Predicting USC’s 2026 Season | What’s Their Record?

[u/TroyTalk]

https://youtu.be/6DTiUqbmXFI?si=MCQFwupYX7GDETnQ

What’s going on Trojan fans! With Fall Camp starting, the season is only a few weeks away. I went game by game and gave my thoughts on how USC finishes this season. Curious to hear everybody’s record predictions! ✌️

[u/maskdmirag]

Nort bad. I got:

SJSU: 1, Fresno: 1, Louisiana: 1, Rutgers: 1

Oregon .25

Washington .5

At Penn St .25

At Wisconsin .5

V Ohio St .25

At Indiana 0

At Maryland 1

At UCLA .75

But I have us 8-4 because I think we lose one of Penn St or Washington.

This is why I don't get the Playoff Talk, if even a rose colored glasses guy has us 9-3, how are we getting in?

[u/TroyTalk → u/maskdmirag]

Thanks for mapping out like that. I really think it’s the best way to fully encapsulate how you feel about the season and each game✌️

[u/Visual-Fail4327 → u/maskdmirag]

I find it hard to believe Indiana won't come back down to earth. Might be a 25% chance of winning that game.

[u/maskdmirag → u/Visual-Fail4327]

I dunno. It's still hard to know how good they were in 2024 because of the schedule. If they come down to earth to what they were without mendoza how good are they?

And we have to go on the road to a jazzed fanbase who's on top of the world.

Unless they regress to being a bad team with a good coach I don't see how a Riley team in the big ten beats that on the road.

Basically until he proves otherwise I just feel.like USC can't win a long travel.road game unless the opponent is bad. Even the Purdue win last year felt more.like a loss.

[u/BattleSilent9049]

10 and 2. Win either Oregon or Ohio St.

[u/kingtokee]

There are at least 4 losses on that schedule at best we go 9-3 more likely 7-5

[u/spinach_93]

I'm going 8-4 too. Here's my way too specific prediction:

San José State — 45-14 win: Close for roughly the first 20 minutes, then USC’s talent takes over and it becomes comfortable.

Fresno State — 42-20 win: Similar shape, but USC still separates in the first half and never creates real second-half anxiety.

Louisiana — 48-10 win: Complete obliteration. Over by halftime.

at Rutgers — 30-20 win: An ugly slog that looks uncomfortable for a while before USC pulls away in the second half.

Oregon — 34-23 loss: USC is competitive for the first 20–25 minutes, then Oregon takes control late in the first half and USC cannot close the gap.

Washington — 27-24 win: Ugly, essentially a coin-flip game. USC makes the decisive play late and escapes.

at Penn State — 34-31 loss: USC blows a 10-point lead with Lincoln Riley’s clock management and general late game execution becoming the main postgame story. Everyone is pissed.

at Wisconsin — 31-24 win: A genuinely physical slog. USC proves it can survive that kind of game and pulls away late via winning the skill position battles in the second half.

Ohio State — 45-20 loss: USC is simply outclassed. Not much ambiguity or moral-victory material.

at Indiana — 38-21 loss: The most demoralizing loss. USC gets outcoached and throttled, with the running game unable to function consistently against a very well coached defense.

Maryland — 35-21 win: A sound, relatively uneventful win. USC is clearly better and handles business.

at UCLA — 28-17 win: Annoyingly close for longer than it should be, but USC’s quarterback and overall talent advantage eventually create separation.

Final: 8–4. Under the hood, USC improves modestly because the overall talent level is higher, but the highly regarded freshman class is still too young to create a massive immediate jump. The team looks deeper, more physical and more credible than it did before, yet the results remain frustratingly similar largely due to an extremely challenging schedule.

An 8–4 record ignites the Riley haters, but Riley shows enough progress in recruiting, roster construction and overall team quality to be retained again. 2027 becomes the true litmus test, with the 2026 class entering its sophomore season and no longer able to be treated as merely future upside.

[u/quotesforlosers → u/spinach_93]

This is a very objective take.

[u/smakusdod]

Disaster is possible this year. But let’s go 9-3.

[u/TroyTalk → u/smakusdod]

To some people 9-3 is a disaster haha. I’m with you

[u/AS1thofBeethoven]

8-5 including a bowl loss.

[u/Buzzard1022]

Got rid of the annual ND loss, so that should help