Since the College Football Playoffs were established in 2014 , USC has not had the most successful run. Their disappointing stretch was highlighted by the Associated Press' 2025 preseason college football rankings, which excluded Lincoln Riley's Trojans from the top 25.

USC's lofty expectations and subsequent shortcomings have not gone unnoticed. The Trojans were deemed the unfortunate recipient as the “most overrated team” of the College Football Playoff era by On3 Sports' Brett McMurphy.

McMurphy noted that USC narrowly edged Auburn and Texas A&M for the top spot by his calculations. LSU and Wisconsin rounded out the top five most overrated programs. The analyst included Florida State, Oregon, Oklahoma, Miami and Michigan to complete his top 10.

Since the College Football Playoffs

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