USC should have a much clearer picture of its national standing Monday morning when the preseason AP Top 25 comes out at 9 a.m. PT. After opening last year outside the rankings entirely, the Trojans are being talked about as a team that could land somewhere in the top 15 this time around.
The preseason coaches poll already offered a strong clue. USC came in at No. 14, making it the third-highest-ranked Big Ten team behind Ohio State at No.
1, Oregon at No. 2, and defending national champion Indiana at No. 6.
When the AP poll drops, the Trojans are expected to settle into a similar range, with a spot anywhere from No. 10 to No. 16 looking likely. Ohio State, Oregon, and Indiana are also projected to be inside the top 10.
USC’s rise in the conversation comes with bigger goals attached. The Trojans are chasing their first College Football Playoff berth in program history in Lincoln Riley’s fifth season. That pursuit starts with the kind of offense Riley has consistently built, and it again figures to revolve around Jayden Maiava.
Maiava is back after a first season as USC’s starter in which he led the Big Ten in passing with 3,711 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. His 89.9 QBR was the country’s second-best mark, and the Trojans will need that efficiency to show up in the biggest games on the schedule.
Those games are easy to find. USC has home dates with Oregon and Ohio State, plus road trips to Indiana and Penn State. For Maiava, the key is simple: bring down the turnovers that hurt the Trojans in three regular-season losses last year and kept them out of the CFP picture.
Still, the biggest swing factor may be on the other side of the ball. USC’s defense has been the issue under Riley over the last four seasons, and last year it showed up again in the three regular-season losses, all on the road to Illinois, Notre Dame, and Oregon, when the Trojans allowed more than 30 points each time.
That’s the part Gary Patterson has been brought in to change. With one of the toughest schedules in the country staring them down, USC does not have much margin for error.
If the Trojans miss the playoff again, the schedule won’t be enough of an excuse. Other Big Ten teams that could join USC in the AP preseason top 25 include Michigan, Penn State, Washington, and Iowa.
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For a Trojans offense looking for explosive playmakers after key departures at receiver, Feaster offers exactly the kind of upside that can change the feel of a passing game. The challenge now is translating all that promise into early production, but USC has every reason to believe he can be part of the answer sooner rather than later. [Read more 🡒]