CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2023 USC

8–⁠5 (5–⁠4 Pac-12), coached by Lincoln Riley.

Schedule and results

USC in 2023, game by game: won vs. San José State 56–28; won vs. Nevada 66–14; won vs. Stanford 56–10; won at Arizona State 42–28; won at Colorado 48–41; won vs. Arizona 43–41; lost at No. 21 Notre Dame 20–48; lost vs. No. 14 Utah 32–34; won at California 50–49; lost vs. No. 5 Washington 42–52; lost at No. 6 Oregon 27–36; lost vs. UCLA 20–38; won vs. No. 16 Louisville 42–28+52−28Won 56–28 vs. San José State+28San José StateWon 66–14 vs. Nevada+52NevadaWon 56–10 vs. Stanford+46StanfordWon 42–28 at Arizona State+14Arizona StateWon 48–41 at Colorado+7ColoradoWon 43–41 vs. Arizona+2ArizonaLost 20–48 at No. 21 Notre Dame-28No. 21 Notre DameLost 32–34 vs. No. 14 Utah-2No. 14 UtahWon 50–49 at California+1CaliforniaLost 42–52 vs. No. 5 Washington-10No. 5 WashingtonLost 27–36 at No. 6 Oregon-9No. 6 OregonLost 20–38 vs. UCLA-18UCLAWon 42–28 vs. No. 16 Louisville+14No. 16 Louisville
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 26vsSan José StateW 56–⁠2871%
Sep 2vsNevadaW 66–⁠1483%
Sep 9vsStanfordW 56–⁠1081%
Sep 23atArizona StateW 42–⁠2873%
Sep 30atColoradoW 48–⁠4172%
Oct 7vsArizonaW 43–⁠4181%
Oct 14at21Notre DameL 20–⁠4840%
Oct 21vs14UtahL 32–⁠3453%
Oct 28atCaliforniaW 50–⁠4965%
Nov 4vs5WashingtonL 42–⁠5245%
Nov 11at6OregonL 27–⁠3627%
Nov 18vsUCLAL 20–⁠3862%
Dec 27Bowls & playoffvs16LouisvilleHoliday BowlW 42–⁠2839%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Louisville 42–⁠28 in the Holiday Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Pac-12.

In program history: The 75th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 112 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 6
  2. Wk 2: 6
  3. Wk 3: 5
  4. Wk 4: 5
  5. Wk 5: 8
  6. Wk 6: 9
  7. Wk 7: 10
  8. Wk 8: 18
  9. Wk 9: 24
  10. Wk 10: 24

Led the nationZachariah Branch: punt return average (20.8)

Record
8–⁠5
Conference
5–⁠4 tied for 4th in Pac-12
AP final
Unranked peak No. 5
Points
544–⁠447
Coach
Lincoln Riley
Elo
1594 +2 this season
SP+ rating
9.4 No. 29 of 133; offense No. 3, defense No. 105, special teams No. 99
SRS
10.5 No. 22 of 133 in FBS
Returning
74% of last season’s EPA, No. 24 of 131
Recruiting class
No. 8 roster talent No. 8 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Josh Henson
Defensive coordinators
Alex Grinch, Shaun Nua and Brian Odom
Captains
Caleb Williams, Justin Dedich, Shane Lee, Jonah Monheim and Mason Cobb
Offense
Air raid
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense5th of 133
  • Defense104th of 133
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted4th of 133
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted101st of 133
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.3048%1.505th of 133
Defense0.1945%1.34104th of 133
Opponent-adjusted0.28 off
0.16 def		48% off
43% def		—4th off
101st 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
Offense5.0own 3016% allowed
Defense3.5own 3115% caused

CORE rating 8.3, 35th of 133 (offense 14.9, defense 6.5).

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 QB3,633 yds
Passing touchdownsCaleb Williams QB30 TD
Rushing yardsMarShawn Lloyd RB820 yds
Rushing touchdownsCaleb Williams QB11 TD
Receiving yardsTahj Washington WR1,062 yds
Receiving touchdownsBrenden Rice WR12 TD
TacklesMason Cobb LB85 tkl
SacksJamil Muhammad DE5.5 sacks
InterceptionsCalen Bullock S2 INT

Top recruits in the 2023 class

Zachariah Branch WR★★★★★No. 4
Malachi Nelson QB★★★★★No. 12
Duce Robinson TE★★★★★No. 17
Makai Lemon WR★★★★No. 44
Braylan Shelby DE★★★★No. 86
Tackett Curtis LB★★★★No. 109
Walker Lyons TE★★★★No. 126
Quinten Joyner RB★★★★No. 186

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

The 2023 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks15.00.995
Running backs33.70.881
Receivers54.40.961
Offensive line53.20.890
Defensive line63.20.879
Linebackers14.00.948
Defensive backs24.00.896
Athletes and specialists22.50.831
Whole class253.60.903

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 2024

The 2024 draft
Rd 1Caleb Williams QBChicago Bears
Rd 3Calen Bullock SHouston Texans
Rd 3MarShawn Lloyd RBGreen Bay Packers
Rd 6Jarrett Kingston OGSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 7Brenden Rice WRLos Angeles Chargers
Rd 7Solomon Byrd DEHouston Texans
Rd 7Tahj Washington WRMiami Dolphins

Roster 110

The 2023 roster

110 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2023 line; 67 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 15

The 2023 portal
Bear Alexander DL★★★★from Georgia
Anthony Lucas DL★★★★from Texas A&M
Christian Roland-Wallace CB★★★★from Arizona
Dorian Singer WR★★★★from Arizona
Emmanuel Pregnon OL★★★★from Wyoming
MarShawn Lloyd RB★★★★from South Carolina
Mason Cobb LB★★★★from Oklahoma State
Jack Sullivan DL★★★★from Purdue
Tre’Quon Fegans CB★★★★from Alabama
Jamil Muhammad LB★★★from Georgia State
Jarrett Kingston OL★★★from Washington State
Kyon Barrs DL★★★from Arizona

And 3 more, lower-rated or unrated.

Transfers out 20

C.J. Williams WR★★★★to Wisconsin
Gary Bryant Jr. WR★★★★to Oregon
Kyle Ford WR★★★★to UCLA
Xavion Alford S★★★to Arizona State
Ralen Goforth LB★★★to Washington
Courtland Ford OT★★★to Kentucky
Malcolm Epps TE★★★to Pittsburgh
Jake Smith WR★★★to Arizona State
Briton Allen S★★★to Utah
Jayden Williams CB★★★no new school on file
Julien Simon LB★★★★to Tulsa
Latrell McCutchin CB★★★★to Houston

And 8 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2023 Pac-12 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Washington9–⁠014–⁠12
Oregon8–⁠112–⁠26
Arizona7–⁠210–⁠311
Utah5–⁠48–⁠5
USC5–⁠48–⁠5
Oregon State5–⁠48–⁠5
UCLA4–⁠58–⁠5
California4–⁠56–⁠7
Washington State2–⁠75–⁠7
Arizona State2–⁠73–⁠9
Stanford2–⁠73–⁠9
Colorado1–⁠84–⁠8

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