ESPN’s updated Football Power Index has USC sitting in a familiar spot: close enough to the top tier to matter, but still chasing the Big Ten’s heavy hitters.
The Trojans landed at No. 13 in ESPN’s top 25 FPI rankings for the 2026 college football season, which makes them the No. 4 team in the Big Ten. Ahead of USC in the conference are Ohio State at No. 1 with a 28.7 rating, Oregon at No. 4 with a 25.3 mark, and Indiana at No. 6 with a 23.1 rating. USC checks in at 17.0.
That ranking comes with some real intrigue for Lincoln Riley’s team, which finished 9-4 in 2025 during his fourth season in Los Angeles. USC is still trying to reach its first College Football Playoff appearance in program history, but there are a few reasons the Trojans have plenty of buzz heading into 2026.
The biggest one is quarterback Jayden Maiava returning for another season. Maiava, who will be a redshirt senior in 2026, started all 13 games last year and threw for 3,711 yards with 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He earned Third-team All-Big Ten honors and had the option to enter the 2026 NFL Draft, but chose to come back.
USC also made a notable move on defense by hiring Gary Patterson as defensive coordinator. Patterson is best known for his long run at TCU from 2000-2021, where he went 181-79 and guided the Horned Frogs to six conference titles. Riley and Patterson already know each other well from their years facing off in the Big 12, when Riley was at Oklahoma and Patterson was at TCU.
“Gary and I have had a good relationship for a long time. We've competed against each other so many times.
A lot of big games. I've had a chance at head coaching meetings and all that in the past to strike up a really good relationship," Riley said on Always College Football.
"I've always had as much respect for him defensively as anybody I've ever coached against.”
There’s also momentum coming from the recruiting trail. USC’s 2026 high school class was ranked No. 1 in the country, and while those players will arrive as true freshmen, the Trojans could get immediate help from five-star edge rusher Luke Wafle and five-star tight end Mark Bowman.
The path to the playoff won’t be simple. According to DraftKings Sportbook, USC has +240 odds to make the College Football Playoff this season, and the schedule doesn’t do them any favors. All three Big Ten teams ranked ahead of USC in the FPI are on the Trojans’ 2026 slate, with Oregon and Ohio State coming to Los Angeles and Indiana waiting on the road.
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