A lot has changed for USC football since the end of the 2025 season.<\/p>\n
The Trojans saw a flurry of coaching changes<\/a> across the offseason, headlined by the arrival of Gary Patterson<\/a> as their new defensive coordinator. They welcomed the No. 1 recruiting class<\/a> in the country, along with several transfers<\/a> ready to make an immediate impact on the field. Just weeks ago, they moved into their brand-new, state-of-the-art facility at the $200-million Bloom Football Performance Center.<\/p>\n Among these changes, though, one thing remains the same: the urgency for USC to return to the top of the sport. Twelve years after the inaugural College Football Playoff, the Trojans have yet to make a single postseason tournament appearance \u2014 even after it expanded to 12 teams in 2024 \u2014 mounting further pressure on Head Coach Lincoln Riley to finally get the job done as he enters his fifth season at the helm.<\/p>\n \tDaily headlines, sent straight to your inbox. According to Riley, this year\u2019s squad is up to the task.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are more equipped than at any point in the previous few years,\u201d Riley said at Big Ten Media Days on July 28. \u201cThat\u2019s not a hope or a wish; those are facts.\u201d<\/p>\n With returning stars and new talent alike on both sides of the ball, Riley\u2019s words might not just be an exaggeration.<\/p>\n Veterans, newcomers alike headline offense<\/p>\n Spearheading the charge will be redshirt senior quarterback Jayden Maiava, who passed on the NFL Draft<\/a> to return to USC after a breakout season in 2025. Despite struggling with interceptions, throwing seven across the Trojans\u2019 four losses \u2014 including two in a stunning Alamo Bowl defeat<\/a> \u2014 Maiava ranked among the best quarterbacks in the country. He threw for 3,711 yards and recorded the highest total quarterback rating in the Football Bowl Subdivision.<\/p>\n \u201cOf all the guys that I\u2019ve been fortunate enough to coach, I don\u2019t know that I\u2019ve had any that have improved from day one to this point as much as Jayden has,\u201d said Riley, who has coached three Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks in his career. \u201cIt\u2019s been fun to see him grow as a leader and really start to embrace what it means to be the starting quarterback at USC.\u201d<\/p>\n However, after Maiava\u2019s top two targets \u2014 wide receivers Ja\u2019Kobi Lane and Biletnikoff Award winner<\/a> Makai Lemon<\/a> \u2014 left for the NFL<\/a>, he\u2019ll be passing to several newer faces. NC State transfer junior Terrell Anderson and four-star freshman Kayden Dixon-Wyatt will join returning sophomore Tanook Hines<\/a> in a talented receiver room, while four-star freshman tight end Mark Bowman projects as a fixture in USC\u2019s starting lineup.<\/p>\n The running back room, meanwhile, looks largely the same with the familiar one-two punch of redshirt senior Waymond Jordan and redshirt sophomore King Miller<\/a>. Miller took over starting duties last year after Jordan\u2019s season-ending ankle injury, breaking out as one of the team\u2019s most dynamic players. Both will likely see significant playing time together this season.<\/p>\n
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