The USC Trojans are No. 12 in the latest USA TODAY AFCA Coaches Poll.
USC defeated Rice, 66-14, on Saturday afternoon in the Los Angeles Coliseum in the first game of the Lincoln Riley era at the school.
USC’s offense dazzled, and its defense — especially up front — leaves a lot to be desired. The Trojans have a ton of work to do on that side of the ball. Alex Grinch has his work cut out for him. The hope is that the defense can do a tolerably sufficient job — nothing spectacular, but a lot better than the rock-bottom standard of last season — in September to keep the team afloat. Giving Caleb Williams a chance to win games in the fourth quarter is what the defense must do, at minimum, in the first month of the season.
Across the country, we saw a lot of significant developments in Week 1.
Oregon got demolished by Georgia and nearly fell out of this poll, but the Ducks managed to stay in at No. 24. The Ducks will not make the College Football Playoff.
Utah lost at Florida and fell behind USC in the rankings. The Utes have to run the table to have a shot at the playoff.
It was a brutal week for the Pac-12, and USC might already have the best odds of making the playoff from the conference.
Here is the full poll, starting with No. 1 and going down to No. 25: