USC
USC is 7-2, No. 18 in the CFP rankings, and No. 19 of 138 in the machine's ratings, 14.3 points better than an average FBS team. Last game: won 30-18 vs Ohio State in Week 9. The machine gives USC a 10% chance to make the playoff.
Week 11: at Indiana, Saturday, Nov 14: the matchup, unit by unit
Why USC is No. 19
- USC's rating is 14.3: the machine's estimate that USC is 14.3 points better than an average FBS team on a neutral field. That is No. 19 of 138. For scale, 0 is an average FBS team: right now the closest to it is No. 68 Arizona State (0.2).
- It started the season at 17.0, ESPN's preseason Football Power Index from July. Its results since have moved it down 2.7.
- The biggest weekly moves: −2.8 after Week 3 (W 42-35 at Rutgers) and +2.2 after Week 9 (W 30-18 vs Ohio State).
- Its record is 7-2. The 2 losses were to No. 13 Oregon, No. 31 Wisconsin, by 15.5 points on average. The 7 wins came by 15.0 points on average; the best was over No. 7 Ohio State. The rating weighs how much a team won or lost by and against whom, not just the win-loss count.
- Its FBS opponents so far average No. 55 in the machine's ratings.
- Just above is No. 18 Wake Forest (15.1); just below is No. 20 Missouri (13.7).
The rating, week by week
Strengths and weak spots
Head coach
Lincoln Riley is in his 5th season at USC (since 2022). This season: 7-2. At USC overall: 42-20, counting this season.
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
Team stats
Season totals and averages over 9 games, each with its national rank among 138 FBS teams (No. 1 = best). The game-by-game story is in the season, week by week.
Passing
| Completions-attempts | 210-312 |
|---|---|
| Passing yards | 2651 |
| Touchdowns-interceptions | 20-6 |
| Yards per attempt* | 8.5No. 23 of 138 |
| Explosive pass rate | 11.8%No. 39 of 138 |
| Sacks allowed (rate) | 3.7%No. 29 of 138 |
Rushing
| Carries-yards | 298-1165 |
|---|---|
| Yards per carry | 3.9No. 103 of 138 |
| 10-plus-yard runs (rate) | 14.1%No. 65 of 138 |
| Stuffed at or behind the line (rate) | 20.5%No. 117 of 138 |
Scoring
| Points per game | 32.4No. 43 of 138 |
|---|---|
| Yards per play | 6.30No. 39 of 138 |
| Third-down rate | 49.5%No. 15 of 138 |
| Red-zone TD rate | 65.1%No. 47 of 138 |
| Giveaways | 9No. 45 of 138 |
Defense
| Points allowed per game | 24.2No. 66 of 138 |
|---|---|
| Yards per play allowed | 5.78No. 90 of 138 |
| Yards per pass attempt allowed | 7.9No. 119 of 138 |
| Yards per carry allowed | 3.8No. 53 of 138 |
| Sack rate | 5.3%No. 89 of 138 |
| Takeaways | 7No. 128 of 138 |
| Third-down rate allowed | 35.8%No. 49 of 138 |
Totals are the official box score. * Yards per attempt and the rates come from the play-by-play, where passing yards count on completions only, so they can differ from the box score by a play or two.
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
Player leaders
The top 3 in each category over the same games. Passing yards count every completion (official box score).
Passing
- Jayden Maiava198-296, 2525 yds, 20 TD, 5 INT
- Jonas Williams12-14, 126 yds, 0 TD, 1 INT
Rushing
- King Miller138 carries, 681 yds, 5 TD
- Waymond Jordan75 carries, 335 yds, 3 TD
- Shahn Alston24 carries, 120 yds, 1 TD
Receiving
- Trent Mosley32 catches, 512 yds, 6 TD
- Kayden Dixon-Wyatt32 catches, 443 yds, 4 TD
- Zach Williams21 catches, 344 yds, 1 TD
Tackles
- Deven Bryant55
- Christian Pierce49
- Desman Stephens II45
Sacks
- Kennedy Urlacher3
- Luke Wafle3
- Alex Graham2
Interceptions
- Prophet Brown2
- Christian Pierce1
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
Who's playing
Based on who has actually played this season, from the box scores, not the team's published depth chart. Each bar is that player's share of the team's attempts, carries (quarterbacks left out), catches or tackles. The box score lists no positions, so there is no offensive line here.
Throwing
- Jayden MaiavaMost passes in the last game9 games296 attempts95%
- Jonas Williams3 games14 attempts5%
Carrying
- King Miller9 games138 carries53%
- Waymond Jordan8 games75 carries29%
- Shahn Alston5 games24 carries9%
- Riley Wormley5 games13 carries5%
Catching
- Kayden Dixon-Wyatt7 games32 catches15%
- Trent Mosley6 games32 catches15%
- Mark Bowman6 games24 catches11%
- Zach Williams9 games21 catches10%
Tackling
- Deven Bryant9 games55 tackles11%
- Christian Pierce9 games49 tackles10%
- Desman Stephens II8 games45 tackles9%
- Luke Wafle9 games36 tackles7%
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
The season, week by week
- Week 1 W 42–26 vs San José State. The passing game was the strength: 9.5 yards an attempt, 2.8 more than San José State usually allows.
- Week 1 W 39–0 vs Fresno State. The passing game was the strength: 13.8 yards an attempt, 7.5 more than Fresno State usually allows. Its most yards an attempt of the season.
- Week 2 W 49–30 vs Louisiana. The passing game was the strength: 8.7 yards an attempt, 2.6 more than Louisiana usually allows.
- Week 3 W 42–35 at Rutgers. The run defense gave ground: Rutgers got 5.2 yards a carry, 1.6 over what it usually gains. Won the turnover battle by 2.
- Week 4 L 27–41 vs Oregon. The pass defense gave ground: Oregon got 10.5 yards an attempt, 3.7 over what it usually gains. The most yards an attempt it has allowed all season.
- Week 5 W 25–21 vs Washington. The run game struggled: 3.3 yards a carry, 1.0 less than Washington usually allows.
- Week 6 W 31–23 at Penn State. The passing game was the strength: 9.1 yards an attempt, 4.2 more than Penn State usually allows. The machine had Penn State by 0.9 (53%), so this was a win it did not see coming.
- Week 8 L 7–24 at Wisconsin. The run game struggled: -0.7 yards a carry, 3.7 less than Wisconsin usually allows. The machine had USC by 0.7 (51%), so this was a loss it did not see coming; USC lost the turnover battle by 2.
- Week 9 W 30–18 vs Ohio State. The passing game was the strength: 9.7 yards an attempt, 4.3 more than Ohio State usually allows. The machine had Ohio State by 9.5 (72%), so this was a win it did not see coming.