Quarterback Jayden Maiava is back after starting the final four games of last season. The UNLV transfer isn't on many lists as a star in the making, but he has the firm backing of Riley, a head coach with a resume including three Heisman-winning quarterbacks and Jalen Hurts, a second-place Heisman finisher who just won a Super Bowl.

Matt Leinart is one of the only players in college football history to win multiple national championships and a Heisman Trophy

In the Trojans' storied history of running backs, Charles White is the school's all-time leading rusher by a wide margin

Former LSU Tigers coach Ed Orgeron left LSU at the end of the 2021 season and hasn't coached in college football since. The former USC Trojans interim coach rec

USC's lofty expectations and subsequent shortcomings have not gone unnoticed. The Trojans were deemed the unfortunate recipient as the “most overrated team” of the College Football Playoff era by On3 Sports' Brett McMurphy.

The Trojans are holding open walk-on tryouts on Aug. 24, but Coach Lincoln Riley says “they’re going to be less common” with House settlement roster limits approaching.

The USC Trojans have made a bowl game in all three of Lincoln Riley's seasons as coach. ESPN recently released their College Football Playoff and bowl game projections for the 2025 season. Where do they have USC finishing up?

Former LSU head coach Ed Orgeron, who led the Tigers to a national championship during the 2019 season, wants back into coaching. Orgeron joined the Pardon My Take podcast recently and was asked if he wants to return to coaching after mutually agreeing to part ways with LSU during the 2021 season.

The pressure to succeed in big-time college football is immense. Entering the 2025 season, no coach is safe, including three of the sport's biggest names: Penn State 's James Franklin , LSU 's Brian Kelly and USC 's Lincoln Riley, according to CBS Sports.

Few programs in college football carry a wider range of outcomes than the USC Trojans in 2025. Depending on the projection, the Trojans could finish 11–1 and push for a Big Ten title or stumble to 6–6 and spark questions about USC coach Lincoln Riley.