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ESPN college football analysts put more pressure on USC Trojans head football coach Lincoln Riley Thursday morning with the release of this season’s Big Ten Football Preview and David Hale’s tier rankings of all 136 teams.
Hale dubbed USC one of the Big Ten’s three “ticking clocks,” along with Nebraska and Wisconsin to make up Tier 10a of 20. There are 43 programs in Tiers 1-9.
“At USC, Riley lost a ton of big-name talent in the portal and will move forward with a QB who has 19 touchdown passes and 17 turnovers in nine career starts against teams with a winning record,” Hale wrote. “They can't all turn it around this year, which makes this perhaps the most interesting portion of the Big Ten's standings.”
In the conference preview, Riley’s program was slotted ninth in power rankings and marked one of four “long shots” to make it to the College Football Playoff.
“USC is still seeking its first CFP appearance under Lincoln Riley and could enter the mix if it plays better away from home, where it dropped four games by seven points or fewer,” Adam Rittenberg and Jake Trotter wrote. “The Trojans lost five games by one score last season, tied for the most in the FBS. Playing from ahead will be critical for the Trojans, who trailed in 11 of their 13 games in 2024. The defense under first-year coordinator D'Anton Lynn took a step forward last season, but the Trojans need more improvement -- they still allowed 5.83 yards per play (15th in the Big Ten).”
One score losses hurt USC significantly last season, but if the Trojans can turn that around this year it would be a big improvement. Riley’s squad will face tough games on the road against Notre Dame and Oregon, plus is set to host Michigan, but USC got a bit of a lucky break — they aren’t scheduled to face Ohio State or Penn State. ESPN’s Bill Connelly also noted the Trojans’ road matchup against Illinois in Week 5 as a “must-see.”
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