Week 1 AP Top 25 most overrated, underrated and biggest surprise in the Big Ten

Week 1 AP Top 25 Biggest Surprise: #23 USC Trojans

Pretty much my entire life, the USC Trojans have been a premier brand in college football. Even today, when the Trojans aren’t nearly as good as they used to be, they are able to take big-time coaches away from other big-time programs.

USC is coming off the Caleb Williams experience, and it was a wild ride for the program. They won 11 games two seasons ago, but in 2023, the team took a bit of a tumble. The Trojans only won eight total games.

The name brand alone, I am surprised USC isn’t ranked higher, whether or not they actually should be.

Sure, Williams is now in the NFL, but USC brought in more talent at quarterback with the addition of UNLV transfer Jayden Maiava. They also have Miller Moss coming back, who threw for 372 yards, six touchdowns, and one interception in a bowl game win over Louisville at the end of last season.

The weapons USC added via the transfer portal on both sides of the ball were impressive as well. They addressed the secondary with some big additions, and I love what they got with transfer Woody Marks at running back.

With the new additions and the way Moss looked in the bowl game, along with their brand, I expected USC to be ranked higher than No. 23 in the week one AP Top 25 poll.