The early 2000s reign of Pete Carroll’s USC Trojans remains one of college football’s most notable dynasties to date.
In Carroll’s nine years with the program he led the Trojans to 97 and just 19 losses. His .836 win percentage remains the best by any USC head coach, and Carroll is just one of two to win over 80% of games coached – Gus Henderson recorded a .833 win percentage on 25 wins and five losses from 1922 to 1924.
But the Trojans have slipped considerably since Carroll’s final season in 2009. In fact, college football analyst Brett McMurphy says USC is the most overrated program in the AP polls. McMurphy released his top-25 list of teams most overrated by AP poll voters Tuesday.
“The top two overrated teams since 2014 — USC and Auburn — were not ranked in the initial AP poll. Perhaps that’s a good thing,” McMurphy wrote. “In the 11-year span since 2014, USC has been ranked in the preseason polls in all but one season. The Trojans have finished with a lower final ranking in eight of 10 years. They also were not ranked in the final poll five times, including three of the last four seasons.”
It’s not exactly what you want to be hearing if you’re Lincoln Riley.
The head coach is facing pressure as he enters his fourth season at USC, where he’s led the Trojans to a worse finish each year. In Riley's first season, he led the team to a best-in-conference 11-3 (8-1 Pac-12) record. But USC finished 8-5 (5-4 Pac-12) the following year in 2023, and posted a 7-6 (4-5 Big Ten) record last season, the team’s first in the conference.
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USC is projected to finish No. 9 in the Big Ten this fall, per Cleveland.com’s annual preseason rankings. Given the Trojans’ simplicity of schedule — they avoid both Penn State and Ohio State — it’s a fair ranking.