USC's Surprisingly Low Ranking Among Big Ten Teams

ESPN’s Mark Schlabach revealed his most updated college football top 25 rankings for 2026. He has USC at No. 20. This is eighth in the Big Ten, which is lower than expected when looking at the most recent Big Ten betting odds.

According to DraftKings Sportsbook, USC has the fourth best odds to win the Big Ten conference championship game at +1400. The three teams above them are the Ohio State Buckeyes at +180, Indiana Hoosiers at +250, and Oregon Ducks at +260.

Ohio State, Indiana, and Oregon have all made the playoff in each of the last two seasons. Ohio State and Indiana are the two most recent national champions. It’s not a surprise to see them as the Big Ten favorites, and ESPN’s rankings reflect that.

Ohio State is No. 1, Oregon is No. 2, and then Indiana is No. 6. What is a surprise is how many teams are between this group and USC. Here are all the Big Ten teams in the top 25.

1. Ohio State Buckeyes
2. Oregon Ducks
6. Indiana Hoosiers
14. Michigan Wolverines
15. Penn State Nittany Lions
17. Washington Huskies
19. Iowa Hawkeyes
20. USC Trojans

The next two highest ranked teams in the Big Ten after Indiana are Michigan and Penn State. Both programs will be under a new head coach in 2026.

For USC, this season will be coach Lincoln Riley’s fifth. He was hired by USC after the 2021 season. Prior to accepting the job, Riley was the head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners. In his time at Oklahoma from 2017-2021, he led the Sooners to a record of 55-10 and three appearances in the playoff. That success has not translated to USC.

Riley has a record of 35-18 at USC from 2022-2025. They have yet to make a playoff and have only one appearance in a conference title game. That came back in Riley’s first season at USC in 2022 when they were still members of the Pac-12 conference. USC lost the Pac-12 championship game to Utah.

Getting to the Big Ten championship game will be a tall task for Riley and company in 2026. The top three projected teams in the conference: Ohio State, Oregon, and and Indiana are all on USC’s schedule.

The Trojans will be hosting the Ducks and Buckeyes and then they will have to go on the road to play the defending national champion Hoosiers.

Sept. 26: vs. Oregon
Oct. 31: vs. Ohio State
Nov. 14: at Indiana

In addition to these tough games, USC will also have to face Penn State on the road and Washington at home. If USC feels disrespected by these power rankings, they’ll have the opportunity to prove them wrong on the field.

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