Micah Huff is calling for a USC season that starts fast, hits a couple of heavy swings in the middle, and ends with a 10-2 record.
The Trojans, in his view, should have enough talent to turn Lincoln Riley’s long-awaited breakthrough into reality, even with a schedule that brings plenty of pressure. He sees USC rolling early, surviving some tricky Big Ten road tests, taking a major shot at Oregon, and then getting clipped by a pair of national powers before finishing strong.
USC opens with San Jose State in Week 1, and Huff expects a lopsided win with plenty of Trojans making their mark right away. Fresno State comes next, and he projects another offensive avalanche while saying Gary Patterson and the defense should also start building some confidence.
Week 3 brings what he labels the toughest non-conference game, a meeting with Louisiana. Even there, Huff still has USC winning comfortably.
He points to Cajuns quarterback Lunch Winfield, a dual-threat player who helped Louisiana finish undefeated and reach a bowl game, as the main challenge for the Trojan defense. But he still expects the USC offense to keep things under control for a third straight week.
The first road test comes at Rutgers in Week 4, and Huff sees that as a useful tune-up more than a true danger spot. He believes Rutgers will be one of the Big Ten’s weakest teams, but still enough of a test to keep USC’s offense sharp heading into the Oregon game.
That Week 5 showdown with the Ducks is the one he circles as the season’s turning point. Huff says it could define USC’s 2026 outlook and believes the Trojans have the firepower to knock off a rival with championship goals.
He calls it “the Gary Patterson game” and says Patterson would become a USC Trojan legend in it. His pick: an upset win that sends USC into the College Football Playoff.
After that, Huff expects the Trojans to handle Washington, though not in the shootout many might imagine. He thinks USC’s defense will be the difference, with the defensive line causing problems for Demond Williams and the Huskies continuing to struggle on the road against their rival.
Penn State in Week 7 is the first place he sees serious danger. He calls the white-out atmosphere hostile and admits USC could stumble there, but still leans toward the Trojans escaping with a close win. He says Maiava is capable of outplaying Rocco Becht and expects that game to stand out as one of the season’s highlights.
The road trip to Wisconsin in Week 9 gets similar treatment. Huff expects another tense, defense-heavy game and says the Badgers have upgraded at quarterback, but he still trusts USC to score enough. He sees Maiava delivering again in the fourth quarter to beat another Big Ten opponent.
Then comes Ohio State in Week 11, where Huff’s optimism runs into a wall. He says the Trojans’ run hits a stop against what he calls the freight train of the Buckeyes, with Ohio State starting fast enough to eventually prove it is the best team in the country. USC, in his view, gets humbled there.
Indiana in Week 12 brings another loss, according to Huff. He sees the Hoosiers as a potential title contender and believes USC will fall again to a better team and a better coach, with the defense and Curt Cignetti’s brilliance too much for the Trojans.
USC then bounces back at home against Maryland in Week 13. Huff thinks Malik Washington will make that one interesting, but he still expects the Trojans’ offense to get rolling again and win big.
The regular season ends at UCLA, and Huff thinks the rivalry setting keeps things tight early. He credits Bob Chesney with making the Bruins competent, but still sees USC pulling away because of the talent gap.
His final call is 10-2, with the caveat that this schedule can absolutely go sideways. Still, Huff believes the Trojans are carrying a different level of confidence this year, and that the talent - plus the new coaching addition - finally adds up to real wins.
In Other News...
USC Just Reopened A Frustrating Debate About Lincoln Rileys Program
USCs 2026 opener against San Jose State did more than start a new football season. It also reopened an old question about how much pull Lincoln Rileys program really has, after the Coliseum was filled to only about one-third of its capacity. The university tried to get ahead of the optics with a statement pointing to possible factors behind the turnout, including the weather and the opponent.
Still, the image of a sparsely populated Coliseum landed hard because it came against the backdrop of what fans have come to expect from this program on game day. The discussion quickly drifted beyond one afternoon and back to a familiar frustration around scheduling choices and whether USC is giving supporters enough reason to show up early and often. [Read more 🡒]
Oregons New Play-Callers Will Decide How Real This 2024 Hype Is
USCs own coordinator search has been part of the wider wave of change sweeping college football, with Todd Orlando stepping in as the new defensive voice after the Trojans moved on from the previous setup. Around the sport, fresh play-callers are already shaping how teams are perceived, from Bobby Petrinos arrival at North Carolina to other staff shakeups at Texas, Virginia Tech, Clemson and Oregon, where early results have given fans a first taste of what these moves might mean.
For USC, the broader lesson is pretty clear: coordinator hires do not stay abstract for long. They quickly become the difference between a unit that merely looks organized and one that can actually hold up under pressure, and Orlandos early work will be judged in exactly that light as the Trojans try to make sense of a season defined as much by coaching changes as by on-field performance. [Read more 🡒]
USCs New Local Pipeline Already Looks Ready To Lift This Offense
USCs latest recruiting class wasted no time showing why the Trojans have been so aggressive about building a local pipeline. In the season opener, freshmen Trent Mosley, Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, Tron Baker and tight end Mark Bowman all started and immediately found roles in the offense, a reflection of the momentum general manager Chad Bowden and coach Chad Savage have tried to create with the 2026 group. Mosley made the loudest first impression, going for 118 receiving yards and a touchdown, while Bowman helped in the run game and running back Deshonne Redeaux flashed with a few promising carries.
For USC, the broader takeaway goes beyond one opener. When freshmen are not just dressed but already helping shape the game plan, it suggests the Trojans may be closer than expected to having another wave of homegrown playmakers ready to keep this offense moving. The only real question now is how quickly that early trust turns into a lasting feature of what USC wants to be on that side of the ball. [Read more 🡒]