CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2022 USC

11–⁠3 (8–⁠1 Pac-12), coached by Lincoln Riley, finished No. 12 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

USC in 2022, game by game: won vs. Rice 66–14; won at Stanford 41–28; won vs. Fresno State 45–17; won at Oregon State 17–14; won vs. Arizona State 42–25; won vs. Washington State 30–14; lost at No. 20 Utah 42–43; won at Arizona 45–37; won vs. California 41–35; won vs. Colorado 55–17; won at No. 16 UCLA 48–45; won vs. No. 13 Notre Dame 38–27; lost vs. No. 12 Utah 24–47; lost vs. No. 14 Tulane 45–46+52−23Won 66–14 vs. Rice+52RiceWon 41–28 at Stanford+13StanfordWon 45–17 vs. Fresno State+28Fresno StateWon 17–14 at Oregon State+3Oregon StateWon 42–25 vs. Arizona State+17Arizona StateWon 30–14 vs. Washington State+16Washington StateLost 42–43 at No. 20 Utah-1No. 20 UtahWon 45–37 at Arizona+8ArizonaWon 41–35 vs. California+6CaliforniaWon 55–17 vs. Colorado+38ColoradoWon 48–45 at No. 16 UCLA+3No. 16 UCLAWon 38–27 vs. No. 13 Notre Dame+11No. 13 Notre DameLost 24–47 vs. No. 12 Utah-23No. 12 UtahLost 45–46 vs. No. 14 Tulane-1No. 14 Tulane
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3vsRiceW 66–⁠1467%
Sep 10atStanfordW 41–⁠2850%
Sep 17vsFresno StateW 45–⁠1752%
Sep 24atOregon StateW 17–⁠1437%
Oct 1vsArizona StateW 42–⁠2570%
Oct 8vsWashington StateW 30–⁠1458%
Oct 15at20UtahL 42–⁠4334%
Oct 29atArizonaW 45–⁠3771%
Nov 5vsCaliforniaW 41–⁠3579%
Nov 11vsColoradoW 55–⁠1788%
Nov 19at16UCLAW 48–⁠4544%
Nov 26vs13Notre DameW 38–⁠2746%
Dec 2vs12UtahPac-12 Championship GameL 24–⁠4747%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvs14TulaneCotton BowlL 45–⁠4650%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Tulane 46–⁠45 in the Cotton Bowl; No. 12 in the final AP poll; first in the Pac-12.

In program history: The 59th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 112 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 14
  2. Wk 2: 10
  3. Wk 3: 7
  4. Wk 4: 7
  5. Wk 5: 6
  6. Wk 6: 6
  7. Wk 7: 7
  8. Wk 8: 12
  9. Wk 9: 10
  10. Wk 10: 9
  11. Wk 11: 8
  12. Wk 12: 7
  13. Wk 13: 5
  14. Wk 14: 4
  15. Wk 15: 8
  16. Final: 12

Pac-12 South champions8–⁠1 in the conference, shared with Utah

Led the nationCaleb Williams: passing touchdowns (42 TD)

Heisman TrophyCaleb Williams, QB; also the Maxwell and Walter Camp

2 consensus All-AmericansCaleb Williams, QB; Tuli Tuipulotu, DL

Record
11–⁠3
Conference
8–⁠1 first in Pac-12
AP final
No. 12 peak No. 4
Points
579–⁠409
Coach
Lincoln Riley
Elo
1639 +169 this season
SP+ rating
18.9 No. 11 of 131; offense No. 2, defense No. 63, special teams No. 116
SRS
11.5 No. 19 of 131 in FBS
Returning
22% of last season’s EPA, No. 120 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 70 roster talent No. 11 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Josh Henson
Defensive coordinator
Alex Grinch
Captains
Caleb Williams, Justin Dedich, Tuli Tuipulotu and Shane Lee
Offense
Air raid
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense1st of 131
  • Defense105th of 131
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted2nd of 131
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted102nd of 131
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.3852%1.341st of 131
Defense0.1848%1.31105th of 131
Opponent-adjusted0.32 off
0.15 def		50% off
46% def		—2nd off
102nd def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense4.7own 2811% allowed
Defense4.5own 2717% caused

CORE rating 7.2, 38th of 131 (offense 17.7, defense 10.5).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsCaleb Williams QB4,535 yds
Passing touchdownsCaleb Williams QB42 TD
Rushing yardsTravis Dye RB884 yds
Rushing touchdownsCaleb Williams QB10 TD
Receiving yardsJordan Addison WR875 yds
Receiving touchdownsJordan Addison WR8 TD
TacklesShane Lee LB68 tkl
SacksTuli Tuipulotu DL13.5 sacks
InterceptionsCalen Bullock S5 INT

Top recruits in the 2022 class

Domani Jackson CB★★★★★No. 5
Raleek Brown RB★★★★No. 42
Zion Branch S★★★★No. 58
C.J. Williams WR★★★★No. 73
Fabian Ross CB★★★★No. 246

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2022 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs14.00.981
Receivers23.50.895
Defensive line13.00.876
Linebackers13.00.864
Defensive backs34.30.961
Athletes and specialists13.00.811
Whole class93.70.912

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2023

The 2023 draft
Rd 1Jordan Addison WRMinnesota Vikings
Rd 2Tuli Tuipulotu OLBLos Angeles Chargers
Rd 3Mekhi Blackmon CBMinnesota Vikings
Rd 7Andrew Vorhees OGBaltimore Ravens

Roster 110

The 2022 roster

110 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2022 line; 57 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 20

The 2022 portal
Caleb Williams QB★★★★★from Oklahoma
Jordan Addison WR★★★★★from Pittsburgh
Mario Williams WR★★★★from Oklahoma
Eric Gentry LB★★★★from Arizona State
Travis Dye RB★★★★from Oregon
Brenden Rice WR★★★★from Colorado
Latrell McCutchin CB★★★★from Oklahoma
Austin Jones RB★★★from Stanford
Bryson Shaw S★★★from Ohio State
Romello Height LB★★★from Auburn
Bobby Haskins OT★★★from Virginia
Jacobe Covington CB★★★from Washington

And 8 more, lower-rated or unrated.

Transfers out 27

Jaxson Dart QB★★★★to Ole Miss
Michael Trigg TE★★★★to Ole Miss
Kedon Slovis QB★★★★to Pittsburgh
Bru McCoy WR★★★★to Tennessee
Brandon Campbell RB★★★to Houston
Jake Lichtenstein DL★★★to Miami
Raymond Scott LB★★★to Fresno State
Casey Collier OT★★★to Oklahoma State
Joseph Manjack WR★★★to Houston
Chase Williams S★★★to San José State
Hunter Echols DE★★★to Arizona
Jayden Williams CB★★★to Louisville

And 15 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2022 Pac-12 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
USC8–⁠111–⁠312
Washington7–⁠211–⁠28
Oregon7–⁠210–⁠315
Utah7–⁠210–⁠410
Oregon State6–⁠310–⁠317
UCLA6–⁠39–⁠421
Washington State4–⁠57–⁠6
Arizona3–⁠65–⁠7
California2–⁠74–⁠8
Arizona State2–⁠73–⁠9
Stanford1–⁠83–⁠9
Colorado1–⁠81–⁠11

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.