College Football Playoff, Bowl Game Projections: USC Trojans Continue Bowl Streak?

The USC Trojans have made a bowl game in all three of Lincoln Riley's seasons as coach. ESPN recently released their College Football Playoff and bowl game projections for the 2025 season. Where do they have USC finishing up?

Jul 24, 2025; Las Vegas, NV, USA; USC head coach Lincoln Riley speaks to the media during the Big Ten NCAA college football media days at Mandalay Bay Resort. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images | Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images

The USC Trojans have made a bowl in each of Lincoln Riley’s first three seasons as coach. In 2022; the Cotton Bowl, 2023; the Holiday Bowl; and 2024; the Las Vegas Bowl. 

ESPN released their 2025 College Football Playoff and bowl game projections. Where do they have the Trojans ending up?

USC Trojans Projected to Make Either Holiday Bowl or Alamo Bowl

Dec 27, 2023; San Diego, CA, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley (right) celebrates with wide receiver Makai Lemon (24) after the Holiday Bowl against the Louisville Cardinals at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach of ESPN released their College Football Playoff and bowl game projections. While neither have the USC Trojans making the playoff, they do have them making a bowl game for the fourth consecutive season. 

Bonagura has USC making the Holiday Bowl and facing the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. USC and Georgia Tech have played four times before, with each team winning two times. The Yellow Jackets won the most recent meeting in 2012. The Holiday Bowl is a familiar place for Lincoln Riley and USC. In 2023, they beat the Louisville Cardinals in the Holiday Bowl by a final score of 42-28.

Schlabach projects the Trojans to make the Alamo Bowl and face the Kansas State Wildcats. USC and Kansas State have matched up two times in their programs’ history, with the Wildcats getting the better of the Trojans both times. Their most recent game against each other was in 2002. Kansas State won this game 19-6. 

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College Football Playoff, National Championship Game Predictions

Dec 21, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns running back Jaydon Blue (23) runs into the endzone for a touchdown against Clemson Tigers cornerback Avieon Terrell (20) and linebacker Sammy Brown (47) in the second half at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ricardo B. Brazziell/USA Today Network via Imagn Images | Ricardo B. Brazziell-USA Today Network via Imagn Images

Bonagura and Schlabach also made their own College Football Playoff projections. Both picked three of the same four teams teams to make the semifinals; the Georgia Bulldogs, Texas Longhorns, and Penn State Nittany Lions. 

The only difference in their final four picks was Bonagura selecting the Ohio State Buckeyes and Schlabach rolling with the Clemson Tigers. Their national championship game projections are Texas vs. Penn State and Texas vs. Clemson. 

USC Trojans Going With Jayden Maiava in 2025

Dec 27, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Southern California Trojans quarterback Jayden Maiava (14) throws the ball against the Texas A&M Aggies in the first half at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

2025 will be Lincoln Riley’s fourth season as coach in Los Angeles. Since winning 11 games in his first season, USC has regressed in each of the past two seasons from eight wins to seven wins. Will they get back on the upswing?

USC will turn to quarterback Jayden Maiava. Riley named Maiava the starting quarterback at Big Ten media day. Maiava started the final four games last season for the Trojans and had a record of 3-1. 

Jayden Maiava played his freshman season in 2023 with the UNLV Rebels. Following a productive year, he entered the portal and transferred to USC. Maiava sat most of the year behind quarterback Miller Moss before Riley benched Moss for the final month of the season, opening the door for Maiava.

The USC Trojans will kick off their 2025 season against the Missouri State Bears at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday, Aug. 30.