With USC‘s Big Ten opener raising the Trojans’ difficulty level this weekend, the microscope could soon turn toward what might be brewing in Los Angeles. It’s been a fruitful calendar year on the recruiting trail for the Trojans, who continue to battle Georgia for the top 2026 class in the 247Sports Composite Team Rankings.
At this stage of the cycle, USC is the only team among the top 12 in the recruiting standings that failed to win eight games last year. A revamped NIL budget has helped matters, of course, but the Trojans have also convinced recruits to hop aboard by selling opportunity.
On-field improvement could ramp things up for the Trojans even further.
Saturday’s game at Purdue (3:30 p.m. ET on CBS) will be viewed as a precursor to a more competitive stretch, especially since there hasn’t been much for recruits to extract from the first two games of the season. No matter how lopsided the victories against Missouri State and Georgia Southern were — the Trojans breezed through, and enter the weekend leading the nation in per-game averages for points (66) and yards (676) — the talent gap was immense.
Back-to-back-to-back matchups versus ranked opponents Illinois, Michigan and Notre Dame are on the horizon. Those games will be a barometer, sure, but also could be a pamphlet for recruits in the stands or watching from home.
“Here is the biggest thing — we have done such a great job of recruiting the right kids,” USC first-year general manager Chad Bowden told 247Sports.
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