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If only what happened in Vegas didn’t stay in Vegas last season, the USC Trojans may very well have been on the periphery of the College Football Playoff discussion.
Alas, that’s not how things worked out in 2024 for the Trojans, who sandwiched two upsets of SEC teams at Allegiant Stadium around a very middling first season in the Big Ten that could best be described as a weekly series of missed opportunities. USC had the lead late in the fourth quarter against Michigan, Minnesota, Penn State, Maryland and even Notre Dame but lost all of those games. Win just two and the vibe around the Coliseum might have been far different going into the offseason.
More remarkable for coach Lincoln Riley was that it was often his offense that cost the team with turnovers putting a much improved defensive unit under further stress. It was also a good reminder that things are much different playing in the Big Ten and prompted a reset coming into 2025, including a revamped personnel department and significant roster turnover.
How that all melds together against another tough schedule will be interesting to track in a pivot point for the program. Riley’s buyout will likely keep him around a little longer, but there’s no denying USC is putting all the pieces together with a supercharged NIL operation, the top-ranked recruiting class in 2026 and even a football building opening next summer that will be among the best in the country.
Until then however, the current crop of Trojans are entering a strange bit of purgatory. There’s some All-American-level talent, like sophomore left tackle Elijah Paige and dynamic wideouts Ja’Kobi Lane and Makai Lemon. There’s also plenty of question marks, from what quarterback Jayden Maiava’s ceiling is to how a slew of new transfers might play around defensive leaders like safety Kamari Ramsey.
Fast Facts
2024 record: 7–6, 4–5 Big Ten
Offense: 30.2 ppg (51st in FBS), 6.32 yards per play (25th)
Defense: 24.1 ppg (56th in FBS), 5.83 yards per play (87th)
On the Headset
Lincoln Riley, entering Year 4 in Los Angeles (ninth as a head coach), 81–24 overall record, 26–14 with the Trojans
If Riley’s results at USC were reversed in his first three seasons taking over a program that was on the downslope, the narrative around him would be vastly different. Yet when you open 11–3 with a Heisman Trophy winner to winning just seven of your last 18 games against power-conference opponents, things are bound to take a hit to the once-sterling reputation the 41-year-old once had as one of the prominent coaches in the sport.
Some of this backslide has been externally inflicted (moving to the Big Ten as a school slow to adapt to roster building in the NIL world) but most of this falls on Riley, who maintained a glass half-full outlook instead of the half-empty side fans around L.A. saw.
The 2025 season offers up the opportunity for Riley to change the trajectory. He finally gave in to calls for change on the defensive side of the ball last year by hiring coordinator D’Anton Lynn, which worked wonders as the team shaved off a full 10 points per game. He’s not only recruited harder as of late but was part of a big push to build out a multimillion-dollar personnel department headed by new general manager Chad Bowden. After paying a bit of lip service to the trenches, Riley has even doubled down when it comes to grabbing players out of the portal that can be either front-line starters along the offensive or defensive lines or valuable depth pieces.
Given that his buyout with the school is hefty, Riley isn’t fully on one of the hottest seats in college football but there’s no denying there’s plenty of pressure on him right now from those walking around Heritage Hall. How much the recent changes translate into on-field results is anybody’s guess but, at least on the surface, Riley is being proactive enough to give hope that there might be double-digit winning seasons for USC sooner rather than later.
Key Returning Starter
LB Eric Gentry, Sr.
A series of concussions forced Gentry to redshirt in 2024 and his 6' 6" frame being absent was noticeable despite the strides the Trojans made defensively. With the veteran linebacker in the lineup, USC was 4–1 overall and without him they were just 3–5. He appears fully healthy going into the season and has even added on more weight that should make him even more effective during Big Ten play.
Key Transfer
DL Keeshawn Silver, from Kentucky
It’s no secret you need some horses up front making noise to contend in the Big Ten, and there’s hope that a big body like Silver (6' 4", 315 pounds) can help unlock even more growth for the Trojans’ defensive line. He started 23 games in the SEC and could be a huge beneficiary from some of the speed off the edge that the team already has with guys like Anthony Lucas and superstar recruit Jahkeem Stewart.
Key Departure
WR/KR Zachariah Branch, transfer to Georgia
It didn’t quite feel like Branch was involved as much offensively last season as he should have been despite having more touches than in 2023, but he’s the type of game-breaker USC shouldn’t be losing. He was the most dangerous return man in the country the past two seasons and was one of the few players the Trojans could turn to who could make something out of nothing. His offensive production can probably be replaced by committee, but there’s no denying the team lost a big piece on special teams.
Circle the Dates
- Sept. 27, at Illinois
- Oct. 11, vs. Michigan
- Oct. 18, at Notre Dame
- Nov. 22, at Oregon
Bottom Line
The Trojans implemented a lot of changes since moving to the Big Ten but still haven’t quite found their footing in the league amid disappointing results—especially on the road. The 2025 season offers the chance to prove some wrong about the direction the program is headed. If the group can turn those close losses from last season into wins in this one, that would get USC back into the national conversation.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Sports Illustrated’s College Football Preseason Top 25: No. 22 USC .
