Preview: USC Trojans

The Trojans went a perfect 7–0 at home, outscoring opponents 301–115 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

USC is led by head coach Lincoln Riley, who has guided teams to three College Football Playoff appearances, coached three Heisman Trophy winners, and owns a career winning percentage of 78 percent. His last Heisman winner was Caleb Williams who won in 2022, one year after setting the Valero Alamo Bowl record for passing efficiency with a 21-27 performance that included 2 passing and 1 rushing touchdown.

Offensively, USC ranks No. 7 nationally in passing, led by quarterback Jordan Maiava. Maiava leads the Big Ten in:
- Passing yards (3,431)
- Passing yards per game (285.9)
- Passing yards per completion (13.89)
- Total offense (298.4 yards per game)

Redshirt freshman running back King Miller emerged after injuries at the position and leads USC with 873 rushing yards on 131 carries and seven touchdowns. Among Power Four backs with at least 130 attempts, Miller ranks No. 3 nationally and leads the Big Ten with 6.57 yards per carry.

Defensively, USC held opponents under 400 total yards in nine games, its most in a season since 2013. The Trojans rank 10th nationally in red zone touchdown defense, allowing touchdowns on just 73.3 percent of opponent red zone trips.

Walk-on kicker Ryon Sayeri, a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award, is 17-of-21 on field goal attempts (81 percent). USC’s single-season school record for made field goals is 19.

USC is among the nation’s premier bowl programs with a 36–20 all-time postseason record. Its .643 bowl winning percentage ranks tied for sixth nationally among schools with at least 10 bowl appearances. USC’s 36 bowl victories are tied with Georgia for second-most all-time, trailing only Alabama.

Despite its bowl history, USC has never played in the Valero Alamo Bowl. While they are technically playing the 2025 game as representatives of the Pac-12/former Pac-12 pool, USC is the first Big Ten team to play in the Valero Alamo Bowl since Michigan State in 2009.

The 2025 Valero Alamo Bowl marks the sixth all-time meeting between USC and TCU and their first matchup in 27 years. USC leads the series 3–2.

TCU won the most recent meeting, a 28–19 victory in the 1998 Sun Bowl. That win was TCU’s first bowl victory in 41 years, as the Horned Frogs held USC to a Sun Bowl-record minus-23 rushing yards.

USC enters the 2025 Valero Alamo Bowl ranked No. 16, marking the 15th consecutive Valero Alamo Bowl to feature a Top 25 team.
- Twelve of the last 15 Valero Alamo Bowls have featured a team ranked in the Top 16.

The game features coaches with deep ties to each other and to the Valero Alamo Bowl:
- Lincoln Riley rose to national prominence as Texas Tech’s interim offensive coordinator in the 2009 Valero Alamo Bowl, when the Red Raiders totaled 579 yards in a 41–31 win over Michigan State. Prior to this year, Michigan State was the last Big Ten representative to play in San Antonio.
- Riley and Dykes first crossed paths at Texas Tech, where Riley was a player and Dykes served as wide receivers coach. They later worked together when Dykes became co-offensive coordinator under Mike Leach.
- Both were members of Leach’s Texas Tech staff that engineered a NCCA postseason record 31-point comeback against Minnesota in the 2006 Insight Bowl that was tied by TCU’s 2015 Valero Alamo Bowl comeback against Oregon.

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