5 college football programs on the verge of becoming powerhouses

1. USC Trojans

USC made a gigantic splash this offseason, hiring Lincoln Riley away from Oklahoma which honestly was just as shocking as any move in the coaching carousel.

Riley left a secure job in Norman for the bright lights and added pressure of Los Angeles, replacing Clay Helton who just wasn’t getting the job done. He had back-to-back 10-plus win seasons in his first two years as head coach, but he went just 19-14 from 2018-2021. It was time for a change.

The Trojans made the move after just two games in 2021 and Riley jumped to the top of their board.

You might be saying: USC is a historical power, so this isn’t a hot take. And I somewhat agree. But USC hasn’t been considered a powerhouse since the Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart days from around 2002-08 and that’s a hefty drought for a program like this.

With Riley now in charge, the sky is the limit for USC. He’s the best head coach the program has had since Pete Carroll and he’s going to get the best out of his players (something Helton couldn’t do) and he’ll also recruit at an elite level. He signed just eight players in the 2022 class (though the class had an average rating of .92 on 247Sports) but he has a top-15 class lined up for 2023.

Oh, and he got Caleb Williams to follow him to Los Angeles, so the quarterback of the future is in place along with a dozen other high-impact transfers.

USC is about to see another golden era.