The USC football team hired Lincoln Riley to be their head coach a couple seasons ago, and Riley left Oklahoma to coach the Trojans. Riley had been very successful as the head coach of Oklahoma, and his first season as the head coach of USC was a success as well. The Trojans had struggled in the previous years leading up to the Lincoln Riley era, but in year one, they were immediately a national title contender, and they were just one win away from winning the Pac-12 title and going to the College Football Playoff. The Trojans ended up losing in the Pac-12 title game against Utah to miss out on the playoff, but that was still a very promising first season for Riley.

Because of the success that Lincoln Riley and USC football had in that first year, the expectations for year two became sky-high. A big reason for that was Caleb Williams and the offense. Williams won the Heisman trophy during Riley's first season as the head coach of the Trojans, and the offense was too much for almost every defense that they faced. Williams and a lot of the weapons on that offense came back for the 2023 season, and when that happened, USC became the favorite to win the Pac-12, and a lot of people thought that they were going to make the College Football Playoff.

Unfortunately for USC, the 2023 season did not go as planned. Caleb Williams was once again one of the best players in the country, but the Trojans failed to address their major weakness from the 2022 team: the defense. The reason that USC wasn't able to accomplish everything in 2022 because was because the defense was holding them back. Their offense was loaded with talent, but the defense just wasn't good enough. Instead of fixing the defense, it seemed like the Trojans just tried to load up the offense even more, and their plan didn't work.

2023 was not a good season for USC football. The Trojans had all of this talent on offense, they had the high preseason ranking, they had the expectations, but they were never able to deliver on the field. USC started off the year 6-0 and they were still clinging to their championship hopes, but a 1-5 back half ended any hopes of having a successful season. The Trojans finished the regular season 7-5, and they concluded the year with a trip to the Holiday Bowl. It was a very disappointing 2023 campaign.

Now, for the first time in his career, Lincoln Riley has some of his fanbase doubting him. USC took a major step backwards last year, and now, the 2o24 season is going to be a very important one. The Trojans are making the move to the Big Ten, so they have quite the tricky schedule, and they also will be without Caleb Williams next year. The quarterback position is going to be a major question mark as Williams is heading to the NFL and the former #1 overall recruit, Malachi Nelson, transferred to Boise State.

The good news for USC and Riley is that they can go to the transfer portal to get some of the help that they need. They already have dipped in as they picked up QB transfer Jayden Maiava from UNLV, but they might still be eyeing some other options at the position. The Trojans have to have a good season next year, and here are some guys in the portal that they should be taking a look at to help make that happen.

QB Jordan McCloud, James Madison

Jordan McCloud isn't getting as much attention as other QBs in the portal, but he is now one of the best that is available, and he could be a good fit at USC. He hasn't played the level of competition that the Trojans will be facing in the Big Ten very much as McCloud was the QB for James Madison last year, but he did get some action at Arizona as well that could help him with that. The point is, McCloud was a winner at James Madison. He threw for over 3,600 yards and he is also a play-maker with his legs as he had eight rushing touchdowns on the season. He is a good option for teams looking for an experienced QB in the portal.

CB Jubbar Muhammad, Washington

Jubbar Muhammad is one of the top players in the transfer portal, and he is going to want to go to an elite school. He just went and played in the national title game at Washington, and it might help the Trojans that Muhammad is familiar with their program from playing them in the Pac-12. The Big Ten is going to be a top stage in college football along with the SEC, and Muhammad likely wants to be on one of those stages. He could come in and be an immediate impact player on defense, and USC football needs someone like that.

CB Denver Harris, LSU

Another potential candidate to help out the secondary is Denver Harris who is transferring from LSU. He is another guy that can come in and earn a starting role, and he is familiar with the level of the play that USC is at and the level of play of the teams they will be up against. The Trojans should definitely be focusing on defensive help in the transfer portal, and Harris is a guy that can provide that.