Iowa Hawkeyes 2025 Opponent Preview: USC Trojans

USC is one of college football’s blue bloods, but the Trojans haven’t lived up to that status in recent memory.

With 11 national championships and eight Heisman Trophy winners, USC is one of the sport’s most storied programs. But the Trojans have played in just one major bowl game — the 2022 Cotton Bowl — in the last eight years.

The Trojans made their Big Ten debut in 2024 but didn’t face Iowa. The Hawkeyes will battle USC on the road on Saturday, Nov. 15 for the teams’ first conference meeting.

Here’s what to know about USC:

2024 recap

USC turned heads in its first game of 2024, beating LSU 27-20 in the Vegas Kickoff Classic at Allegiant Stadium. The Trojans then beat Utah State 48-0 the next week and climbed to No. 11 in the AP poll.

Their momentum, though, didn’t last long.

USC lost four of its next five games and fell to 3-4. The skid included losses to Michigan, Minnesota, Penn State and Maryland, and the Trojans’ lone win in that span came against Wisconsin.

USC won three of its final five regular-season games, beating Rutgers, Nebraska and UCLA but falling to Washington and Notre Dame.

The Trojans earned a bid to the Las Vegas Bowl, where they defeated Texas A&M 35-31 to finish the season 7-6 overall.

Key returners

QB Jayden Maiava (Jr.), WR Jakobi Lane (Jr.), WR Makai Lemon (Jr.), TE Lake McRee (Sr.), DB Kamari Ramsey (Jr.), LB Eric Gentry (Sr.).

Notable transfer additions

DL Keeshawn Silver (Kentucky), OL DJ Wingfield (Purdue), DL Jamaal Jarrett (Georgia), DB DJ Harvey (San Jose State), RB Eli Sanders (New Mexico), WR Prince Strachan (Boise State).

Strengths

USC’s receiver room has the potential to be among the Big Ten’s best.

The Trojans return their two leading wideouts from last year’s team in Lemon and Lane. Lemon had a team-high 764 receiving yards on 52 catches, while Lane led USC with 15 touchdown receptions.

Between those two, Strachan and Utah transfer Zacharyus Williams, the Trojans are deep at wide receiver.

Defense is also a necessity in the Big Ten, and the Trojans should have that. USC returns Ramsey and Gentry to the squad in 2025, and the Trojans picked up much-needed size and speed with the portal additions of Silver, Jarrett and Harvey.

Weaknesses

Maiava was sort of thrown into the fire last year.

The transfer quarterback from UNLV took over as USC’s starting quarterback in the Trojans’ 10th game of the 2024 season, when they beat Nebraska to end their losing streak. He started the following three contests and led USC to a 3-1 record in his four starts. 

Maiava’s numbers weren’t flashy — he finished the year with 1,201 yards, 11 touchdowns and six interceptions on 59.8% passing. The accuracy numbers are particularly concerning, considering the talent within USC’s wide receiver room. His starts also came against squads that struggled defensively.

The quarterback could build on a respectable end to last season. Or he could be a flash in the pan and continue to struggle with accuracy and ball control.

While Maiava will almost certainly be USC's Week 1 starter, it also won’t be surprising if true freshman quarterback Husan Longstreet also sees reps early on.

How do the Trojans match up with the Hawkeyes?

Yes, this is a road game for Iowa — the Hawkeyes won’t have the home crowd at Kinnick Stadium backing them.

But it also won’t be a particularly hostile environment for Iowa.

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Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum has struggled to get fan support at USC games in recent memory. That can be traced to the Trojans’ downward trend and, well, the other things going on in the second-largest city in the United States.

As far as on the field, few teams have as much talent as USC. As a blue-blood, the Trojans are able to recruit at an elite level — but that hasn’t translated into championships lately.

Still, USC likely won’t be an easy win. With a strong crew of receivers and combination of veterans and newcomers on the defense, the Trojans could surprise people in 2025.