USC football news: Rival coach gives Trojans ’50-50′ chance at making CFP

Lincoln Riley is entering his fifth season at USC. In his five seasons as the head coach at Oklahoma, he led the Sooners to the playoffs three times. The Riley era at USC is off to a slower start, as he has yet to make the College Football Playoffs with the Trojans.

With a talented roster, USC could make a run at the playoffs in 2026, and one Big Ten coach thinks they have a legitimate shot, per Athlon Sports.

“They have enough talent to be real competitors in the conference. That’s the beauty of the Big Ten. You can be fifth and be on the borderline to make the playoff. It wouldn’t surprise me if they did that. If I were setting the odds, I would view it as damn near 50-50 as to whether they’re gonna get to the playoff,” an anonymous Big Ten coach told Athlon Sports.

In the first season for Riley at USC, he led them to an 11-3 record and a Pac-12 conference title game berth. They would regress the next year to just eight wins, and then seven wins in 2024, their first season in the Big Ten. The defense was better in 2025, which brought the Trojans to nine wins. The improvement is due to the quality of recruiting from USC.

“They recruited really, really well on both lines of scrimmage the last couple classes. At the high school level, they’re hoarding a lot of the big bodies. They may have a freshman or two start on the offensive line with how they recruited, and then a player like [defensive lineman] Jahkeem Stewart is one of the more unbelievable guys you’ll scout,” a separate rival coach said.

USC could be a contender in the Big Ten and a playoff spot. According to odds provided by DraftKings, USC is fourth in terms of favorites to win the Big Ten and has a win total of 8.5 wins. Nine wins will not be enough to get the Trojans into the playoffs, but if they can find a tenth win, they may be playoff bound for the first time.