If Lincoln Riley is going to make good on the hype USC chased him for in November 2021, 2026 feels like the season that can finally tilt the conversation. The Trojans have had flashes under Riley - including an 11-1 finish and Caleb Williams becoming the program’s eighth Heisman Trophy winner in 2022 - but the low point still hangs over the résumé too, especially after a 6-6 finish in 2024.
The pressure is obvious because the path is right there. USC has not only assembled its strongest roster of Riley’s five seasons, it also has one of the most demanding slates in the country.
The Trojans return 15 starters, the most in college football, and they signed the No. 1 recruiting class in the 2026 cycle. That freshman group is talented enough to matter immediately.
There’s help everywhere Riley could ask for it on offense. Redshirt senior Jayden Maiava is back at quarterback, and he’ll be protected by all five returning starters on the offensive line. USC also brings back its two leading rushers, Waymond Jordan and King Miller, along with breakout freshman receiver Tanook Hines.
But the story in Los Angeles has never really been about whether Riley can score. The real question has been whether his teams can hold up on the other side of the ball. That was the issue at Oklahoma too, even during the stretch when the Sooners reached the four-team College Football Playoff in three straight seasons.
Riley made a major move in January to address that, bringing in former Big 12 rival Gary Patterson to reshape the defense. Patterson, who is the 2026 College Football Hall of Fame electee, spent two decades at TCU building elite defenses with two- and three-star recruits. Now he steps into a much more talented roster than he ever had in Fort Worth.
USC returns multiple starters at every level of the defense and added key transfers, giving Patterson a real foundation to work with in year one. The question is simple: can he turn that talent into a unit that does more than survive? Riley needs a defense that can actually lift the ceiling, not just keep the game from slipping away.
And the schedule does not offer much room to ease in. USC gets Oregon at home on Sept. 26, a game that could start changing the West Coast pecking order. The Ducks have controlled the regular season on the West Coast under Dan Lanning, and they bring a loaded roster into town, led by quarterback Dante Moore and a defensive front with four players who have first-round potential.
Then comes Ohio State to Los Angeles on Halloween in the first-ever matchup between the two blue bloods as Big Ten opponents. The Buckeyes are losing a pile of talent, including four players taken in the top 11 picks of April’s NFL Draft, but that program has a habit of reloading.
Ryan Day’s team still returns Heisman finalist Julian Sayin at quarterback, breakout freshman Bo Jackson at running back and superstar receiver Jeremiah Smith. Ohio State also has former NFL head coaches Arthur Smith and Matt Patricia on staff as offensive and defensive coordinators.
USC closes that stretch by going to Bloomington on Nov. 14 to face Indiana, the defending national champions and another program that has surged under Curt Cignetti. The Hoosiers lost Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza, but TCU transfer Josh Hoover steps in with Charlie Becker and Nick Marsh at receiver, and they’re expected to be strong again in the trenches.
For the Trojans, that trip will also bring another challenge: the cold. It’s expected to be their coldest game since joining the Big Ten in 2024, and USC has already had its issues away from the Coliseum since entering the league.
The bigger picture is hard to miss. Oregon, Ohio State and Indiana have all made the College Football Playoff in each of the last two seasons. USC has the roster, the recruiting class and the schedule to crash that group - but after four seasons of waiting, Riley still needs the breakthrough win that changes the way the program is viewed.
In Other News...
Oregon Fans May Be Split On This Uniform Patch Reality
The recent wave of college football uniform sponsorships has already pushed some fan bases to rethink what belongs on a game jersey, and Oregon is now part of that conversation. Wisconsins new deal with Culvers, which spans multiple sports, is being framed as both an NIL play and a way to deepen fan engagement, and it naturally raises the question of which brands could fit the Ducks if they ever decide to follow a similar path.
Oregon has plenty of built-in possibilities because of its history of clean branding and its long list of corporate ties, plus the program has already shown with its Shoe Duck look against Oregon State that custom patches can work on its uniforms. Still, any future move would have to balance tradition, aesthetics, and the kind of brand alignment Ducks fans can actually get behind, which is why the conversation is already splitting opinion even without a deal on the table. [Read more 🡒]
Utah Faces A Painfully Familiar Finish In Key O-Line Battle
A key interior offensive line target is about to make his college choice, and Oregon is firmly in the mix as the July 1 announcement nears. Gecova Doyal, a three-star recruit in the 2027 class, is slated to go live on the Rivals YouTube channel around 11:45 a.m. PT, with Oregon, Washington, UCLA and Utah all still in the hunt for one of the nations top interior line prospects.
For the Ducks, Doyals decision matters because the board is getting tighter in the trenches, and this is the type of recruit who can shape a class from the inside out. Washington had the last visit and carries the hometown appeal, while Oregon has done enough to stay in the conversation right up to the finish line, leaving one of the more interesting Northwest recruiting showdowns of the cycle still unresolved until the announcement. [Read more 🡒]
Oregon Baseball Just Took Another Brutal Loss To The SEC
Oregons offseason keeps getting tugged apart by the SEC, and now one of the most important pieces of the Ducks baseball operation is headed elsewhere. Jack Marder, who has spent seven seasons as Oregons hitting coach and recruiting coordinator, is moving on after helping shape the programs recent success and much of its recruiting push.
His departure lands only weeks after Texas swept Oregon in the NCAA Austin Super Regional, a reminder of how quickly the conferences reach can affect the Ducks on and off the field. Oregon has also already watched freshmen Angel Laya and Naulivou "Junior" Lauaki Jr. head to SEC programs, leaving the Ducks to replace both production and a key voice in the dugout at the same time. [Read more 🡒]