The USC Trojans are in the midst of a huge recruiting month for the 2026 class. They currently hold the No. 1 ranking. However, none of these players will be playing this season, and Lincoln Riley needs to ensure a good campaign to keep the program’s momentum going.
There is a lot of excitement around the current team, and a 9+ win season and potential Big Ten Championship and College Football Playoff berth are certainly in the cards.
However, one college football writer does not think so.
Joseph Acosta of SB Nation just dropped his preseason Big Ten rankings, and in my opinion, puts the USC Trojans laughably low.
USC Trojans Rank Low In Preseason Big Ten Rankings
In ranking all 18 Big Ten teams, Acosta places the Trojans in 8th place in the conference, one spot above the Michigan Wolverines, and one spot below the Washington Huskies.
His reasoning?
“The loss of QB Miller Moss is tough to swallow, but losing WR Zachariah Branch and RBs Quinten Joyner and Woody Marks to the portal/draft might hurt a lot worse. QB Jayden Maiava has potential, but parts of his starts looked pretty rough.”
Not to be overly critical, but for as much as we all love and wish nothing but the best for Miller Moss, losing him is not tough to swallow, as he lost the starting job in the middle of the season. So the team had already moved on.
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Also, whoever you want to blame, Zachariah Branch was not the same player last year as he was during his electric freshman season. So while the loss looks bad on paper, his effect on the offense last year was minimal.
Also, the new additions should be taken into account.
USC lacked depth and elite playmaking on the defensive line last year. With the additions of Keeshawn Silver and Jah Jarrett, along with the development of the 2024 class and the incoming 2025 class, the Trojans suddenly have one of the best and deepest units in the entire Big Ten.
The running back room also has the potential to be the best in the conference. While Acosta is absolutely right about the tough losses of Quinten Joyner and Woody Marks, the retention of Bryan Jackson and the additions of Eli Sanders out of New Mexico and Waymond Jordan, the No. 1 JUCO running back in the country, cannot be understated.
Here are his full rankings.
- Oregon Ducks
- Penn State Nittany Lions
- Ohio State Buckeyes
- Illinois Fighting Illini
- Indiana Hoosiers
- Nebraska Cornhuskers
- Washington Huskies
- USC Trojans
- Michigan Wolverines
- Iowa Hawkeyes
- UCLA Bruins
- Michigan State Spartans
- Rutgers Scarlet Knights
- Wisconsin Badgers
- Minnesota Golden Gophers
- Northwestern Wildcats
- Maryland Terrapins
- Purdue Boilermakers
The USC Trojans will need a better than 8th-place finish to keep the momentum that they have going. Based on the improvements in some areas that we saw last year, they should be able to accomplish this.
The combination of the returning players, plus the addition of players from the transfer portal and the 2025 class, and this team should close out a lot more games.
Also, the retention of DC D’Anton Lynn, plus the additions of Rob Ryan, Trovon Reed, and Chad Savage to the coaching staff, cannot be understated. The defense made a huge jump in Lynn’s first season, and the expectation is that they will only build upon that this year.
I haven’t put out my rankings yet, but I feel good about the USC Trojans finishing somewhere in the Top 4.
Thoughts, Trojan family? Comment below!