USC

7-2

Week 10 · open week · updated Wednesday, Nov 4

USC beat No. 2 Ohio State 30-18.

Fan mood in the week of the Ohio State game: on the bright side, brighter than usual for them

Fan mood in each USC game week this season

Compared with other fanbases in r/CFB game threads that week. Each row is a week, named for its game; the further right the dot, the brighter the talk.

sourerbrightervs Louisiana W 49-30on the bright sideat Rutgers W 42-35middle of the packvs Washington W 25-21middle of the packat Penn State W 31-23middle of the packat Wisconsin L 7-24on the sour sidevs Ohio State W 30-18on the bright sidesourerbrighterSep 12vs LouisianaW 49-30on the bright sideSep 19at RutgersW 42-35middle of the packOct 3vs WashingtonW 25-21middle of the packOct 10at Penn StateW 31-23middle of the packOct 24at WisconsinL 7-24on the sour sideOct 31vs Ohio StateW 30-18on the bright side
  • W 42-26 vs San José State
  • W 39-0 vs Fresno State
  • W 49-30 vs Louisiana
  • W 42-35 at Rutgers
  • L 27-41 vs Oregon
  • W 25-21 vs Washington
  • W 31-23 at Penn State
  • L 7-24 at Wisconsin
  • W 30-18 vs Ohio State
  • Next: at Indiana, Saturday, Nov 14

Scores ours first. The two losses came by 14 and 17.

Since the last game

USC won 30-18 vs Ohio State.

The whole Ohio State game

Then and now

Lincoln Riley has taken USC to a bowl in each of his four full seasons.

Before Indiana

Lincoln Riley and Curt Cignetti meet as head coaches for the first time.

The rating model gives USC a 24% chance at Indiana on Saturday, Nov 14.

Indiana game on Now

How fan mood is read

Fan mood compares what USC fans wrote in r/CFB game threads with every FBS fanbase with enough talk that week. A week runs Monday to Sunday and is named for the game in it. The read is redrawn 300 times from the same commenters, re-ranking every fanbase each time. Sour or all in means the read sat in the bottom or top fifth in at least 70 of every 100 draws; on the sour side or on the bright side, in the bottom or top two fifths in at least 80; anything less settled is middle of the pack. A bright label also needs more positive talk than negative, and a sour one the reverse. Brighter or sourer than usual compares the week with the team's own earlier weeks, after taking out how every fanbase read that week. Each dot sits at the read's rank that week. A week read before these labels keeps the word it was first given, the fifth it sat in (sour, uneasy, mixed, hopeful or all in). Season averages are the mean of a season's reads, in fifths from sour to all in, and seasons before 2026 were read from each week's wider talk, so a comparison across seasons is rough.

Fan mood, week by week

Mood over time

Position = mood · width = volume · color = the kind of feeling

What the reporters say

What reporters say

29 quotes collected this season

What the beat said, in their own words.

Teams that are going to be there in the end are the ones [that] overcome it and move on, whether it’s a big win, whether it’s a tough loss
Riley · Daily Trojanthe day before USC's 2026 game against Ohio State
Really disappointing game. Just flat out didn’t play good enough on any three sides of the ball
Riley · Daily Trojan2 days after the 7-24 game
Flat out didn’t play great individually, but I just gotta deliver better for my teammates
Maiava · Daily Trojan2 days after the 7-24 game

More in this tab

Fan chatter

Fan chatterThe loudest night of the season and what a usual night looks like.

Fan chatter this season

Busy

The loudest night was the 25-21 win over Washington.

FirstSecondThirdFourthUSC fansWashington fansusual

A usual night for USC fans is steady.

Arguments

Recurring takesThe takes and theories circulating about this team right now.

What’s in the air

The Trojans' narrow victory over Washington highlights their resilience but also the uncertainties surrounding Coach…

Can Lincoln Riley solidify his narrative at USC despite ongoing challenges?

Still openOct 4→ 8
Our sentiment model: 25.0% negative, 25.0% positive
OU losing to USC is a delusion that has mystified me.YouTube · Josh Pate's College Football Show
I predicted USC being in this before even clicking on this video. Josh loves them!YouTube · Josh Pate's College Football Show

USC will need to navigate tough cornerback matchups to maintain its defense under Lincoln Riley.

How will USC's secondary hold up against elite receivers?

Still openSep 27→ 18
Our sentiment model: 22.2% negative, 11.1% positive
USC isn’t making it and Lincoln Riley will be shitcannedYouTube · Josh Pate's College Football Show
You simply aren’t paying attention close enough if USC isn’t on this list.YouTube · Josh Pate's College Football Show

The Trojans' impressive summer recruiting efforts may not be enough to secure a playoff spot in a tough Big Ten…

Can USC's strong recruiting class overcome Big Ten challenges?

Still openJul 17→ 9
Our sentiment model: 33.3% negative, 11.1% positive
if someone is fat, they are not attracted to the lifestyle at USC. It's an image conscious place. Self selection. Also fat people tend to not post as much on social media.r/USC
The argumentThe one thing this fanbase can't agree on, with receipts.

Inside the fanbase: all 7 corners

Cr/CFB
GGoogle News
LLocked On
CCampus paper
BBluesky
YYouTube
6 outlets & communities talking

One voice

+0.06Whole-fanbase sentiment · warm

Every cohort from the die-hards to the analytics crowd lands within 0.03 of each other — a rare consensus. The most upvoted post:

▶

Locked On

Outrage: The CFP Committee's Decisions And SEC Bias Has Usc Fans Ticked Off!

listen ↗

How USC fans actually talk

Rr/CFBFan talk

When you incorporate sack yardage, USC had -17 rushing yards tonight. You, sitting in your chair drinking beer, you had more net rushing yards than USC tonight.

open ↗

One of the crowd’s most upvoted takes — read for mood, not as a side. The cohort read is the measured part.

Every fan group, end to end

negative
0
positive
Bettors+0.05 to Casuals+0.08

Cohort sentiment is a source-weighted model read — never a quote pinned to a person.

What this fanbase keeps coming back to

fan energy
31%
recent results
17%
where the program is headed
15%
the coaching staff
9%
the rankings
6%

Topics are model-labeled from Reddit — a rough signal of what this fanbase is circling right now.

week 10. The sources and the divergence rank are measured. Cohort labels and sentiment are a source-weighted model estimate, never a quote attributed to a person.
ArgumentsRecurring arguments this fanbase keeps returning to.

What fans are saying

program directionEarly signal — few voices

fans believe USC’s frequent coaching changes hurt team stability

Sark and Kiffin faced uphill battles at USC due to NCAA sanctions and scholarship reductions. Both later learned under Nick Saban, gaining valuable experience from two legendary coaches.

USC hasnt been good in 20 years. They've gone through 7 different head coaches. At some point, yall will realize the problem is bigger than the head coach.

Based on 2 comments from 2 posters across 2 threads · Oct 27, 2026–Oct 29, 2026 · via CFB ON FOX

Rival talk

The obsessionThe rival this fanbase can't stop bringing up.
Rent Free · r/CFB fan posts, 2026 season
USC fans 22% of posts bring up another team▼1pp quieter#62 of 77 saltiest · mostly about UCLA
Who USC fans can’t stop bringing up
  1. UCLA12%
  2. California4%
  3. Stanford1%
  4. Oregon1%
  5. Notre Dame1%
share of USC’s football posts that mention each team
USC lives rent-free in
  1. Washington17%
  2. Oregon16%
  3. Ohio State11%
  4. Wisconsin10%
  5. San José State9%
share of each rival fanbase’s football posts that bring up USC
Rivalry wordsNumbers from Words for this program and its tier-1 rival, staged side by side.
What the sport says about this rivalry 2026 season · from Words

The watchlist words in play for this rivalry, USC vs. Notre Dame, staged head to head. A number is how much a program uses that word against the average FBS program — above or below 1.0× — not raw volume, and not a claim about who says it about whom.

USC Notre Dame
The whole board →

How USC fans talk

Who they talk aboutThe people this fanbase names more than anyone else does.
Who they talk about Against the field · 2026 season

The names this fanbase says more than anyone else does — players, coaches, the places they keep coming back to. Not slang: these are the people carrying the conversation.

Lincoln Riley
×43.6 the field
Signature — named ≥10× as often as the rest of college football
Lincoln Riley×43.6
Jayden Maiava×273.4
Gary Patterson×105.5
Trent Mosley×197.4
Clay Helton×40.9
King Miller×399.5

“Riley doesn’t pay any attention to defense”

reddit/CFB · fan post
Fans on Lincoln Riley
  1. But Joel, a week ago you were talking about how bad USC was and how Lincoln Riley’s career at USC was over!
  2. Qb coach is a great salesman for Riley
  3. Riley gets an A + for that game. He did a great job in all areas. It was outstanding.
  4. Congrats Lincoln Riley on the win. One week at a time but every week and opponent is like playing the Ohio
  5. Riley yet. We know the potential, let’s see how the team is coached for the rest of the
  6. Riley needs to run the table to save his job, & get into the playoffs
  7. Two days ago I would’ve said Riley, but now idk
  8. 5-2 Off bye weeks under Riley. I have no idea what to expect. I do hope the refereeing is better than the game
What they're calledThe slang the sport reaches for about this program more than most.
What the sport calls them 2026 season · from Words

How often college football reaches for these watchlist words about USC — against the average FBS program, or against their own usual rate — said by rival fans and national media as readily as by their own people.

The whole board →
Voice profileHow this fanbase sounds vs. every other fanbase.
Measured
Optimism
46th
Joy
75th
Anger
67th
Doom
41st
Sarcasm
83rd
Vs the 127 highest-volume fanbases - 2026 season
Vocabulary by eraThe words that defined each chapter of this program.

Season vocabulary

2026riley
rileydefenselincolncoachlincoln rileynow
Happy Birthday Head Coach Lincoln riley.
2025blue
bluealabamamichigannebraskabowlundefeated
Usually if you’re a blue blood you can put out a decent QB or two, but I guess there’s Ohio state too
This page may include content derived from public news sources, social media, and fan communities. We relay these sources as-is — we are not reporting them. Sources may be summarized or quoted imperfectly; for anything that matters, go look at the original source directly. The original source may also be wrong. Text written by our model says so in a line beneath it, and it can get facts wrong. All analysis is editorial opinion, not professional reporting. Data sources · About this site