CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2024 USC

7–⁠6 (4–⁠5 Big Ten), coached by Lincoln Riley.

Schedule and results

USC in 2024, game by game: won vs. No. 13 LSU 27–20; won vs. Utah State 48–0; lost at No. 18 Michigan 24–27; won vs. Wisconsin 38–21; lost at Minnesota 17–24; lost vs. No. 4 Penn State 30–33; lost at Maryland 28–29; won vs. Rutgers 42–20; lost at Washington 21–26; won vs. Nebraska 28–20; won at UCLA 19–13; lost vs. No. 5 Notre Dame 35–49; won vs. Texas A&M 35–31+48−14Won 27–20 vs. No. 13 LSU+7No. 13 LSUWon 48–0 vs. Utah State+48Utah StateLost 24–27 at No. 18 Michigan-3No. 18 MichiganWon 38–21 vs. Wisconsin+17WisconsinLost 17–24 at Minnesota-7MinnesotaLost 30–33 vs. No. 4 Penn State-3No. 4 Penn StateLost 28–29 at Maryland-1MarylandWon 42–20 vs. Rutgers+22RutgersLost 21–26 at Washington-5WashingtonWon 28–20 vs. Nebraska+8NebraskaWon 19–13 at UCLA+6UCLALost 35–49 vs. No. 5 Notre Dame-14No. 5 Notre DameWon 35–31 vs. Texas A&M+4Texas A&M
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vs13LSUW 27–⁠2039%
Sep 7vsUtah StateW 48–⁠075%
Sep 21at18MichiganL 24–⁠2725%
Sep 28vsWisconsinW 38–⁠2166%
Oct 5atMinnesotaL 17–⁠2459%
Oct 12vs4Penn StateL 30–⁠3342%
Oct 19atMarylandL 28–⁠2951%
Oct 25vsRutgersW 42–⁠2071%
Nov 2atWashingtonL 21–⁠2637%
Nov 16vsNebraskaW 28–⁠2070%
Nov 23atUCLAW 19–⁠1354%
Nov 30vs5Notre DameL 35–⁠4932%
Dec 27Bowls & playoffvsTexas A&MLas Vegas BowlW 35–⁠3148%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Texas A&M 35–⁠31 in the Las Vegas Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 9th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 70th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 112 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 23
  2. Wk 2: 13
  3. Wk 3: 11
  4. Wk 4: 11
  5. Wk 5: 13
  6. Wk 6: 11

Ray Guy AwardEddie Czaplicki, P

Record
7–⁠6
Conference
4–⁠5 tied for 9th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked peak No. 11
Points
392–⁠313
Coach
Lincoln Riley
Elo
1610 +47 this season
SP+ rating
11.9 No. 23 of 134; offense No. 15, defense No. 48, special teams No. 59
SRS
12.1 No. 22 of 134 in FBS
Returning
22% of last season’s EPA, No. 116 of 133
Recruiting class
No. 17 roster talent No. 15 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Josh Henson
Defensive coordinators
D’Anton Lynn and Eric Henderson
Offense
Air raid
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense29th of 134
  • Defense59th of 134
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted15th of 134
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted41st of 134
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1948%1.2529th of 134
Defense0.0944%1.1159th of 134
Opponent-adjusted0.21 off
0.06 def		49% off
42% def		—15th off
41st 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
Offense3.8own 3419% allowed
Defense3.6own 2814% caused

CORE rating 17.2, 14th of 134 (offense 12.8, defense -4.4).

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 yardsMiller Moss QB2,555 yds
Passing touchdownsMiller Moss QB18 TD
Rushing yardsJo’quavious Marks RB1,133 yds
Rushing touchdownsJo’quavious Marks RB9 TD
Receiving yardsMakai Lemon WR764 yds
Receiving touchdownsJa’Kobi Lane WR12 TD
TacklesEaston Mascarenas-Arnold LB94 tkl
SacksBraylan Shelby DE3 sacks
InterceptionsEaston Mascarenas-Arnold LB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2024 class

Kameryn Crawford DL★★★★No. 66
D.J. Jordan WR★★★★No. 84
Jason Zandamela OL★★★★No. 126
Marcelles Williams CB★★★★No. 148
Walter Matthews TE★★★★No. 185
Elijah Newby LB★★★★No. 186
Carlon Jones DL★★★★No. 246
Joey Olsen TE★★★★No. 287

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

The 2024 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Receivers34.00.930
Offensive line53.40.890
Defensive line53.60.906
Linebackers33.70.895
Defensive backs53.60.899
Athletes and specialists13.00.880
Whole class223.60.901

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 2025

The 2025 draft
Rd 3Jaylin Smith CBHouston Texans
Rd 4Woody Marks RBHouston Texans
Rd 7Jonah Monheim CJacksonville Jaguars

Roster 106

The 2024 roster

106 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2024 line; 62 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 16

The 2024 portal
Kamari Ramsey S★★★★from UCLA
Easton Mascarenas-Arnold LB★★★★from Oregon State
Jayden Maiava QB★★★★from UNLV
Nate Clifton DL★★★★from Vanderbilt
Woody Marks RB★★★★from Mississippi State
Akili Arnold S★★★from Oregon State
Jaden Richardson WR★★★from Tufts University
John Humphrey CB★★★from UCLA
DeCarlos Nicholson CB★★★from Mississippi State
Greedy Vance CB★★★from Florida State
Jay Fair WR★★★from Auburn
Kyle Ford WR★★★from UCLA

And 4 more, lower-rated or unrated.

Transfers out 29

Jason Zandamela OL★★★★to Florida
Domani Jackson CB★★★★to Alabama
Tackett Curtis LB★★★★to Wisconsin
Korey Foreman DE★★★★to Fresno State
Malachi Nelson QB★★★★to Boise State
Dorian Singer WR★★★★to Utah
Mario Williams WR★★★★to Tulane
Raleek Brown RB★★★★to Arizona State
Ceyair Wright CB★★★to Nebraska
Michael Jackson III WR★★★to Georgia
Romello Height DE★★★to Georgia Tech
Tre’Quon Fegans CB★★★to UCF

And 17 more, lower-rated or unrated.

All-Big Ten

1 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2024 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2024 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Oregon9–⁠013–⁠13
Indiana8–⁠111–⁠210
Penn State8–⁠113–⁠35
Ohio State7–⁠214–⁠21
Illinois6–⁠310–⁠316
Iowa6–⁠38–⁠5
Michigan5–⁠48–⁠5
Minnesota5–⁠48–⁠5
USC4–⁠57–⁠6
Rutgers4–⁠57–⁠6
Washington4–⁠56–⁠7
Nebraska3–⁠67–⁠6
Michigan State3–⁠65–⁠7
Wisconsin3–⁠65–⁠7
UCLA3–⁠65–⁠7
Northwestern2–⁠74–⁠8
Maryland1–⁠84–⁠8
Purdue0–⁠91–⁠11

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