Here’s what Big Ten newcomer USC has been up to in the offseason.
2024 will be a year of transition for the University of Southern California, as the Pac-12 Conference is gone and a new home in the Big Ten awaits. The Trojans will be thrown right into the deep end, with their game against Michigan in September being one of the bigger events on the schedule.
The teams certainly have a history in the postseason, with the Wolverines looking for redemption after the 2007 Rose Bowl loss to the Trojans. USC also leads the series 6-4 all-time against Michigan.
USC head coach Lincoln Riley is known for his high-scoring offenses and outstanding quarterbacks, but Michigan will have one of the best defenses in the country in 2024. It’s certainly going to be a game to watch.
The Basics
Game info: September 21, 3:30 PM (Ann Arbor, CBS, Paramount+)
2023 Record: 8-5
2024 projected wins: 7 (per DraftKings)
Roster Moves:
Key draft losses: QB Caleb Williams, S Calen Bullock, S Akili Arnold, RB MarShawn Lloyd, OL Jarrett Kingston, WR Brenden Rice, WR Tahj Washington, EDGE Solomon Byrd
Key portal losses: QB Malachi Nelson, CB Domani Jackson, EDGE Korey Foreman, WR Raleek Brown, IOL Jason Zandemela, IOL Cooper Lovelace
Key portal additions: QB Jayden Maiava, WR Kyle Ford, RB Jo’Quavious Marks, CB John Humphrey, CB Greedy Vance
For more on USC’s portal endeavors, click here .
State of the program:
The USC Trojans are coming off a disappointing season. With Caleb Williams at quarterback, the team was expected to compete for the Pac-12 Championship while Williams attempted to win back-to-back Heisman Trophies.
Of course, that didn’t happen. Now, Williams is getting ready for his first season with the Chicago Bears and the Trojans will enter the Big Ten with more pressure on Riley as he heads into his third season as USC’s head coach, still looking to reach the College Football Playoff.
LA Times columnist Bill Plaschke went on ESPN’s Around the Horn in February to discuss Lincoln Riley . He thinks Riley’s seat in Southern California is heating up, as do many others the the industry. Plaschke:
“Everybody is really upset with him. Everybody is really down on him. I was hoping he would leave, but he hurt his NFL chances by having a bad season. He’s got a lot to prove. He’s making a lot of money with little results. He can’t coach a defense. I think he’s on the hot seat.”
To fix the problems on defense, D’Anton Lynn will take over as Riley’s defensive coordinator after Alex Grinch was fired. The Trojans had a dismal defense in 2023, giving up 419 points last season; only eight programs in the country were worse. USC gave up 5,266 total yards and 438.8 yards per game, landing in the bottom 12 for those stats. Lynn comes to USC from UCLA. He helped improve the Bruins’ defense in 2023 and will be joined by a few players transferring to USC with him.
The biggest question on offense is how either Miller Moss or Jayden Maiava will take over at quarterback for Caleb Williams. Love him or hate him, Williams was good enough to go as the No. 1 overall draft pick in April.
Riley has coached three of the last seven Heisman Trophy winners in Williams and Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray. Mayfield and Murray also went as No. 1 picks — will Miller Moss be next? Moss seems to be the leader for the quarterback competition after the spring, but he’ll have to beat out the transfer Maiava.
Despite backing up Williams, Moss still had 681 passing yards, seven touchdowns, and an interception during the four games he appeared. Most of those stats came when he started in the Holiday Bowl against Louisville, where he registered 372 yards passing, six touchdowns, and an interception.
USC picked up a few targets in the transfer portal, including UCLA transfer Kyle Ford. Ford is a guy who had some interest from Michigan but ended up going back to USC. He’s a former five-star recruit who spent his first four years with the Trojans before playing at UCLA for one season.
While Lincoln Riley has high expectations he’ll need to meet eventually, the program doesn’t have the same hype coming into 2024 as last season. The Trojans don’t have time to get used to the changes made in the offseason either. USC opens the season against LSU on September 1. The Trojans will play Notre Dame to end the regular season, bookending a tricky first year in the Big Ten.