USC season preview: 10-2 is the goal, but it's really just 3-2
· Yahoo Sports
USC football needs to go 10-2 to make the College Football Playoff and achieve a longstanding goal for the program. It won't be easy, but there's a way to look at the 2026 schedule which makes the goal seem a little simpler than it seems.
The first four games of the season for USC are three nonconference cupcakes plus Rutgers in the Big Ten. San Jose State, Fresno State, Louisiana, and Rutgers will give the Trojans an easy 4-0 start. Fast-forward to the middle of November. USC gets Maryland at home and then plays UCLA, which should be better under Bob Chesney but probably not good enough to beat the Trojans right away. That should be two more wins and a 6-0 record in those six games.
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When we discuss the need for USC to go 10-2 this season, which is absolutely the main goal, we are really talking about the six games from late September through early November: Oregon, Washington, Penn State, Wisconsin, Ohio State, and Indiana. USC will need go to 4-2 in those six (with Wisconsin being a very likely win) to reach its goal.
Ultimately, USC has to go 3-2 in its five biggest games of the season. Three of the five are in the Coliseum, so conceivably, USC could win everything at home, stumble twice on the road, and still get to the promised land. However, being realistic, USC is unlikely to beat both Oregon and Ohio State at home, so the more probable path to 10-2 is a win at Penn State to offset one home loss to Oregon or OSU.
10-2 is hard, but in truth, USC just needs to go 3-2 in the five games which matter. If USC can beat Oregon on September 26, the Trojans could then beat Washington and Penn State and arrive at a point where they could lose to Ohio State and Indiana later in the season and still reach their intended destination.
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This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC season preview: 10-2 is the goal, but it's really just 3-2