LOS ANGELES — When it comes to the college football schedule, we're in the calm before the storm, with Media Day about a month away, meaning actual football is just around the corner.
We still have about two and a half months until the USC vs. LSU game, so in the meantime, let’s answer some of your Trojan-related questions.
Note: Submitted questions have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Has anything good come out of USC football lately? It looks bleak. — Tim S.
So far, I've explained why things look bleak, but if you're a USC fan looking for positives, start on the field. Lincoln Riley has a great mind on offense, and while the offensive line wasn't as good as it could have been last season (yes, I know what the national stats say), it should be good. Also, Riley has used the offseason to address some of the issues with last season's unit (open receivers, a struggling offensive line, etc.).
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The potential of the receiving unit and secondary is exciting. USC's young receivers are a great prospect and it will be fun to watch them develop this fall. The Trojans have added some quality players to their secondary, and some who can play the role. In the past, USC's defensive backs have often been too skinny or too slow.
One of the main points is that we need to improve our defensive fundamentals. In this respect we can't be worse than the last two seasons, but the defense can easily make big improvements if they understand the role assigned to them on each play. In the last two seasons we didn't do that and it was evident on the field.
Miller Moss threw for 914 yards and nine touchdowns in his SEC career. (Orlando Ramirez/USA Today)
There are six months between now and the early signing period, but USC's 2025 freshman class is ranked No. 5 in the nation. It's a recruiting game, and while the Trojans have done well this cycle, they'll need to take some steps to stay that way.
While there are certainly some positives, heading into Reilly's third season, people were hoping for more from the show.
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It's fair to say that fan expectations were not met last year. If you were the athletic director, what do you think the expectations are this year? If you were Riley? What do the fans think? — Joseph A.
That's a great question, and honestly, it depends, because what you believe and what you say can be different in those two situations (athletic director and coach).
If you're being realistic as an athletic director and coach, you should expect eight or nine wins given your roster and schedule to be competitive, win your toughest games (Louisiana State, Michigan, Penn State, Notre Dame) and land some 2025 freshmen to make a splash next fall. That's why the win total is set at 7.5, according to BetMGM. But Jen Cohen and Riley can't and never want to publicly say they're happy with eight or nine wins.
They have to say something like, ‘We expect to compete every year for a conference championship, a College Football Playoff berth and a national championship.’ If they don’t, the fans will be upset.
I'm not sure what the fan expectations are. When Riley was hired, this was probably seen as a season in which USC would seriously contend for a playoff spot, but as I wrote this offseason, I'm not sure how realistic that is given the questions at quarterback and on both sides of the line of scrimmage.
Going deeper
USC recruiting: What we know, what we don't know and what to watch for the 2025 class
With Miller Moss under center, the offense will look very different. We saw Zach Branch, Jakobi Lane and Duce Robinson play well last year, but are they ready to take on bigger roles in the offense? Who else do you think will take on bigger roles? — Chad S.
In the past, Riley has tailored his offense to the skills of his quarterback. The offense with Jalen Hurts was different than the offense with Baker Mayfield. The offense this fall will look much different without any quarterback run element. This is unusual for a Riley offense. Before anyone says Mayfield isn't known as a runner, he ran for 400 yards in a season at Oklahoma. I'd be surprised if Moss hits that total.
That means USC will have to rely more on timing on offense, with Moss more likely to play within the offensive structure — Williams often played outside the line, which was a highlight for him but also caused him some issues last year — and USC will need Moss to play within the structure to protect what could be one of the weakest points on the roster.
As for the young receivers, their season won't be good if they don't take on bigger roles. Branch and Robinson got extended playing time in the final month of the season and the veterans haven't had as much practice time. They have Laine and Makai Lemon to look out for. With Branch's talent and how Riley can get him the ball in creative ways, I'd bet on Branch being the No. 1 target.
If this season were to start, who would be on the second line of defense? — Brad D.
The starting lineup will look like this: Jamil Muhammad and Anthony Lucas on the edge, Bear Alexander and Nate Clifton on the interior.
The second-team unit will feature Braylan Shelby and Kameryn Fountain or Sam Green on the wing with Elijah Hughes and Wyoming transfer Gavin Meyer on the inside.
This is a team that creates more questions than answers and will undoubtedly be tested by opposing offenses throughout the season.
When USC hired Danton Lin and people raved about the incredible changes he made to the UCLA defense, the point was often made that Lin had more talented players at UCLA. Is that true? Would it be crazy to expect a big improvement on defense? What are your thoughts on the defense's performance this season? — Erik W.
Chip Kelly didn't do a good job of recruiting high school players at UCLA, but he did a good job of using the transfer portal during his time with the Bruins. Liatu Latu, Jay Toia, and the Murphy brothers (Grayson and Gabriel) were all transfers and were the best players on that UCLA front. I would take that front over USC's current roster, and I would take last year's Bruins linebackers over the Trojans' current roster. So I think Lynn brought in more guys last year and did a good job with them.
This is an entirely different challenge. USC will improve defensively, but I don't expect a huge improvement. The Trojans, who were 104th in yards per play allowed in 2023, don't have enough talent to leap into the top 30 or top 25 this year. If the defense finishes near the top 50 in yards per play allowed, it would be an unquestionable win. But that defense has too many unknowns outside of Alexander and linebacker Easton Mascarenas-Arnold, and the depth is thin enough that injuries could easily throw it off track.
The secondary may be improved this fall, but will it mean much if the front office can't control the line of scrimmage for opposing offenses?
Looking at the schedule, I don't think the Trojans will win more than 3 or 4 games in their first year in the Big Ten. What do you think? — Anonymous
You are grossly underestimating the Trojan team. USC has better player depth than Utah State, Washington, and UCLA. I think they will win three of those games. Troy will be clearly underdogs in the other three, maybe four (LSU, Michigan, Notre Dame, and maybe Penn State). The other five games are probably 50-50 and you're saying Troy will go 0-5 in those games. I don't think so. I mentioned a 7.5 over/under. That's more in line with where I think this team will settle. Worst case scenario, maybe 5 or 6 wins.
Is JuJu Lewis a sure thing? Will 2025 really be a boom year for recruiting? — Joshua P.
I reached out to Lewis' father to ask if the family plans to visit Auburn this weekend. I hadn't heard back by the time this article went to press. If Lewis makes that trip and a planned trip to Colorado next week, it's fair to say it's not 100% confirmed, even if it's promised.
The 2025 class has the potential to be the defining class of Riley's tenure — the key word here is “potential.” USC needs to get a deal done in the next six months, win some key local battles that haven't come their way in the past few cycles (like blue-chip linebacker Noah Mikhail) and address some areas that haven't been able to recruit at an elite level in past cycles (offensive line).
If that can be achieved, it will be a real boom class.
Does USC's roster composition during the first two years of the Riley era parallel the “win now” model of professional sports? Are there lessons to be learned from the NFL's star-driven approach to recruiting at the collegiate level? Or do you think someone could adopt the success of the USC model and one day lead a 4-8 team to a national championship? — Hank W.
When I spoke with Riley in November, he said the reason the coaching staff built it so early was because they wanted to make the program competitive and put it in a position to win in the first few years.
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The opportunity to play with Caleb Williams made USC an attractive transfer destination. Look at Jordan Addison joining the program in Coach Riley's first offseason. In his second offseason, USC added several linemen on offense and defense. First, Williams' attention last season gave other players more exposure to NFL personnel. It gave players a chance to play with a Heisman Trophy winner and USC was talked about as a potential playoff team in the preseason. There were a lot of unknowns at quarterback this season and USC did not have a transfer class of its own. Coach Riley said the coaching staff is not trying to lean too heavily on the quarterback.
USC has to build a more balanced team that doesn't rely so much on the quarterback. Riley will always try to get a talented quarterback, but now he's trying to make the lineup more balanced. Will it work? We'll see.
I'm not sure there's anything to learn from that. Stars attract other stars. Look at Georgia, Ohio State and Alabama under Nick Saban. Good players want to play with other good players. It's tough to see teams adopting success elements from the USC model because Williams was the driving force behind their early success and talent like his comes along very rarely. I'm sure some coaches and programs will try to emulate it, but the quarterback is key.
(Top photo of Lincoln Riley: Michael Reeves/Getty Images)
