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The USC football team had a great first year under head coach Lincoln Riley as the Trojans were a win in the Pac-12 title game away from going to the College Football Playoff. They didn't make it, but it was a good start to his tenure. Unfortunately, USC has gone in the wrong direction since, and last year was the worst as the team finished with a 6-6 record. However, a lot of those losses easily could've been wins. In 2025, Lincoln Riley and USC need to turn the close losses into wins.
A 6-6 record looks really bad for Lincoln Riley and the USC football team at first glance, but five of those losses could've been wins very easily. The Trojans lost by a combined 19 points in five of their losses. They took Penn State to overtime, and the Nittany Lions made the College Football Playoff semifinals. USC is close, and Riley needs to put it all together this year.
“He's going to have to win this year,” College football analyst Joel Klatt said during an episode of his podcast. “You can't go 7-5 again (USC went 6-6 in the regular season last year and finished 7-6 after winning its bowl game). You just can't. You look at last year. You start with a win over LSU, you end with a win over Texas A&M, they showed they're capable. They took Penn State to overtime. You know, they really probably should have won that Michigan game. The offense wasn't quite a normal Lincoln Riley offense. I still think that they need to get back to running the football like they were able to do in his first year at USC, and like he was able to do for the majority of his time at OU, which means that the O-line needs to play. Good news: Year one with [defensive coordinator] D'Anton Lynn went really well. There was a real improvement on the defensive side of the ball.”
USC has some tough games on the schedule, and the first crucial matchup will come in late September at Illinois. Both teams are hoping to make a run to the College Football Playoff, and whoever loses will be in trouble.
“I think that the key game is USC-Illinois,” Klatt continued. “Both teams could be undefeated going into that one. If they were able to get that one, now that's something because then you've got Michigan, Notre Dame and Iowa, you've got Nebraska on the road, depending on how Nebraska was able to do. So let's say you can get through that stretch going like 3-1. Illinois, Michigan, Notre Dame and Nebraska. And they do that, maybe, maybe. And now you're in it.”
The toughest games on the schedule for USC are at Oregon and at Notre Dame. If the Trojans lose those, they probably need to win everything else to finish 10-2 and make the CFP.
“They've got tough games against Oregon on the road. Don't think that they're going to win that one. So now you're just talking about like, can you steal a victory here or there,” Klatt said. “At Notre Dame is going to be difficult. But again, those close losses could turn into close wins this year, and if they do, they could be a team making their very first playoff appearance.”
With this schedule, making a run to the CFP will be difficult. However, Lincoln Riley was brought to LA to take the USC football team to the playoff in the four-team era. Well, now the playoff has expanded to 12. He needs to get it done.
