USC Trojans Receive Interesting Label Before Upcoming College Football Season

The respect gap is glaring. The AP Poll dropped USC all the way to No. 30 in its preseason rankings—a steep fall from grace for a program that had Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams and College Football Playoff aspirations a few seasons ago. But Pate’s own JP Poll paints a different picture, slotting the Trojans at No. 15.

“We have not given up on USC. We have not given up on Lincoln Riley,” Pate insisted.

Still, he acknowledged the reasons behind national skepticism. USC dropped far too many games in 2024, including narrow defeats that exposed lingering flaws.

Historic Meltdown in 2024

A second-half collapse to Notre Dame where they allowed 35 points in the second half highlighted their defensive inconsistency, while a complete meltdown against UCLA where they surrendered 62 points to the Bruins underscored concerns about toughness at the line of scrimmage.

Add in an upset loss to an unranked Big Ten opponent in Minnesota, and suddenly the Trojans went from playoff hopeful to cautionary tale.

The question now is whether those breakdowns carry over—or spark the kind of course correction that carry over—or start the kind of course correction that could redefine Riley’s tenure in Los Angeles.

Ceiling or Collapse?

That’s why USC’s range of outcomes is so wide.

“If they’ve Big Ten-proofed their lines of scrimmage and they’re bigger and more physical and able to withstand a pounding… they could be 11–1,” Pate said. “They could also be six and six. You could be looking for a new head coach.”

The schedule underscores that unpredictability. USC faces Illinois, Notre Dame, Nebraska, and Oregon all on the road—matchups that test not only talent but also the discipline and toughness Riley’s teams have often lacked.

“If you don’t have good decision-making at the quarterback position, if you don’t have the ability to be consistent offensively, if you can’t control the line of scrimmage, you’re just going to disappoint again,” Pate warned.

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And yet, optimism still lingers. Pate recalled visiting the Trojans in the spring and being struck by Riley’s confidence.

“It was like he had the movie script in his hand… he’s got no doubt this is a great movie in my hands. You’ll see come fall,” he said, describing a head coach who believes USC is finally ready to prove critics wrong.

That duality—the potential for USC to either collapse or climb back into contention—is why Pate calls the Trojans one of the ultimate wild cards in 2025. The stakes are massive, and the range of possibilities is unlike almost any other program in the country.

As Pate himself put it: “So was that it? Does [Riley] really have a classic in the works? We’ll see. I told you so in advance.”