Why This Season Can Still Be Viewed as a Success for USC Trojans

The USC Trojans saw their College Football Playoff hopes end of the weekend but with a game against their crosstown rival UCLA Bruins this Saturday and a bowl game coming up, this season can still be viewed as a success for Southern Cal.

Aug 30, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley watches from the sidelines against the Missouri State Bears in the first half at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

USC saw its College Football Playoff hopes end in Eugene on Saturday night when they suffered their third loss of the season. 

And in this era of college football with the 12-team playoff, achieving anything less than a spot in the dance is considered a disappointment. 

But, despite falling short of that goal, this season can still be viewed as success for the Trojans. 

Reaching Double Digit Wins 

Aug 30, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley watches from the sidelines against the Missouri State Bears in the first half at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

As Lincoln Riley proclaimed after Saturday’s loss to Oregon that the “season's not over,” and he is right. 

USC will host UCLA at the Coliseum on Saturday, Nov. 29, in the 95th edition of the crosstown rivalry as they seek to end the regular season on a high note. The Victory Bell is currently in possession of the Cardinal and Gold and keeping it would be huge for the program from a rivalry perspective, but also a record standpoint.

And if the Trojans can defeat the Bruins and with a bowl game on the horizon, Southern Cal would have the opportunity to finish the season with double-digits wins for the second time under Riley. 

Vegas set the Trojans win total at 7.5 going into the season. It’s well below the standard for a program of USC’s pedigree, but at 8-3, this team has already exceeded the expectations that we’re placed on them. 

They began the season unranked and reached as high as No. 15 in the College Football Playoff rankings. And again, the standard is much higher, but based on what was expected of them going into this season, USC is trending upward. 

Building Momentum 

Nov 15, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley watches game action against the Iowa Hawkeyes during the first half at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Does USC still have plenty of work to do before they can be considered among the elite teams in the Big Ten? Absolutely. Do they need better in on the offensive and defensive line against premier teams? No question.

But the truth is, they are a program that is heading in the right direction. Riley described the Trojans 7-6 mark in 2024 as a foundation year. 

In their first season in the post-Caleb Williams era, USC needed a complete reset, which included hiring a new defensive staff in 2024 and relying less on the transfer portal. But they also needed to change the culture. 

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The players have raised the accountability with themselves. There has been a shift in their success in the Big Ten over the last year. USC has won eight of its last 10 games in the conference after a 2-5 start. In 2024, they started the season 1-5 in one-possession games. Since then, they have won five of their last six one-possession games.

This season, USC went on the road in a hostile environment against Nebraska and came out with a win and defeated two ranked opponents at home in Michigan and Iowa, two programs known for playing a physical brand of football. 

They are still both areas the Trojans have to drastically improve in if they want to return to national prominence, but USC proved this season they can get it done. It needs to be done at a more consistent level, and the 2025 campaign has set the groundwork.

No. 1 Ranked Recruiting Class 

Nov 7, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley watches game action against the Northwestern Wildcats during the second half at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The Trojans have assembled an impressive recruiting class in the 2026 cycle. They compiled a majority of their No. 1 ranked class in the spring and continued to add more recruits in the summer and fall. In total, they hold 35 commitments, most in the country. 

It was the combination of a brand-new recruiting and personnel staff, led by general manager Chad Bowden, who left Notre Dame for USC in January, paired with a coaching staff that is relentless on the trail and has done a great job of establishing strong relationships with recruits. 

Even in the NIL era, the Trojans have shown there is still a ton of value in creating relationships. 

And with the early signing period fast approaching, next Wednesday, Dec. 4, USC have continued to make a strong impression on their commits and kept their recruiting class intact throughout the fall. It's a class that has been impressed by what they have seen on the field and understands they are the missing pieces to a program that is on the rise.

The Trojans have been criticized for their inability land elite recruits in their backyard, that narrative has been erased, evident by the nine blue-chip commits they have from the state of California.

The current players have bought into the program under Riley and so has a group of incoming freshmen that will join the team in the coming weeks.