USC head coach Lincoln Riley is confident his team can make the College Football Playoff in 2026.
"We have absolutely taken steps now," Riley said at the Big Ten spring meetings, according to ESPN's Adam Rittenberg. "Honestly, now it's just time to go do it. It's time. The program's ready for it."
Riley is entering his fifth season as Trojans head coach following a five-year run at Oklahoma. After going 11-3 in his first season, the Trojans compiled a combined 24-15 record over the last three campaigns. They haven't made the College Football Playoff during his tenure and haven't ranked in the top 10 of the AP poll in either of the last two seasons.
Defense has been the team's Achilles' heel under Riley. USC hasn't ranked inside the top 40 in points allowed per game in the FBS since he took over.
D'Anton Lynn, Riley's defensive coordinator for the last two campaigns, left in December for the same position at Penn State under head coach Matt Campbell. Riley hired Gary Patterson as his replacement after previously attempting to bring Patterson aboard in 2024.
The 66-year-old didn't coach in 2025. Patterson was promoted to TCU's head coach from defensive coordinator in 2000 and spent 22 years in that role with the Horned Frogs before resigning.
The Trojans are set to bring in the nation's top recruiting class in 2026, according to ESPN's Craig Haubert. The class includes 19 players ranked inside ESPN's top 300, including two five-star commits in defensive end Luke Wafle and offensive tackle Keenyi Pepe.
Jayden Maiava, USC's starting signal-caller in 2025, will return for his senior season and is considered one of the top quarterback prospects in the 2027 NFL Draft.
"The years here, going through all we've gone through, and the challenge here, the opportunity, it's made me a lot better coach," Riley added. "I'm a lot better coach than at any point during the years in Oklahoma. I've definitely learned and grown a lot, and there's a lot of things that I've learned now that I wish I had known back then, or been better at."
USC will kick off its season against San Jose State on Aug. 29.
