The defining theme this offseason is simple: everything is in place for USC to finally win the program's first Big Ten title, and it starts with continuity at quarterback. Jayden Maiava returns as the starter, giving an offense that projects as elite a steady hand even as the receiver room turns over. Makai Lemon and Ja'Kobi Lane are gone to the draft, taking a combined 118 PPA of production with them, and the staff responded by bringing in Terrell Anderson from NC State and tight end Tucker Ashcraft from Wisconsin. Husan Longstreet's departure to LSU thins the quarterback room, but with Maiava firmly entrenched, it doesn't change the starting picture. Defensively, the incoming coordinator Gary Patterson inherits a group with stable continuity and no major role-loss flags, replacing D'Anton Lynn atop a unit that already grades above average. Combine that with an offensive line returning at 76 percent and a defense that shed little of substance, and this looks like a roster built for a real push, even with only medium confidence in how the receiver corps gels early.

JP+ projects USC at 7.4 wins, notably below a market number set at Under 8.5, and the gap traces to a schedule that includes true tests at Indiana and at home against Ohio State and Oregon, all three among the toughest games on the slate. Special teams sitting below average adds a bit of floor risk in close games, while low overall roster continuity on offense — even with the quarterback and line largely intact — leaves some uncertainty in how quickly the new-look receiver corps and Anderson specifically integrate. If the defense plays to its above-average billing under Patterson and the retooled receiver room clicks fast enough for Maiava, the ceiling includes the Big Ten and College Football Playoff breakthrough this program has been chasing. If the receiver continuity questions linger into October, a season closer to the projected 7.4 wins, with losses to Indiana, Ohio State, or Oregon, is the more likely outcome.