LOS ANGELES, CA — The USC Trojans were on the brink of a College Football Playoff appearance in Year 4 under Head Coach Lincoln Riley, heading into Eugene, Oregon, to face their bitter rival, the Ducks, in their first rivalry game in Big Ten competition on Saturday. Unfortunately for Southern California, their undisciplined actions on both sides of the ball proved to be the straw that broke the camel’s back as the Ducks secured a 42-27 victory, earning their spot in the CFP and simultaneously denying USC theirs.
Going into this one, the Trojans had the momentum. Coming off a ‘culture win’ against the Iowa Hawkeyes at the Coliseum that set them on the path of a CFP hopeful, but even before they arrived in Eugene, USC would be down a few bodies, a story old as time on the Trojans’ 2025 season.
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The Trojans still have one more game to play before their season ends, a Los Angeles rival clash against the UCLA Bruins, but it’s never too early to look ahead.
USC has the No.1 recruiting class for 2026 according to the Rivals Industry Football Team Rankings, highlighted especially by a few five-star commits, such as OT Keenyi Pepe and TE Mark Bowman. Having these freshmen suited up for 2026 will bolster this already dependent Trojan offense and will set the expectations for a successful 5th-year tenure for Coach Riley.
Riley earned every right in 2025 to be at the helm for the Trojans in 2026 to be the leader of these incoming freshmen and mold them with the culture that has been established in years past. You can look at next year as CFP or bust, but one thing is for certain: 2025 is when the page turned for the USC program.
Do not view 2025 as a complete failure. Remember, a ton of insiders had USC finishing under 7 wins and underachieving for yet another season. 2025 did not turn out the way fans wanted, but there is no need to hit the panic button on what is to be an exciting future for USC.
