USC Football News: Trojans Secure Coveted Spot in College Football Preseason by CFB Analyst

USC will look to climb their way up as the season progresses

Your USC Trojans will look for better results in 2023 than they had in 2022. Nonetheless, it was still a spectacular season considering where they were in years past, but it's always championship or bust at USC. 

The Trojans will look to finish the job this season, and they'll look to ride that wave in the backs of their leaders, quarterback Caleb Willaims and head coach Lincoln Riley. That's as good a tandem as any in the landscape of college football, and they'll be in a prime position to get the job done before heading to the Big 10 conference. 

College Football expert Phil Steele released this preseason Top 25 rankings and put the Trojans in the Top 10, right at number seven, amongst the best college football has to offer. 

Ranked as high as No. 6 on one 247Sports preseason ballots, Steele placed the Trojans as a title hopeful just outside of his top five. Heisman winner Caleb Williams is back under center, giving USC arguably the nation's most talented quarterback room. He projects to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. He has plenty of weapons in his arsenal too, even with Jordan Addison off to the NFL. Insert Arizona wideout Dorian Singer, among others, from the portal. The way the 2022 season ended for USC left a bad taste in the mouths of Lincoln Riley and his staff, the kind of loss that could motivate this team to reach the final four.

^{(via 247Sports)}

The teams in front of USC are their future Big 10 counterparts, Penn State, Ohio State, and Michigan, along with Alabama, Clemson, and Georgia. 

This is nothing new for the Trojans, as they spent most of their time ranked number seven in 2022. However, they will look to climb up the rankings quickly and have a great chance to do so. They will look to take advantage of the first half of their schedule to put themselves in a great position for a spot in the College Football playoff. 

USC will be and should be a lot better in 2023, especially on the defensive side of the ball. It will be put up or shut up soon, and we can't wait to see how they look come late August.