Lincoln Riley's 3 years at USC have had some highs (winning 11 games in year 1) and many lows, with winning 8 and 7 games the last two years. In their 1st year in the Big Ten, Riley struggled to finish close games, as they lost to Michigan by 3 points, Minnesota by 7 points, Penn State by 3 points in overtime, 1 point against Minnesota, and Washington by 5 points. You could reasonably make the case that USC was close to being a good team last year, but couldn't finish those close games.
This year, they might be able to close those games and get back on track. This off-season, Riley has shown some positive steps as a program by hiring General Manager Chad Bowden away from Notre Dame. He is considered one of the best in the business as a General Manager.
New General Manager Chad Bowden came from Notre Dame, where he helped them build a good roster. He came up with high expectations and has helped Riley deliver right away with impressive recruiting results. So far, they have the top class in the 2026 recruiting class with 27 commits.
This is an impressive haul so far for USC, as they have tried to fix the roster issues that have been plaguing USC for years especially on the defensive side of the football. Bowden and the administration have also been able to tap into USC's donors and use NIL to help them be successful and committed resources to getting USC back on track.
The other big part of USC's early success recruiting is that they have tapped into California and have landed 17 commits so far in the 2026 recruiting class. That is an impressive number of early commits from USC's home state. Can they maintain it and keep them together until the early signing period in December? Time will tell, but this is a positive step for Riley and Bowden. Compare this to the 2025 class, where USC signed only 15 commits, which is a low number. Plus, in addition, only 5 commits came out of California, which is an alarmingly low number of commits. USC looks like it is on the right track going forward.
USC will have to earn it this year on the field, as they have several tough games. They do have a good opportunity to start fast as they play Missouri State, Georgia Southern both at home, then after traveling to Purdue, they get Michigan State at home. They have a good chance to start the year 4-0 on the year. They will still have tough road games at Illinois, at Notre Dame, at Nebraska, and at Oregon. Getting to 9-3 would be a successful season for Riley. Coupling that with the top 3 recruiting class should set them up for success in the future.