2026 USC
6–1 (3–1 Big Ten), coached by Lincoln Riley. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Fresno State 39–0Sep 4
By 39 points, its widest win.
- Most excitingBeat Washington 25–21Oct 3
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 29 | vs San José State | W 42–26 | 82% |
| Sep 4 | vs Fresno State | W 39–0 | 68% |
| Sep 12 | vs Louisiana | W 49–30 | 75% |
| Sep 19 | at Rutgers | W 42–35 | 73% |
| Sep 26 | vs 20Oregon | L 27–41 | 55% |
| Oct 3 | vs Washington | W 25–21 | 60% |
| Oct 10 | at Penn State | W 31–23 | 47% |
| Oct 24 | at Wisconsin | Preview | 61% |
| Oct 31 | vs Ohio State | Preview | 40% |
| Nov 14 | at Indiana | Preview | 28% |
| Nov 21 | vs Maryland | Preview | 87% |
| Nov 28 | at UCLA | Preview | 51% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
AP poll, week by week
- Wk 1: 14
- Wk 2: 14
- Wk 3: 12
- Wk 4: 12
- Wk 5: 18
- Wk 6: 19
- Wk 7: 19
- Record
- 6–1
- Conference
- 3–1 tied for 3rd in Big Ten
- AP now
- No. 19 in the week 7 poll; peak No. 12
- Points
- 255–176
- Coach
- Lincoln Riley
- Elo
- 1669 +61 this season
- SP+ rating
- 14.4 No. 21 of 138; offense No. 9, defense No. 54, special teams No. 45
- SRS
- 7.5 No. 41 of 138 in FBS
- Returning
- 59% of last season’s EPA, No. 42 of 136
- Recruiting class
- No. 1 roster talent No. 9 in FBS
- Offensive coordinator
- Luke Huard
- Defensive coordinator
- Gary Patterson
- Captains
- Jayden Maiava, Kilian O’Connor, Tobias Raymond, Jide Abasiri and Alex VanSumeren
- Offense
- Power raid
- Defense
- 4–2–5
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.31 | 52% | 1.24 | 6th of 138 |
| Defense | 0.14 | 41% | 1.29 | 83rd of 138 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.25 off 0.15 def | 49% off 43% def | — | 5th off 104th def |
Passing and running
| Pass success | Depth of target | Deep throws | Line yards | Stuffed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 58% | 8.7 yds | 12% | 3.30 | 15% |
| Defense | 46% | 8.9 yds | 11% | 2.80 | 15% |
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. Passing and running: depth of target is how far downfield passes traveled in the air; deep throws are the share thrown deep, of the passes whose depth and direction the play-by-play describes (about half); line yards are the running yards per carry credited to the blockers; stuffed is the share of carries stopped at or behind the line. The defense’s line is what its opponents did. From CollegeFootballData.com, 2025 on.
Drives and havoc
| Points per trip inside the 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 4.4 | own 29 | 10% allowed |
| Defense | 4.2 | own 26 | 12% caused |
CORE rating 9.7, 29th of 138 (offense 17.3, defense 7.7).
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 yards | Jayden Maiava QB | 2,045 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Jayden Maiava QB | 18 TD |
| Rushing yards | King Miller RB | 595 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | King Miller RB | 4 TD |
| Receiving yards | Kayden Dixon-Wyatt WR | 400 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Trent Mosley WR | 5 TD |
| Tackles | Christian Pierce S | 40 tkl |
| Sacks | Kennedy Urlacher S | 3 sacks |
| Interceptions | Prophet Brown CB | 2 INT |
Top recruits in the 2026 class
| Luke Wafle DE | ★★★★★ | No. 6 |
| Mark Bowman TE | ★★★★★ | No. 30 |
| Jaimeon Winfield DL | ★★★★★ | No. 36 |
| Ethan Feaster WR | ★★★★ | No. 41 |
| Elbert Hill IV CB | ★★★★ | No. 54 |
| Kayden Dixon-Wyatt WR | ★★★★ | No. 59 |
| Keenyi Pepe OT | ★★★★ | No. 75 |
| Deshonne Redeaux RB | ★★★★ | No. 87 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2026 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 1 | 4.0 | 0.952 |
| Running backs | 2 | 4.0 | 0.957 |
| Receivers | 7 | 3.9 | 0.934 |
| Offensive line | 7 | 3.6 | 0.911 |
| Defensive line | 9 | 3.9 | 0.919 |
| Linebackers | 2 | 3.5 | 0.917 |
| Defensive backs | 6 | 3.5 | 0.905 |
| Whole class | 34 | 3.7 | 0.921 |
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.
Roster 127
The 2026 roster127 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2026 line; 61 have a stat line. See the roster
Transfers in 9
The 2026 portal Terrell Anderson WR | ★★★★ | from  NC State |
 Jontez Williams CB | ★★★★ | from  Iowa State |
| Zuriah Fisher DE | ★★★★ | from  Penn State |
 Alex VanSumeren DL | ★★★ | from  Michigan State |
| Tucker Ashcraft TE | ★★★ | from  Wisconsin |
| Deven Bryant LB | ★★★ | from  Washington |
 Carrington Pierce CB | ★★★ | from  Oklahoma State |
 GianCarlo Rufo LB | ★★★ | from  Georgetown |
 Lachlan Carrigan P | from  Memphis |
Transfers out 22
 Devan Thompkins DL | ★★★★ | to  Alabama |
| Husan Longstreet QB | ★★★★ | to  LSU |
| Walker Lyons TE | ★★★★ | to  BYU |
| Alex Payne OT | ★★★ | to  Virginia |
| A.J. Tuitele LB | ★★★ | to  California |
| Braylon Conley CB | ★★★ | to  Georgia |
| Bryan Jackson RB | ★★★ | to Wisconsin |
| Carlon Jones DL | ★★★ | to  Arkansas |
| D.J. Jordan WR | ★★★ | to  Arizona |
| Harry Dalton III RB | ★★★ | to  Maryland |
| Matai Tagoa’i LB | ★★★ | to Arizona |
| Prince Strachan WR | ★★★ | to  West Virginia |
And 10 more, lower-rated or unrated.
2026 Big Ten standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| UCLA | 4–0 | 6–0 | |
| Ohio State | 4–0 | 6–1 | |
| USC | 3–1 | 6–1 | |
| Indiana | 3–1 | 6–1 | |
 Iowa | 2–1 | 5–1 | |
 Northwestern | 2–1 | 5–1 | |
| Oregon | 2–1 | 4–2 | |
 Minnesota | 2–1 | 4–2 | |
| Wisconsin | 2–1 | 4–2 | |
 Nebraska | 2–2 | 5–2 | |
 Purdue | 2–2 | 3–4 | |
 Michigan | 1–2 | 4–2 | |
 Illinois | 1–2 | 3–3 | |
| Rutgers | 1–2 | 2–4 | |
| Washington | 1–3 | 4–3 | |
| Penn State | 0–4 | 3–4 | |
| Michigan State | 0–4 | 2–5 | |
| Maryland | 0–4 | 2–5 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.