After taking a step back in 2023 and losing star quarterback Caleb Williams to the NFL, head coach Lincoln Riley has a lot of work to do this offseason to get USC back into the national title picture.
The Achilles heel for the Trojans during Riley's tenure has been on defense. They've finished 94th and 121st in FBS in points allowed per game in the past two seasons. The 2023 team allowed 28 points in 11 of 13 games, including 10 straight to end the year.
Riley's first attempt to solve the problem was to hire D'Anton Lynn as the new defensive coordinator in December.