The USC Trojans are due for a big season under Lincoln Riley, and it might be their biggest of his tenure.
Their first year in the Big Ten didn't quite go according to plan following high expectations in the post-Caleb Williams era. A 7-6 finish, while it did result in a highly-contested bowl win against Texas A&M, it was far below the standard the Trojans have set in years past.
The Trojans underperformed for much of the season, which included some inexplicable losses to the likes of the Michigan Wolverines, Minnesota Golden Gophers and Maryland Terrapins, to name a few.
The Trojans saw flashes of promise with their quarterback in Jayden Maiava late in the year, good enough to fulfill the starting role this fall, barring anything unforeseen.
Maiava, while limited in action, threw 11 touchdowns in his first year with the Trojans.
Despite a limited sample size, Riley said he liked what he saw down the stretch.
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"We went 3-1 in games that he played and he gave us a great chance to beat Notre Dame," Riley told ESPN's Greg McElroy. He's good; he's so good. I mean some of the throws that this guy makes. The big goal for us is can you take the good and try to enhance that. But then can you take some of the negative plays, remove those from his game because he's really grown, continuing to get better physically."
An area where the Trojans must improve has more to do with Riley and less about his quarterback: losing records. Although The Sporting News' Bill Bender ranked Riley as the No. 12 coach in America, a few knocks against Riley could continue to plague him without an immediate turnaround.
As Bender notes, Riley has a losing record against ranked opponents (combined 4-14), which will likely have to change to give the Trojans any hope of making the College Football Playoff this season or at any point in the near future.
Unlike in previous seasons, USC opens with a lesser-known opponent in Missouri State before Big Ten play begins with a road trip to play a new-look Purdue Boilermakers in mid-September.