USC enters the season with playoff expectations, but one preseason forecast says the Trojans still have work to do before they crash the 12-team field.
Chris Low of On3 released his College Football Playoff predictions and left USC on the outside looking in. In Low’s bracket, the Big Ten sends Ohio State, Oregon and Indiana into the field, while the Trojans are not among the teams advancing.
Low’s full bracket also has Ohio State beating Georgia for the national championship. If that plays out, it would mark the fourth straight season a Big Ten team has won the title.
For USC, the path is clearly lined with land mines. The Trojans are set to play three teams that Low included in his playoff field: Ohio State, Oregon and Indiana. USC will host Ohio State and Oregon before heading on the road to face Indiana, the defending national champions.
Those are the kinds of games that can shape an entire season, and USC is likely to enter all three as an underdog. Dropping all three would leave the Trojans with a very thin route into the playoff picture. And that’s before even getting to another tough road trip at Penn State.
Penn State struggled last season, but is expected to bounce back under new head coach Matt Campbell. USC has not handled high-pressure games especially well under Lincoln Riley, so a trip to Happy Valley will be another major test.
The Trojans are coming off a 9-3 season in 2025, with all three losses coming away from home against Illinois, Notre Dame and Oregon. That defeat at Oregon effectively knocked USC out of playoff contention.
So while leaving USC out of a preseason projection may not be a surprise, it still lands as a reminder that the Trojans have yet to prove they belong in the playoff conversation. They’ll get every chance to change that once the season begins.
The betting market is leaning the same way. DraftKings Sportsbook lists USC at +240 to make the playoff and -330 to miss it, a sign that oddsmakers are not expecting this to be the breakthrough year.
That’s where the pressure comes in. USC remains one of college football’s most decorated programs, with national titles and conference championships stacked in the trophy case.
But since 2009, the results have not matched the brand. The Trojans have won one conference title and have zero playoff appearances in that span.
Riley was hired before the 2022 season to bring USC back to that level. Through four seasons, he has gone 35-18.
It’s a solid record almost anywhere else. At USC, it’s not enough.
If the Trojans still haven’t reached the playoff by year five, the scrutiny will only grow.
In Other News...
USC Freshmen Are Already Making Lincoln Riley Face A Tough Choice
USCs No. 1-ranked 2026 recruiting class is already creating pressure before the season even starts, and that is exactly the kind of problem Lincoln Riley hoped to have. With 35 recruits in the group and several freshmen arriving with the profile to help right away, the Trojans are looking at a roster where talent may not be the issue so much as how quickly the newcomers force their way into the conversation.
One name that has been buzzing is wide receiver Ethan Boobie Feaster, who showed his playmaking ability in a recent scrimmage and gave the staff another reminder of why he was so highly touted. He is not the only freshman pushing for an early path, either, with defensive end Luke Wafle and tight end Mark Bowman also standing out as the other newcomers best positioned to challenge for immediate roles, which leaves USC with some interesting decisions to sort through as camp develops. [Read more 🡒]
USC Still Has One Big 2027 Recruiting Need To Solve
USCs 2027 class is already in pretty good shape, with 14 verbal commitments giving the Trojans a broad early foundation and some spots looking close to full. The staff seems comfortable with where things stand overall, but there is still room to keep building, especially in the trenches where long-term depth tends to matter most.
Offensive line and defensive line remain the most obvious areas to monitor as the cycle moves forward, and USC is still weighing whether to press for more help there. The Trojans have a few names in mind for possible additions, and the next stretch of recruiting will show whether they decide to leave the class mostly intact or keep pushing to strengthen the line of scrimmage. [Read more 🡒]
USC's 2027 Class Is Building Something Bigger Than Its Ranking
USCs 2027 recruiting class may not sit near the very top of the national rankings just yet, but the shape of it is already starting to say something about where the program wants to go. Ranked No. 18 nationally and No. 7 in the Big Ten by ESPN, the group has 14 commits and a clear defensive lean, with several of the most important pieces coming from California.
For a roster that has often been defined by offense, that balance matters. Wide receiver Quentin Hale and safety-athlete Honor Faalave-Johnson are among the prospects viewed as possible immediate-impact players, and their presence gives the class a little more pop on both sides of the ball. The bigger question now is whether USC can keep adding to a group that already looks less like a collection of pledges and more like the start of a specific identity. [Read more 🡒]