Believe it or not, the start of the 2025 college football season is just around the corner. Tuesday marked the start of Big Ten Media Days in Las Vegas, kicking off the year for the sport’s biggest conference.
On Monday, Cleveland.com released its preseason Big Ten media poll. The writers picked the Trojans to finish in the middle of the conference at No. 9.
Penn State was picked to win the conference, narrowly edging out No. 2 Ohio State. The Nittany Lions and Buckeyes were followed by (in order) Oregon, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Iowa, and Nebraska prior to the Trojans.
Former Pac-12 foe Washington came in one spot behind USC at No. 10. The 11-18 spots featured (in order) Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Rutgers, UCLA, Maryland, Northwestern, and Purdue.
A ninth place finish in the Big Ten would certainly be a disappointing result for USC. Lincoln Riley and the Trojans will be looking to prove their doubters wrong on the field this fall. The goal is not to outperform this poll. The goal is to be a top-tier Big Ten team fighting for a College Football Playoff spot. Anything less than 9-3 would be a clear-cut disappointment for the Trojans.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC football picked to finish 9th in Cleveland.com Big Ten preseason media poll
Reporting by Adam Bradford, Trojans Wire / Trojans Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
