2022 USC football on the HG

Jake Wimberly

What’s to like:

Renewed energy. Lincoln Riley has yet to coach a game, but he has totally changed the program via the transfer portal and injected new life into the program.

The Trojans boast a Heisman contender in Caleb Williams and have skill talent for days. With Riley’s pedigree as a play caller and his offense, this team should score points a plenty in 2022.

What’s not to like:

The Trojan defense gave up 32 points per game a year ago and has to get back to a tough brand of football. No matter how many points they score, they have to be able to stop people if they want to contend for the PAC 12 in 2022.

Also - toughness. At certain times in the past, this team just did not look tough and looked to just give up. This team has to develop a toughness that’s missed the program over the last several years.

What does the Hourglass Say?

2022 USC 10-2; 7-2 - Second in the PAC 12 South

Four-year analytic percentage on USC = 71 percent

2021 USC Analytics –

Hour Glass National Recruiting Ranking (three-year metric): USC - 31st –Outside our Realistic College Football Playoff bust line. USC does not have the talent currently to reach the College Football Playoff.

National Coaching Ranking - Lincoln Riley on HG Scale: 4th in the country ( Lincoln Riley 2022 coaching value set at (31) – Average coaching value for 2022 set at 8.23 – Riley is above average and considered elite on my scale.

ODE Analytics – NOTE: ODE is our offensive and defensive scoring efficiency ranking for each team. We use a two-year evaluation of each program.

USC ranks 48th in the country in our 2022 ODE evaluation.

Quarterback Play: USC has the 13th best quarterback situation in the country going into the season. Their value is set at (21.9). Our national average for average quarterback play is 14.59. USC quarterback play is set above average on our national scale.

Impact Ball Catcher Metric: Ranking the teams wide receiver play - and do they have quality, impact wide receivers. USC ranks 9th in the country.

From Vegas:

USC ATS in 2021: 4-8

USC at home: 2-5

USC as a road team: 2-3

USC on a neutral site: 0-0

USC in games played with totals (over/under): 7-5 as they hit the over in 58.3 percent of their games.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

This team should be much improved in 2022, and Lincoln Riley has injected new energy into the program. The Trojans are recruiting at a high clip and could be one of the better teams in the country down the road.

If USC won the PAC 12 this year, they would be well ahead of schedule and should be a tough out for most teams in 2022.