USC’s 2026 schedule gives the Trojans a real opening, and it starts with the fact that the biggest tests are coming to the Coliseum.
Of the five toughest Big Ten games on the slate, three are at home. That matters because USC has already been living on the road against Oregon, with multiple trips there since the last time it hosted the Ducks.
This time, the Ducks come to Los Angeles, and so do Ohio State and Washington. That sets up a season in which USC has to cash in on its own field.
ESPN’s Bill Connelly put it plainly: “If ... the Coliseum brings it. With Ohio State, Oregon and Washington all visiting L.A., this is USC's biggest home schedule in ages. If the Trojans go 2-1 against those three, their odds of reaching their first CFP increase dramatically.”
That 2-1 mark is the key number. USC should beat Washington.
The real question is whether it can at least split the Ohio State and Oregon games. Because Oregon arrives earlier in the year, that matchup may end up carrying the most weight.
A win there would ease the pressure before Ohio State comes to town, as long as USC also handles Penn State on the road.
If the Trojans beat Washington, Oregon and Penn State, they could still lose to Ohio State and defending national champion Indiana and finish 10-2. That would be enough to put them in playoff position. In that scenario, going 2-1 in those three home games would leave USC with room to absorb losses on the road, as long as it does not go 0-2 against Penn State and Indiana.
In Other News...
USC-UCLA Has One Tradition College Football Should Stop Copying
The Alabama-Tennessee announcement put a familiar college football quirk back in the spotlight: two rivals choosing to wear home uniforms against each other, a look USC and UCLA have turned into part of their own identity over the years. It is one of those small traditions that gives a game some extra character, especially in matchups where both teams already know the other all too well and the visual contrast is part of the appeal.
But as more programs flirt with the idea, it is fair to wonder whether double-home uniforms would lose some of their charm if they became routine. The NFL found out during its Color Rush push that color-on-color can be a nice novelty without being something everyone wants to see every week, and college football would do well to protect the rarity that makes USC-UCLA feel different. Not every rivalry needs to look like this, and maybe that is exactly why the ones that do stand out. [Read more 🡒]
Why USC Fans Still Treat One Enemy Different Than Everyone Else
When ESPN put together its latest list of arch-enemies for power conference college football programs, USC's biggest foe was not a conference neighbor or a crosstown matchup. It was the NCAA, a reminder that the Trojans sharpest grievance still traces back to the sanctions that followed the investigation into Reggie Bush receiving improper benefits, a wound that has never really closed for much of the fan base.
What keeps that resentment alive is not just the punishment itself, but the feeling that college sports enforcement has never been applied with much consistency. USC supporters have long pointed to the NCAAs handling of Penn State, where more serious infractions drew a less severe penalty, as proof that the Trojans were made an example of in a way few programs would want to forget. [Read more 🡒]
USC Fans Are Already Buzzing About This 2027 Defensive Commit
USC has already found one of the more intriguing defensive names in its 2027 class in Gavin Williams, a four-star safety whose reputation has been built on being aggressive, physical and wired to make plays. The early buzz around him makes sense. He has shown the kind of instincts and urgency that translate well to the back end, with high school production that includes interceptions, pass breakups and forced fumbles.
Williams is the type of commitment that gives the Trojans a little future planning on defense, especially at a position where depth charts can change quickly. How soon he gets a real path to playing time could depend on what happens with current safeties Kennedy Urlacher and Christian Pierce, which gives his development some built-in intrigue long before he ever arrives on campus. [Read more 🡒]