Buck(Eyes) On The 2025 USC Trojans

This is the last of the series that looks at The Big Ten teams that are not on Ohio State’s 2025 schedule. In previous articles, we have looked at  Indiana, Iowa, Maryland,  Michigan State,  Nebraska,  Northwestern, and Oregon. On to the last of the bunch, the 2025 USC Trojans.

2024 Results: USC started off the season with an exciting 27-20 win over LSU in the season opener, and the understandable high hopes for a tremendous debut season within The Big Ten seemed within reach. Then USC went on the road on September 21st to Michigan, losing 27-24 in the final seconds. Three consecutive losses in October (at Minnesota 24-17, a home 33-30 loss to Penn State, and a one point 39-38 loss at Maryland) eliminated the Trojans from any possibility of challenging for the conference championship. By the time the regular season ended, USC was at 6-6, happy to be finishing up their 2024 season with a 35-31 win over Texas A&M in The SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl.

Next Scheduled Regular Season Game Versus Ohio State: Ohio State will make the trek to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 2026. It will be the first trip since the infamous 35-3 shellacking in 2008 that essentially ended the Todd Boeckman era and ushered in the Terrelle Pryor era. The two teams last met in The 2017 Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic when Ohio State defeated USC, 24-7.

Biggest Personnel Losses From 2024: USC had only three players selected in the 2025 NFL Draft, with the Houston Texans taking cornerback Jaylin Smith (third round) and running back Woody Marks (fourth round), and the Jacksonville Jaguars selecting offensive lineman Jonah Monheim in the seventh round. This marked the first time since the 2019 NFL Draft that USC did not have a player selected in the first round.

USC also suffered its share of transfer portal losses. Talented offensive lineman Emmanuel Pregnon is now at Oregon, with the talented Branch brothers (WR Zachariah, S Zion) now both at Georgia. And let us not forget that QB Miller Moss, who started the majority of the 2024 season, left the program and is now at Louisville.

Biggest Personnel Gains For 2025: USC brought in several players to bulk up both their offensive and defensive lines, recognizing that was an area for definite improvement within The Big Ten. Among the literally biggest incoming transfers is DL Keeshawn Silver, listed at 6’4″, 322 pounds. The game is won or lost in the trenches, as we all know, and I believe @TonyGerdeman made a key observation with this tweet.

Incoming true freshman DL Jahkeem Stewart will be given every opportunity to contribute. Stewart was a prospect that Ohio State, along with just about every other top program in the country, was actively recruiting.

Most Challenging Portion Of The 2025 Schedule: The stretch of games that begins on September 27th at Illinois, a home game on October 11th versus Michigan, and a non-conference game at Notre Dame on October 18th, will make or break USC’s playoff chances this season. USC faltered in October last season, and this is where the Trojans’ 2025 postseason destination will be determined this year.

Possibility Of A Big Ten Championship Game Appearance In 2025? The odds would seem to be against it. The aforementioned October stretch, as well as road trips to Nebraska (November 1st) and Oregon (November 22nd), will be challenging affairs for Lincoln Riley’s squad. Riley’s seat is starting to get warm, as the USC faithful have not yet been rewarded with a College Football Playoff appearance. I am personally skeptical if USC would truly be willing to pay the $90 million buyout of Riley’s contract, but stranger things have happened.

Thank you for allowing me to write this series on the 2025 Big Ten teams that are not on Ohio State’s schedule. I hope you have enjoyed reading them as much as I have enjoyed writing them. If I am mistaken about any/all of them, I will be eager to see how I miscalculated my preseason assessments. As always, please let me know what you think.