If USC can’t win the Pac-12 championship this season, the Trojans would dearly want to at least make a New Year’s Six bowl. If the Trojans can play in a featured New Year’s bowl in Year 1 under Lincoln Riley, that would be a significant achievement and a notable prize for the program.
The vast majority of pundits felt, going into the 2022 season, that USC would not reach the New Year’s Six and would not immediately regain the stature of the Pete Carroll years. Pete Carroll needed one season to get everything organized at USC. His first Trojan team in 2001 went 6-6 and lost to Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl on Christmas Day. If Riley can make an NY6 bowl, that would be an indication of how fully he has restored the Trojans in one year. It’s an important goal.
Right now, bowl projections are mixed, but if you look at the various projections and notes below, you’ll see that USC has to beat UCLA to remain high enough in the rankings to get an NY6 ticket.