RJ Young
FOX Sports National College Football Analyst
This isn’t your average college football ranking.
My Ultimate 136 is a set of rankings that is fluid, but it’s my job to look ahead and make a claim for all FBS teams based on what I know and why I know it. Here are the three pressing questions I started by asking when putting together this list:
- Who do I think is good?
- Why do I think they’re good?
- What are the chances they will finish above or below my expectations?
Here is a look at where USC lands in my Ultimate 136.
USC ranking: 26
Last year’s ranking: 17
Top player: WR Makai Lemon: Recorded 764 receiving yards along with 514 kick return yards, ranking 10th among all Big Ten players in all-purpose yards (1,278); his eight receptions of 30-plus yards ranked fifth in the Big Ten.
[USC’s 2025 schedule]
RJ’s take: Lincoln Riley returns Jayden Maiava, who threw for 1,201 yards, 11 TDs and six INTs in four games last season. He bombarded Notre Dame for 360 passing yards and led a comeback win against Texas A&M in the Las Vegas Bowl.
USC’s 4-5 start last year could’ve easily been a 9-0 start if just half-a-dozen plays went the other way. The Trojans could’ve been the team we talked about like we did Indiana, who made the CFP before USC did. And that, like everything you upload to the Internet, really is forever.
This season, the Trojans won’t have to play against Ohio State, Penn State or the aforementioned Hoosiers. They go to Purdue, Illinois, Nebraska and Oregon for Big Ten games, so the travel across two time zones might cost them one or two games.
[Check out RJ Young’s Ultimate 136 College Football Rankings here]
USC Win Total Odds: Over 7.5 (-158) Under 7.5 (+128)
Have an issue with my rankings? Think your alma mater is too low, or your school’s rival is too high? Get at me on X, @RJ_Young, and I’ll select my favorite tweets and respond to them in a future article.
RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him at @RJ_Young.
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