USC Trojans, Lincoln Riley 'Pointing In Right Direction' Says College Football Analyst

The USC Trojans are one of the most storied programs in college football history. USC has 11 claimed national titles, the most Heisman Trophy winners of any school with eight, and is tied with Notre Dame for the most NFL Hall of Famers.

USC now finds themselves far away from being in national championship or even just Big Ten contention. The last two seasons, the Trojans have gone 8-5 and 7-6 respectively, and finished outside of the final AP Top 25 rankings.

Nov 30, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley leaves the field after the game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

On top of that USC, has struggled in recruiting and in the transfer portal.

J.D. PicKell of On3 has high expectations for USC and spoke about it on his show “The Hard Count” earlier this week.

J.D. PicKell's Lofty Expecations for USC

On3’s J.D. PicKell expects USC to always be towards the top of the recruiting and Top 25 polls.

“I don’t think that USC going forward if they were to operate at max capacity should ever again be ranked outside the top ten in recruiting rankings, should ever be outside of the top 25 when it comes to on-field product,” PicKell said. “People want to go to USC. Especially in Southern California.”

In addition to everything that comes with Los Angeles such as the great weather, beaches, and movie stars, USC has the history of a blue blood program.

Nov 30, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans wide receiver Kyle Ford (81) carries the ball against Notre Dame Fighting Irish safety Jordan Clark (1) in the second half at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

“It’s got a hallowed tradition of elite college football having been played there. There’s Heismans in Heritage Hall all over. There’s national title trophies,” PicKell said. “Do we not understand this is USC…I got USC bias because I’ve seen what it looks like when it’s humming.”

The Trojans named Chad Bowden the Football General Manager this week. PicKell thinks this could be a turning point for the program in a good way.

“For USC to not be a player in a lot of ways, I think you point to talent aquistuion, you point to the way they did things internally for a long time,” PicKell said. “This is a move, I’m not saying it’s the end all be all, but it’s pointing in the right direction.”

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USC Looking To Get Back on Top

Dec 27, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley is interviewed by ESPN reporter Stormy Buonantony after the game against the Texas A&M Aggies Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

It has a been a long time since the USC Trojans were consistently threatening for championships. The past 15 plus years have been flooded with disappointment and underachieving expectations. There have been a couple years sprinkled in there where USC looked like they were climbing the way back up the college football mountain top; Sam Darnold’s 2016 team that won ten games and the Rose Bowl, and years later Caleb Williams’s 2022 Heisman season which resulted in 11 wins.

Other than that, it has been a lot of Holiday and Las Vegas Bowl appearances for the Trojans. With the resources the program has, the history, and the investment surrounding coach Lincoln Riley, the trajectory of USC is expected to turn around.

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