Analyzing the New Big Ten Teams: USC Trojans

By Sam Merendino

Ladies and gentleman, conference realignment has arrived. Numerous teams will change conferences for this upcoming season, but the headliners are the teams moving to the Big Ten and the SEC. In this series, we’ll just be focusing on the former.

Oregon, USC, UCLA, and Washington will be racking up tons of frequent-flyer miles this year as they begin their inaugural seasons as members of the Big Ten Conference. We’ll take a quick look at each squad’s roster, including returning players and transfer portal additions, and I’ll give my take on what each team needs to do to be able to consider this upcoming season a success. We previously took a look at Oregon, and today we’ll check out USC.

Roster Preview:

The Trojans will look quite different this year on the offensive side of the ball. Star signal-caller and Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams became the first overall pick in this summer’s draft, and USC also lost a bevy of other offensive weapons. Their two leading receivers, Tahj Washington and Brenden Rice, also had their names called in the NFL Draft, while promising up-and-comers Mario Williams and Dorian Singer went searching for greener pastures in the transfer portal. USC will also replace leading rusher Marshawn Lloyd.

Despite all of the offensive turnover, the Trojans have plenty of reasons to expect offensive success in 2024. Head coach Lincoln Riley is a well-known QB and offensive guru, having coached three Heisman-winning quarterbacks. They’ll also see the return of human lightning bolt Zachariah Branch, one of the most electrifying players in the country, and they added former Mississippi State tailback Jo’Quavious Marks in the transfer portal. In four seasons with the Bulldogs, Marks racked up 3,108 yards from scrimmage and 27 TDs. His versatile skill set, both as a shifty runner and reliable pass catcher out of the backfield, will be a huge asset to Riley’s offense.

At QB, Miller Moss is set to take over for the departed Williams. Moss looked stellar in a Holiday Bowl drubbing of Louisville, in which USC prevailed 42-28. He threw for 372 yards and six TDs, and it looks as though Lincoln Riley has another star QB on his hands.

Defensively, the Trojans return perhaps their best player in star defensive tackle Bear Alexander, who will give them an anchor in the middle this year. They’ll also return their second leading tackler from a season ago in CB Jaylin Smith, who put up 75 tackles in 2023.

Beyond those two, the Trojans will be heavily reliant on new faces this season. After several seasons of what could only be referred to as aggressive mediocrity, Lincoln Riley finally parted ways with longtime defensive coordinator Alex Grinch. To replace him, Riley pilfered DC D'Anton Lynn, formerly of hated rival UCLA. Lynn will look to right the ship for a unit that has struggled mightily in Riley’s first two seasons at Southern Cal.