USC Trojans 2026 Season Preview

Riley's Two-Sided Ledger

USC's offense scored on just 13.0 yards per point against a 14.1 league median, the kind of finishing efficiency that rarely repeats, while a defense that made opponents work for 15.2 yards per point bent without breaking in ways that could hold up better. In conference play the Trojans won at a 77.8% clip despite a yardage margin that only projected 74.2%, a gap that points toward some give-back even with 60% of the production back. Lincoln Riley's ninth win and #13 power ranking dressed up a 2025 that was closer than it looked, and year 5 is less about proving the record than about which half of that split USC can actually sustain.

Explosiveness Gap

USC's offense finishes drives at an elite clip, ranking 4th in yards per play and 10th in points per scoring opportunity behind Jayden Maiava, who returns after throwing for 3,711 yards and 24 touchdowns. But that efficiency masks a defense that lets opponents stay on schedule at a 119th-ranked rate, a gap that will decide how far this offense can actually carry USC in 2026. Riley's group doesn't need Maiava to be flashier, it needs the defense to stop bleeding easy downs so the passing game's efficiency isn't wasted playing from behind.

Jayden Maiava threw for 3,711 yards and 24 touchdowns last season, and USC's passing attack ranked 5th nationally in yards per game behind him, so Lincoln Riley hands him the offense again rather than reworking anything. The only real addition at the position is four-star Jonas Williams, brought in to develop behind Maiava rather than push him. With Husan Longstreet gone to the portal, the QB room now belongs to Maiava alone, and the offense's 4th-ranked yards-per-play mark should track wherever he takes it.

King Miller ran for 972 yards and 8 touchdowns behind an offense that ranked 5th nationally in passing and 4th in yards per play, yet the ground game itself only managed a 56th-ranked rushing attack, and that split is the real story for 2026. Waymond Jordan's 576 yards make him a legitimate complement rather than a mere backup, which matters with Eli Sanders and Bryan Jackson both gone from the rotation. USC leans on four-star arrivals Deshonne Redeaux and Shahn Alston to eventually add explosiveness, but in 2026 this remains Miller and Jordan's backfield to carry, with Lincoln Riley's passing game still doing the heavy lifting.

USC just lost 1,156 and 745 yards of receiving production in Makai Lemon and Ja'Kobi Lane, and the answer wasn't patchwork depth but a full reload. Terrell Anderson arrives from NC State with 629 yards already on his résumé, joining a four-man haul of blue-chip high schoolers in Ethan Feaster, Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, Trent Mosley and Luc Weaver that suggests Lincoln Riley chose star power over continuity at the position. Tanook Hines is the lone proven holdover at 561 yards, which means a passing attack that ranked 5th nationally in yards per game is betting its explosiveness on largely unproven or freshly imported hands catching passes from Riley's system.

Lake McRee's 30 catches and Walker Lyons' 20 grabs walk out the door, taking most of the position's 2025 production with them, and no returning tight end (Carson Tabaracci's 3 catches are the high mark) has shown anything close to that yet. USC answers with Mark Bowman, the five-star from Mater Dei, stepping straight into a passing attack that ranked 5th nationally in yards per game, while Wisconsin transfer Tucker Ashcraft adds a body with actual game snaps already banked. Lincoln Riley's offense can mask a lot through Bowman's ceiling and the ground game finally trending toward respectable, but this group is a bet on a true freshman producing immediately rather than a proven returning weapon.

USC's line allowed just 15 sacks and paved the way for 7.17 yards per play last season, but the ground game lagged at 169 yards per game, and that gap between clean pockets and stalled runs is what Lincoln Riley has to close in 2026. The bulk of the room returns, led by seniors Alani Noa, Kilian O'Connor and Ryan Pauley alongside juniors Elijah Paige and Erwin Taomi, giving Riley continuity even with six linemen gone. Four-star tackles Keenyi Pepe and Vlad Dyakonov headline the incoming class, insurance for a group whose real test is finally establishing the run rather than just protecting the quarterback.

Kameryn Crawford (5.5 sacks, 10.5 TFL) and Braylan Shelby (4.5 sacks, 6 TFL) give USC a proven edge duo back, and the Trojans didn't stand pat up front, landing five-star arrivals Luke Wafle and Jaimeon Winfield plus four-star Tomuhini Topui to inject blue-chip juice into a line that ranked just 86th in run-stuff rate. Michigan State transfer Alex VanSumeren, who racked up 50 tackles last season, slots in to help replace departed tackles Devan Thompkins and Keeshawn Silver. The talent infusion should push a unit that finished 64th in yards per play allowed toward more disruption up front in 2026, even if the new pieces need snaps to catch up to their recruiting rankings.

Eric Gentry's 71 tackles and 7 TFL walk out the door, leaving Desman Stephens II as the lone proven force after his 86-tackle season. Washington transfer Deven Bryant brings 62 tackles worth of experience to soften that blow, while four-star Kahuku signee Talanoa Ili headlines a class built for the future rather than immediate snaps. Jadyn Walker's 4 TFL give USC a second experienced piece, but with the run defense already stopping just 17.6% of carries at or behind the line, this group needs Bryant playing significant snaps right away, not developing on the side.

USC's cornerback room got a near-total facelift, with DeCarlos Nicholson and DJ Harvey gone and five new corners arriving to replace them, led by Iowa State transfer Jontez Williams and blue-chip signee Elbert Hill IV. The safety spot stays steadier, with Christian Pierce (64 tackles, 2.5 TFL) back to anchor a defense that finished 47th in passing yards allowed, while Kennedy Urlacher and Marquis Gallegos return for depth after Kamari Ramsey's departure. Williams and Hill IV are the ones who have to hit immediately given how thin the returning corner tackle numbers are behind Marcelles Williams and Alex Graham.

USC brings in Lachlan Carrigan from Memphis, who averaged 43.3 yards on 46 punts, into a room that already has Nate Hillenburg coming off a 40 yard average on 49 boots. That collision is the real story here, not the departure of Sam Johnson, and it sets up a battle for hang time and field position rather than a handoff. Ryon Sayeri's listed line of 20 of 24 field goals with a 54-yard long complicates things further since he and Caden Chittenden both return to a group with a placekicker surplus, meaning Lincoln Riley has more competent leg talent on hand than clear roles to put it in.

Rebuilding Around Maiava

USC's receiving room got gutted, with Makai Lemon (79 catches, 1156 yards, 11 TD) and Ja'Kobi Lane (49 catches, 745 yards, 4 TD) both gone, and the answer is NC State transfer Terrell Anderson, who arrives off a 39-catch, 629-yard season to catch passes from Jayden Maiava. The bigger swing might be on defense, where Eric Gentry's 71 tackles and 7 TFL walk out the door and get replaced by a wave of portal additions in Zuriah Fisher, Alex VanSumeren and Deven Bryant. With the nation's No. 1 recruiting class layered on top of Maiava's 3711 yards and 24 touchdowns, Lincoln Riley has built this roster to win now, not to develop patiently.

Terrell Anderson's Slot

Makai Lemon's 79 catches and 1,156 yards walk out the door, and the only proven arrival built to soak up that target share is Terrell Anderson, who came over from NC State with 39 grabs and 5 touchdowns rather than a resume that screams true No. 1. Jayden Maiava is back with 3,711 yards, but he threw 10 picks last year working through Lemon as his release valve, so whether Anderson can win contested throws next to Tanook Hines decides if this passing game stays explosive or just gets by on King Miller and Waymond Jordan on the ground.

Perfect at Home, Empty on the Road

USC went 9-4 straight up but bettors who backed the Trojans lost money, and the split tells the real story: 7-0 at home against the spread markets that still made them 4-3 covers, versus a 2-3 straight up, 1-4 against the spread disaster away from the Coliseum. Conference play was even more brutal for backers, 7-2 straight up but just 2-7 against the spread, meaning Lincoln Riley's team kept winning games it was supposed to win by less than expected. Until USC proves it can cover on the road, not just win there, this line stays radioactive for anyone laying points away from home in 2026.