USC's Surprising Standing Among Teams With Best Future

The USC Trojans enter the 2026 season looking to earn a spot in the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history. Is the future bright for coach Lincoln Riley and his Trojans?

Nov 2, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley watches pregame warmups against the Washington Huskies at Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images | Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

The USC Trojans enter the 2026 college football season with the No. 1 ranked recruiting class, a brand new facility, and high expectations. Despite this, football analyst J.D. PicKell does not believe that USC is one of the top 10 football schools in the country set up for the future. 

USC Not Ranked Among Top Teams Set Up For Future Success

Nov 23, 2024; Pasadena, California, USA; USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley during the fourth quarter against the UCLA Bruins at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images | Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

J.D PicKell revealed on On3’s YouTube channel the top 10 teams he believes are set up the best for the next three years. He dove into what criteria he was looking at. It starts with stability at head coach and the roster. 

“To define what we’re looking at here in this list…one is stability,” PicKell said. “Is your head coach who’s there right now going to be there over the course of the next three years? Is your roster in a good place stability wise?”

The next factor PicKell brought up was the available resources to the program to get players. 

“Everyone wants to talk about buying players and everyone’s got a take on NIL. If you don’t have resources, you’re not competing for anything,” PicKell said. “Your trends when it comes to adding talent. Stars aren’t everything, but they matter a lot.”

His final bit of criteria was the team’s accessibility to the playoff, which varies depending on conferences with more difficult teams in them.

“There’s a couple of teams on this list that maybe I think more of certain rosters behind them, but I feel better about them for the next three years because they got a pretty good path to the College Football Playoff,” PicKell said. 

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning, right, and Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti shake hands as the Oregon Ducks face the Indiana Hoosiers in the Peach Bowl on Jan. 9, 2026, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Here were his top 10:

1. Oregon Ducks
2. Ohio State Buckeyes
3. Miami Hurricanes
4. Georgia Bulldogs
5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
6. Texas Tech Red Raiders
7. Indiana Hoosiers
8. Texas Longhorns
9. Texas A&M Aggies
10. LSU Tigers

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Was USC Snubbed?

Nov 29, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley (right) talks with quarterback Jayden Maiava (14) in the second half against the UCLA Bruins at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Was USC snubbed by this ranking? Let’s dive into the criteria starting with the stability. 

USC coach Lincoln Riley is entering his fifth year with the Trojans. It’s not a stretch to say if they miss the College Football Playoff again this season, there will be a large contingency thinking it would be a time for a change.

Riley signed a massive 10-year, $110 million contact with USC prior to the 2022 season. In his four seasons, the Trojans have an overall record of 35-18. USC’s football program has a decorated history of winning conference titles and competing for national championships. Neither of those have been accomplished in the Riley era to this point.

Riley can silence the doubters if USC can make the playoff and be in the running for a Big Ten conference title, but until then, it’s hard to say his long-term standing with USC is “stable.”

Nov 29, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans quarterback Jayden Maiava (14) carries the ball against UCLA Bruins defensive back Key Lawrence (4) in the second half at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

When it comes to resources, USC is right up there with the best of them. The Trojans are one of the bigger spenders in the Big Ten. That not only includes spending for players, but also the football facilities. USC’s 2026 recruiting class is ranked as the best in the country. USC will also be opening a brand new, state of the art facility this summer called the “Bloom Football Performance Center.”

PicKell’s final criteria was the accessibly to the playoff. For USC, they have a gauntlet in a loaded Big Ten with teams like the Indiana Hoosiers, Oregon Ducks, Ohio State Buckeyes, and Michigan Wolverines. That a difficult path to the conference title and auto-bid. Also, if they picked up just three loses, that could leave them on the outside looking in at the playoff even if all were to top 10 teams. 

Overall, USC's path to the playoff is a difficult one with the amount of elite teams in the Big Ten. Then, there is the Riley question marks on if he is the right person to get them to the top. They should be ranked right around the outside of the top 10 for now.