What Kirk Herbstreit Said About USC Trojans Success: 'Good For The Sport'

College football analyst Kirk Herbstreit addresses the USC Trojans success and their impact on college football. USC has yet to make a College Football Playoff appearance and is coming off a 7-6 season. Can USC coach Lincoln Riley turn it around this season?

Herbstreit, like many USC fans, longs for the days when the Trojans were a contender for the National Championship.

Jan 1, 2025; Pasadena, California, USA; Kirk Herbstreit on the ESPN Gameday set at Rose Bowl Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

"There are certain teams that it's great for the sport, when they are good," Herbstreit said on the Pat McAfee Show. "I would say that whole state of Florida - Florida State, Miami... You'd put it like Georgia and Alabama now... I miss those days. I love those brands. I love USC. There are just those teams."

The nostalgia is strong when thinking about USC's domination with quarterback Matt Leinart and running back Reggie Bush.

In the last 11 seasons, USC has finished with double-digit wins in only three seasons.

Can the Trojans get back to relevancy in the Big Ten in 2025? Will Florida State and Miami become a national storyline?

USC Trojans Lincoln Riley Big Ten College Football Notre Dame Fighting Irish Michigan Wolverines Jayden Maiava Oregon Ducks — Dec 27, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley holds the championship trophy after the game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

This season is crucial for Riley. Riley was hired ahead of the 2022 season with high expectations, signing the largest contract in coaching at the time at $10.1 million.

In his first season, Riley led USC to a 10-3 record in 2022. But since then, every season under Riley has had less wins, most recently finishing the 2024 season 7-6.

Strangely enough though, USC had the lead in the fourth quarter in all but one game in 2024. If the Trojans can start to gut out late-game wins, their record would dramatically improve.

... And in the eyes of Herbstreit, a dominant USC is a great thing for the sport of college football.

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Unfortunately for Riley, the Trojans schedule is one of the hardest in the conference. In arecent ranking of toughest Big Ten schedules byThe Sporting News, the Trojans' schedule was ranked as the third-most difficult. Wisconsin's schedule was ranked No. 1 with Rutgers at No. 2.

Las Vegas doesn't have much belief in USC in 2025. The USC Trojans have -118 odds to win over 7.5 games in 2025 and -104 odds to win under 7.5 games on FanDuel Sportsbook. The Trojans have +3500 odds to be the Big Ten Championship Game winner.

USC will be led by redshirt junior quarterback Jayden Maiava in 2025. The Hawaii native is entering his second season with the Trojans after transferring from UNLV in the winter of 2024. Maiava was in a quarterback competition with five-star early enrollee Husan Longstreet this spring, but Riley stated, “Jayden’s clearly the No. 1 quarterback right now, which is not surprising at all.”

Good news is, the future looks bright as USC is recruiting well, with the No. 1 ranked class of 2026. The team is utilizing Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) and adding key pieces through the transfer portal.

... Now will it all be enough for Riley's Trojans to make some noise in 2025?

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