The University of Southern California once stood as a colossus in college football, dominating the sport in two distinct eras that stretched from 1967 through 1979 and again from 2002 through 2008. Legends such as Pete Carroll, John McKay, John Robinson and Howard Jones guided the Trojans to multiple national championships and cemented a legacy that still echoes through the campus.
Fast forward to the present day, and the program finds itself ranked seventh in the Big Ten Conference after a nine‑win season in 2025 and a recruiting class that topped the conference’s rankings. Yet the recent surge has not translated into the kind of national relevance the school has historically enjoyed.
The latest USA TODAY Sports analysis underscores that the Trojans have not cracked the College Football Playoff in over two decades, a drought that separates them from peers like Penn State, Michigan, Oregon, Indiana and Ohio State, all of whom have reached the playoff within the last three seasons.
While the recent recruiting haul offers a glimpse of optimism, the team’s performance over the past few years has been characterized by inconsistency, leaving analysts to question whether the current trajectory can bridge the gap to the conference’s elite.
Looking Ahead
To reclaim a top‑five position in the Big Ten and return to the national stage, USC will need to translate its recruiting promise into sustained on‑field excellence, a challenge that has eluded the program for the better part of a generation.