The USC Trojans joined the vaunted Big Ten Conference this winter, creating a powerhouse with a legitimate claim as the most competitive football conference in the nation. USC football is well positioned to compete every year, but can they actually win the Big Ten, home to other elite schools such as Ohio State and Michigan?
Let’s take a look at five reasons why USC can rise to the top of the competitive conference, starting with their head coach.
Lincoln Riley is an offensive genius
Lincoln Riley is one of the best offensive coaches in football, and any team he coaches is guaranteed to have a competent offense at a minimum. He excels at getting the most out of his players and has tutored multiple Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks.
The latest player to thrive under Riley‘s guidance was none other than 2024 first-overall pick Caleb Williams. Riley is something of a quarterback whisperer, and Miller Ross has shown real glimpses of immense talent as his next student. Ross only started one game last year due to the presence of Williams, but he flat-out dominated in the bowl game that Williams elected to sit out. Riley threw for more than 350 yards and recorded three passing touchdowns. He had complete control of the offense and led his team down the field with ease.
The safety play will be much improved
Akili Arnold and Kamari Ramsey will likely be the two best players in the Trojans backfield this season, and they are up to the task. They’re both physical players as well as ballhawks, and the team will be expecting them both to make several splash plays every weekend.
USC football’s biggest problem has been giving up big plays that crash any momentum they have and extend drives for opposing offenses.
Not only will Ramsey and Arnold help stem this bleeding, but they’ll also give the team a shot in the arm every so often by coming away with an interception.
USC football built a power running game
USC acquired running back Woody Marks in the transfer portal off-season. Marks is a physical, powerful running back that will provide Riley with another style of play.
Riley’s offenses are known for their explosiveness, and Marks can be explosive but he’s also able to reliably gain three to four yards per carry. He’s somebody who can bring a death-by-1000-cuts approach to the Trojans' offensive philosophy by repeatedly slicing the defense for runs of four to five yards at a time. Even if USC’s defense doesn’t improve at all, which is unlikely, Marks will still be able to impact the game by keeping USC’s defense off the field.
The best defense is a good offense, and with Marks USC football will be able to run slow, methodical drives, where they march down the field, putting up seven points and eating eight or 10 minutes of clock in the process of doing so. The most demoralizing thing for USC’s opponents is that they will know exactly what is coming and be completely powerless to stop it.
If they sell out in an attempt to stop the run, it might be futile. Even if that approach does work, though, Moss will have plenty of space to create explosive plays down the field in the passing game.
The team brought in a new defensive coordinator
The Trojans fired former defensive coordinator Alex Grinch toward the end of the 2023 season, and D’Anton Lynn was hired in December. Lynn was an underrated hire who will be an important piece of the team going forward. He has coached at both the collegiate and professional levels and has worked extensively with various coaches, schemes, and position groups. He has experience in the coordinator role and he's worked with players of varying talent levels.
USC football has added talented pieces to their defensive unit as they gear up for the 2024 season, but it will be up to Lynn to get the most out of the talent in his locker room and ensure that the Trojans have a respectable defense.
Given what Lincoln Riley is able to do consistently with the offense and the level of talent that the team has on that side of the ball, they don't need their defensive unit to be otherworldly. All they need is for this group to hold their own and not give up 30-plus points every weekend.
That’s a fairly low bar to clear.
Quarterback and receiver upside
The Trojans have a talented wide receiver room led by Duce Robinson, Ja’Kobe Lane, and Zachariah Branch. Robinson is a dynamic threat down the field, Lane excels with precision route running and Branch is great at finding openings in the defense. Together, the three receivers cover all of the skill sets that an elite receiver room needs to have.
Moss flashed elite potential during last year's Bowl game, and he's expected to take a leap towards stardom this year. With upside in the receiver’s room and under center, USC is well-positioned to blunt the impact of losing Williams. This team should adapt seamlessly and dominate college football on their way to a Big Ten title.
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