College Football Rankings: Way-too-early Top 25 projections for 2018

USC had a lot of question marks heading into the 2018 season. They weren’t helped by a 24-7 loss to Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl. The Trojans were rendered one-dimensional by the Buckeyes, as NFL-bound Sam Darnold threw for 356 yards and the running game managed only 1.6 yards per carry.

Still, there was plenty to like about USC’s 2017 season. The Trojans walked away as the Pac-12 champions for the first time since the league expanded to 12 teams. As of the early signing day, Clay Helton has assembled a top-five recruiting class in Los Angeles. And there is plenty of flux in the Pac-12 South, with three of the six teams beginning 2018 with new head coaches.

AP voters, though, are going to have a hard time boosting USC too far up the rankings. They will not enter the new season as the favorite to repeat as Pac-12 champions, at least not until they prove their quarterback situation is settled.

USC get the chance to open eyes early in September. They open with UNLV at home before back-to-back road games against Stanford and Texas. Get through that and a tricky Friday-night #Pac12AfterDark battle against Washington State looms at the Coliseum. The Trojans will open 2018 somewhere in the mid-teens of the AP Top 25, but they could launch up quickly if they reach October 5-0 in the standings.