Where Analysts Rank USC Trojans in Preseason Top 25

The USC Trojans are coming off a nine-win 2025 season. What is their preseason ranking entering 2026?

USC Ranked No. 13 in On3's Preseason Top 25 Poll

usc trojans lincoln riley preseason top 25 rankings college football playoff betting odds gary patterson jayden maiava — Jul 28, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; USC Football head coach Lincoln Riley speaks during Media Days at Hilton Chicago. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

On3 revealed their college football preseason top 25 ahead of the 2026 season. They put USC at No. 13, the fourth highest ranked team in the Big Ten.

NEW: On3 2026 College Football Preseason Top 25👀

Do you agree?🤔https://t.co/CxJOBEw8d1 pic.twitter.com/IHviZNcZuN
— On3 (@On3) August 11, 2026

“Riley has talked all offseason about this being the year that USC takes a significant step forward. The Trojans brought back quarterback Jayden Maiava…Signed the No. 1 recruiting class in the country and hired Gary Patterson as the new defensive coordinator,” On3’s Wilson Alexander said. “If he (Patterson) can deliver, USC has a chance to make the CFP for the first time.”

This is the fifth season under coach Lincoln Riley for USC. Riley has accumulated an overall record of 35-18 through his first four seasons. This has resulted in four seasons with bowl game appearances, but zero conference championships and zero trips to the College Football Playoff.

USC hired Riley to restore the greatness of USC. This is a program that has a history of winning with 11 national titles. However, it has been nearly two decades since USC was considered to be the premier program in college football. Since 2009, USC has won one conference title and has not made it to a playoff or national title game.

Will that change in 2026?

Getting starting quarterback Jayden Maiava back was a win for USC this offseason. Maiava started all 13 games for the Trojans in 2025, throwing for 3,711 yards and 24 touchdowns. Maiava was named Third-team All-Big Ten. Having the same quarterback under center that has already had success in this system for another season is huge for USC.

On the other side of the ball, USC made a splash hire with Gary Paterson at defensive coordinator. Patterson is taking over for former USC defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn, who left USC this offseason for the same role at his alma mater, Penn State.

Patterson is most known for his time as the head coach at TCU from 2000-2021. In his 20-plus seasons in Forth Worth, Patterson led the Horned Frogs to a record of 181-79, with six conference championships.

Since leaving TCU in 2021, Patterson has been an assistant to the head coach for the Texas Longhorns and a consultant for the Baylor Bears. He’s been away from dialing up defenses during games for a few years now so it will be interesting to see how he fares.

According to DraftKings Sportsbook, USC has a win total of 8.5, with odds of +115 on the over and -136 on the under. USC's odds to make the playoff reflect this win total. They have odds of +240 to make the playoff and -330 to miss it. If the oddsmakers are right, USC will miss the playoff once again.

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