5 college football teams that will make some noise in 2022

Pac-12: USC Trojans

Any USC hype comes solely from looking forward, especially when considering the Lincoln Riley hire.

The Trojans are currently the only 2022 recruiting class with five-star players in the entire Pac-12, and next season‘s largest foes are the Utah Utes and Notre Dame Fighting Irish (the latter of which has an inexperienced head coach).

Regardless of what folks say about him, Riley is an outstanding coach. Meanwhile, the state of California is a factory for college football talent, and USC is a factory for NFL talent. It shouldn’t be too long before the Trojans are back to competing for the Pac-12 crown.

SEC: South Carolina Gamecocks

Speaking of “USC” teams, the opposing side of the country also has a squad under that name on the rise.

The South Carolina Gamecocks of the SEC finished their 2021 regular season with a record of 6-6, clinching a bowl appearance under new head coach Shane Beamer’s first year in charge. As a result, this month will see their first bowl game in three years.

Such a boost in performance combined with a relatively weak division makes for what could be a rather promising showing for South Carolina in 2022, as its schedule lacks Alabama, Ole Miss, and Brian Kelly’s LSU.

The upcoming slate does include Georgia, Texas A&M, and a road trip to Arkansas, though, so it’s still not particularly “easy.” But making room for losses to those three and Clemson still leaves the alley for an eight-win year open, which Gamecock fans would gladly accept nonetheless.