yards, Opponents 15 for 106 yards
Second half scoring: USC 240, Opponents 121
Total offense: USC 6,051 yards, Opponents 4,560 yards
Sacks: USC 31 for 204 yards, Opponents 15 for 106 yards
Offensive coordinator Luke Huard’s attack did the job last year.
It got lost in all of the Indiana noise, but the Trojans had the best offense in the Big Ten, averaging 465.5 yards per game – 13 more than the No. 2 attack, Oregon.
There’s enough back to be even more dangerous as long as some key parts are filled.
Jayden Maiava is back. Again with the problems being noticed – by a relative mile, Maiava was the best passing quarterback yardage-wise in the conference.
He averaged 285.5 yards per game, Fernando averaged 221, Julian Sayin averaged 258, Dante Moore 238, and on and on.
The deep shots were there as a deep-ball playmaker who ended up with 24 scores, and he ran for six touchdowns.
The line will give him time to work. Four starters are back from the front five that was among the best in the nation in pass protection and paved the way for over five yards per carry.
USC always has plenty of fabulous targets, starting with Tanook Hines after leading the team, averaging 16.5 yards per catch.
Zacharyus Williams is a big target who’ll step up, and Terrell Anderson comes in from NC State as one of the nation’s top signings. However …
The superstar receivers are gone. You don’t get better after losing Biletnikoff winner Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane – those two combined for 128 catches for close to 1,900 yards and five scores. Missing tight end Lake McRee doesn’t help either.
Running the ball still matters. The Trojans went 8-0 when running for more than 130 yards, and 1-4 when they didn’t.
Leading rusher King Miller is back after taking off for 972 yards and eight scores. The ground game, though, is about Waymond Jordan, who averaged 6.5 yards per carry with 576 yards in a banged-up year missing five games.
The offense had a tough time when the big plays weren’t there. The offense averaged a whopping 7.1 yards per play, but the team went 2-4 – struggling mightily in the two wins over Iowa and Nebraska – when it didn’t average at least 6.5.
Terrell Anderson, WR Jr.
An elite prospect in the portal, he’s a good-sized veteran with the speed and talent to step in and be the next amazing USC receiver.
Great as a sophomore, he averaged over 16 yards per catch with five touchdowns on his 39 grabs for NC State. Now he’ll be a main man on the outside of the passing attack.
It’s not insane to consider Gary Patterson as the USC defensive coordinator among the best hires of the college football offseason.
There’s more than enough talent back from last year to not need an overhaul. Unlike past seasons at USC, the defense requires a mere tweak, nothing more.
Gary Patterson. An all-time great head coach at TCU, he hung around as part of the staff at Texas and then at Baylor. Now he’s diving back in to take over a defense that finished 49th in the nation.
Short of Bill Belichick, he’s as good a defensive coaching mind as any in college football.
The linebacking corps is a killer. Desman Stephens II led the team with 89 stops. He’s back in the middle, and the combination of Jadyn Walker and Elijah Newby is good in the rotation.
In comes Deven Bryant, a big-time transfer from Washington who made 63 stops last year for the Huskies.
The pass rushing duo of Kameryn Crawford on one side and Braylan Shelby on the other should be terrific – the two combined for ten sacks.
Zuriah Fisher from Penn State adds even more to the rotation that should get more dangerous as the season goes on. With that said …
More plays in the backfield would be nice. The pass rushers are great, and there will be plenty of sacks, but there weren’t enough tackles for loss.
The defense lived behind the line early on, but 38 of the 73 tackles for loss came in the first four games. There were too many times when the big plays against the run weren’t there.
Stopping good teams from scoring was a problem. USC had the best offense in the Big Ten – it should’ve been able to win shootouts, but there were times when the defense needed to do a little more.
USC stuffed Michigan, and was 8-0 when allowing 21 points or fewer. However, it gave up 30 or more in the four losses.
Over the last two years, the Trojans are 2-10 when allowing more than 21 points.
Third down stops. Overall, the Trojans weren’t bad on defense, but when they couldn’t get off the field, there were problems.
On the year, they allowed teams to convert over 40% of their third down chances. But Oregon converted 58% of the time, Illinois 67%, and TCU 53% – those were three of the four losses.
Kameryn Crawford, DE Jr.
The 6-5, 265-pound pass rusher has NFL size and the tools to take his game up a few notches.
After a good freshman season, he took off with a team-high 5.5 sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss among his 41 tackles.
He’ll be a marked man, but there’s enough talent up front to take the heat off.
- Keep the big plays going on offense.
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Hold up better against the good offenses.
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The coverage teams have to be far stronger.
Keep the big plays going on offense.
Hold up better against the good offenses.
The coverage teams have to be far stronger.
Jide Abasiri, DT Jr.
The tackles should be good with a little bit of time, but they need a veteran to work around.
Getting Alex VanSumeren from Michigan State was great, there’s plenty of homegrown talent to rely on, and there’s lots of size. Abasiri doesn’t need to be an anchor, but the 6-5, 295-pound veteran has to be even more of a factor after making 26 tackles with 3.5 sacks.
The coverage teams
Statistically, they were among the worst teams in the nation, allowing 15 yards per punt return and 36.3 yards per kickoff. Two key moments all but changed everything.
USC got up 24-21 against Notre Dame, and on the ensuing kickoff, a devastating Jadarian Price kick-six turned into the game-winner in the 34-24 Irish win.
Oregon’s Malik Benson broke open a tie game, and the Ducks took the lead for good, with an 85-yard punt return for a score in the 42-27 win.
Oregon, September 26
Enough is enough, USC in the Lincoln Riley era. You want to be a thing? Win a home game like this against a national championship-level team.
Considering what’s coming up later – road games at Penn State and Indiana, and home dates against Ohio State and Washington – lose to the Ducks, and it’ll be freakout time.
USC used the transfer portal like the big-time program that it is.
It lost a few star prospects – like quarterback Husan Longstreet to LSU, and defensive tackle Devan Thompkins to Alabama – but for the most part, the losses left because they wanted to play somewhere else.
It didn’t need to go bulk in any one area, because it’s USC. Outside of the true elite going into the season, its players are better than just about everyone else’s players. It picked and chose great starting talents to fill holes.
Jontez Williams, CB (Iowa State)
USC was able to keep the superstar corner transfer from going with his former head coach, Matt Campbell, to Penn State.
Williams missed most of last year with a torn ACL, but he’s expected to be back in time for the season.
He made 46 tackles with four interceptions and five broken-up passes as a sophomore, and broke up three passes with a pick before getting hurt early last year.
Devan Thompkins, DT (Alabama)
Not to make too much out of the defensive tackle situation – it’s more than fine – but it lost a 6-5, 298-pound interior pass rusher who made 31 tackles with three sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss.
- Deven Bryant, LB (Washington)
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Alex VanSumeren, DT (Michigan State)
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Lachlan Carrigan, P (Memphis)
Alex VanSumeren, DT (Michigan State)
Last year’s team deserved far more respect than it ever received nationally, but that’s what happens when you don’t beat the elite.
It rolled past Michigan, took down Iowa, and the losses on the road to Oregon, Notre Dame, and Illinois were more than acceptable.
But you might have noticed something missing. Actually, a few things missing.
The Trojans didn’t have to play all of the Big Ten big boys.
CFN Prediction: 9-3
They didn’t play Indiana – this year, that’s a road trip in mid-November. They also missed Ohio State – that’s the game before Indiana, but there’s a week off in between.
They also didn’t play a Penn State team that should be far better this season, and that’s on the road. Wisconsin will be a dangerous road date, and Oregon and Washington aren’t layups at home.
It all sets up for yet another season of being good, but not quite good enough to get to that magical 10-2 mark that the record-ranking College Football Playoff committee clings to as its emotional support data point.
And it’ll be another offseason when a segment of USC fans will be screaming for something more.
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