USC enters the 2025 season aiming to prove it can contend in the Big Ten after a rocky debut in its new conference. With road struggles to address and key roles unsettled, coach Lincoln Riley and the Trojans face a pivotal year in their second Big Ten season. Expert Ryan Abraham of USCFootball.com joined Bud Elliott on the Cover 3 College Football Summer School series to preview expectations for the Trojans this fall.

What are the stakes for USC in 2025?

After a rocky Big Ten debut, the pressure is on. USC failed to win a conference road game until the penultimate week of the season -- and that came against crosstown rival UCLA . The Trojans finished with a losing conference record, undone by late-game collapses and a lack of resiliency away from home.

"They can't just be dead on

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