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2026 Preseason USC Trojans Rankings

Main Poll Voters

User	Rank	Reason
twitter_paulbd	6
BosskOnASegway	7	1815.5 [+37.9] (#12 -> #7) ↑
BlueSCar	8
COLU_BUS	8
Darth_Ra	8
Helifino	8
ikindalikelemons	8	I'm higher than many on USC, and I'm prepared to eat crow if Lincoln Riley's team wilts again. This is a lot of impact returning, and a lot of opportunities on the schedule to prove that. I think 10-2 would net them a playoff spot, and that's my expectation.
SufferingfOrLife	8	Reasons I like them: #13 in returning production, Jayden Maiva back for his third year with the team and his second year starting, King Miller, and Waymond Jordan return. Reasons I dislike them: Gary Patterson hasn't been a coordinator since 2000 and a coach since 2021. Wide receiver concerns and run defense weakness.
_fastball	9
Bank_Gothic	9
BendrickLamar19	9
Bereft13	9	Power: 10, SoR: 15; LW:
Cars-and-Coffee	9
chillmagic420	9
CommodoreN7	9
jonstark19	9
Roscoe_Filburn	9
SwissArmyScythe	9
A_Rolling_Baneling	10
BallSoHerd	10
ChaseTheFalcon	10
CptCheese	10
ewolfy13	10
fredmerc111	10
Jakesnake42	10
JBonkies	10
roguebandit1	10
Sometimeswelose	10
tdeff19	10
ThaCarter	10
titansfan174	10
12panther	11
AllHawkeyesGoToHell	11
dschinghiskhan	11
eclectic_tastes	11
HideNZeke	11
jalexjsmithj	11
Jay_Dubbbs	11
ManiacalBlazer	11
mcdsmaster8824	11
NyquillusDillwad20	11
retnuh101	11
SCsprinter13	11
skuhlke	11	(9-3)
SpadeRyker	11
SteemieRayVaughn	11
arbadak	12
Blooblod	12
budget_um	12
bwburke94	12	+12.8250352
colton_97	12
Conn3er	12
DarkLegend64	12
JeromesNiece	12
Lex_Ludorum	12
Luigiatl	12
one98d	12
PattyKane16	12
PeteyNice	12
plannedsickdays	12
Red261	12
seaotter2	12
sgtshenanigans	12
T-Thugs	12
tdoger	12
texas2089	12
VerySeriousBanana	12
Corporal_Hicks	13
cyberchaox	13
Dropbackandpunt	13
EpicSchwinn	13
jthomas694	13
Klaassy23	13
lowes18	13	While Jordan Maiava grabs a lot of the attention for USC, for me their potential in 2026 comes down to the lines of scrimmage. The loss of Kilian O'Connor is massive, but outside of him USC returns 4 other starters on what was already an elite unit in 2025. With the WR losses in the draft, USC will need some of their younger skill position talent to show up. I have some confidence that the defense will be better next year, while the loss of Devan Thompkins does hurt he is likely replaceable with some of the younger talent. Jahkeem Stewart should fill Thompkins role nicely, and Jamaal Jarrett could be a quality depth piece/potential starter depending on health. They will be relying on a lot of young guys on defense such as Luke Wafle and Elbert Hill however. If USC's #1 2026 class can pay early dividends, along with a potential Heisman candidate at QB, it gives USC a punching chance to compete for a title in 2026.
malowry0124	13
mthompson2320	13
OldCoaly	13
PalmettoFace	13
penisthightrap_	13
Player_1_has_Joined	13
PSUMediaPA	13
TheUltimate721	13
udderlymoovelous	13
WarEagle9	13
xX_GIGA_MAN_Xx	13	Did the wordle right before I wrote this (8/24). Got it in 5/6. Take that as you will
ALStark69	14	NR
brucewaynewins	14
Buckeyes2010	14
ch1l1_ch33s3	14
Chipsahoy523	14
djowen68	14
dukemetoo	14
elnino550	14
grtgbln	14
halldaylong	14
Jerrywelfare	14
joebob431	14
JustinMSU21	14
Lefunnymaymays4lief	14	This is it for Riley. No more pesky Notre Dame throwing a wrench into your schedule, Maiava is back, Gary Patterson is in to (finally, maybe) fix the defense for good and this is the first season to see what returns you get from the #1 recruiting class from last year. If they limp to 8-9 wins, that will likely be their ceiling under Riley for the remainder of his tenure
noahthearc	14
placid_salad	14
Rakarei	14
thescottula	14
Tornadohunter24	14
UNC_Samurai	14
Zloggt	14	I doubt that Riley would be on the hot seat, even if USC only merely falls below expectations...emphasis on if they only MERELY fail...
AJ_CC	15
BananaBouquet	15
bannista7	15
CambodianDrywall	15
Ch-i-ef	15
Corgi_Koala	15
daredassdude	15
Drexlore	15
grey_pilgrim_	15
jrluhn	15
laprasrules	15
Longvols	15
manbeardawg	15
Our-Gardian-Angel	15
redwave2505	15
RiffRamBahZoo	15
TimeBroken	15
ToeInDigDeep	15
TolkienFan71	15
True_Ad5324	15
bakonydraco	16
cvsprinter1	16
deadtofall12	16
douchebagjack	16
dubscurry30	16
HelioOne	16
IceColdDrPepper_Here	16
jrich960608	16
JustAManAndHisLaptop	16
NotSoSuperNerd	16	66.75
Pure_Protein_Machine	16
Shion314	16
Xy13	16	Toughest Games - vs ORE, @ Penn st, vs OSU, @ Indi. Avoid - UM --- Some people feel this is playoffs or bust for Lincoln Riley. I disagree, he just landed the #1 recruiting class, and has one of the harder B1G schedules.
CRedds19	17
jjjoebox	17
KansasEF5Tornado	17	elo: 1923
MemeofMemeJTG999999	17	End of Last Season: #20 (9-4) | Next Weeks: vs San José State; vs Fresno State | Projected Bowl: Holiday Bowl vs Virginia
monkeymatt1836	17
PlactusTX	17
SIMBONEGTP	17
TaylorLeprechaun	17
bretticus733	18
dabul-master	18
redrumsoxLoL	18	USC comes in with a talented offense, but they would need to exceed expectations to compete for the B1G title as they have Oregon, Indiana and Ohio State on their schedule.
smartkeg	18
galacticdude7	19
Justanother_0	19	The only reason these guys are ranked is because their offense will be one of the best in the nation. This team could go 10-2, they could go 6-6, all of that depends on whether Lincoln Riley discovered what a defense is this offseason.
Laschoni	19
MahjongDaily	19
Muffinnnnnnn	19
Zef_Apollo	19
aggiebruin27	20
Doogitywoogity	20	It’s that time of year again where I claim USC is a good team and going to do better than many folks expect. Surely I’ll be right one of these days.
SlaminSammons	20
spmartin1993	20
Versigot	20	Jayden Maiava is a damn good quarterback and I'm tired of pretending he isn't
Acm0028	21
CFBHurts	21
donbagert	21
jbowen1	21
MainPeanut25	22	They’ll have a great offense…
outthawazoo	23
Blazeth	24
diehardcubforever	25

Provisional Poll Voters

User	Rank	Reason
538allspelledout	8
Dan20698	8
Klightgrove	8	#1 recruiting class again, with close losses last season to ranked teams they can be expected to bounce back.
OG_Felwinter	8
Salmon-Dude	8
Yechibaby09	8
Yelich04	8	Beginning of my second tier (aiming for the playoffs)
ChiTrojan2	9
EL-YEO	9
MisguidedPassion	9	Strong roster. Expect a fast start and then some noise with their schedule late.
mr_longfellow_deeds	9
msonar623	9
ndbfsu22	9
Resolve-Opening	9
saquad69	9
AllEliteSchmuck	10
DesignerClub1887	10
GenuineBoss	10
Hetoxy	10
meristematic	10
NoOutdoorSoup	10
Real-Plant-5722	10
Yamiosum	10
Different-Salary2899	11
fm22fnam	11
Impossible-Still-349	11
Pure-Shirt-5831	11
Repulsive_Rub6443	11
SaguaroCactus19	11
Sflabuckeye13	11
throwaway_6786	11
ValarMorghulis_17	11
666haha	12
70277027	12
AoA_nB1	12	Returning Maiava, but a tough schedule. Wouldn’t be surprised if Lincoln falls short yet again.
beckett929	12
DownshiftGD	12
epyoch	12
Esb5415	12
geordieColt88	12
ianmcmoney	12
iron_horseshoe88	12
JJones927	12
jtsmd2	12
Kirkwood641	12
loneSTAR_06	12
National-Sundae9427	12
Rhizical	12
RJTrey	12
SportsCat4	12
ArlyntheAwesome	13
Billiam501	13
BoilerUp28	13
CALL_ME_ISHMAEBY	13	0.801
dee3Poh	13
FrontRunner51	13
laxintx	13
logace444444444	13
NebraskaPlainsman	13
Nervous_Metal_9445	13
PM_ME_YOUROUY_EM_MP	13
samtaylor92	13
alttabbins	14
baileyx96	14
bigred91224	14
bruhstevenson	14
ceris13	14	Sleeper pick in the B1G. #1 recruiting class and returning QB, RB, and the entire OL. Can't afford another disappointing year, and they should be on the radar for the playoff
d1sportsball	14	High talent, high disappointment. I think LR gets fired this year but right now its a top 15 squad
dannykandy	14
Elegant_Tiger6870	14
ElyxUW	14
hiiightide	14
KansasChaser2021	14
Kareem89086	14
Living_Human	14	19.36
manbeqrpig	14
Midnight-Mustang	14
Protoco2	14
SignificanceFirm2398	14
TheBeekman8	14
TyRoland06	14
bolts_win_again	15
Crelc3	15
DarthGlazer	15
Flaky_Bit6733	15
gonshpreds1	15
LightningDusty	15
MajikSix	15
MWiatrak2077	15
Star_Wars_Sith	15
WBLwiffleball	15
DwayneBaconStan	16
noah_divine	16	if this team doesn't make the playoff, Lincoln Riley is more cooked than his Easter Sunday brisket
PrideSax711	16
Rishik01	16
ted1995	16
thehornedlamb	16
buccaneerboy22	17
civfan5843	17
isrealball	17
JackWK_Gaming	17
kevinsdomain	17
LegionMammal978	17	[T1.] Group Score .500, Team Score 0.
PsychologicalFox8660	17
josh55134	18
journey1986	18
myworld3	18
Ok_Significance_3803	18
rt13wx	18
bigheadsoftbody	20
Perryapsis	20
Rare_Bit5844	20
SomerandomIDFBfan	20
BlueRFR3100	21
Front-Broccoli5957	21
quantum_jedi	21
jtchr33	23	I don't know why they were here...oh yeah, to keep Iowa out mostly. Don't know why many are ranking them higher, just get ready for all those 'fell for it again awards' when they are trying to reach a bowl game at the end of the year
NA_Faker	24
Ethanol-Muffins	25	Fall camp injuries hurting outlook

Blue = Human
Red = Computer
Green = Hybrid

Bold = before the AP poll was published
Normal = after the AP poll was published

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