The 2022 USC Trojans football team represented the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

as a member of the

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

during the

2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the 153rd season of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at its highest level of competition, the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) ...

. Led by first-year head coach Lincoln Riley, the Trojans played their home games at the

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the Los Angeles Coliseum or L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park, Los Angeles, Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. Conceived as a hal ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. They finished the season 11–3, 8–1 in Pac-12 play to earn a trip to the Pac-12 championship game. Ranked No. 4 in the

College Football Playoff The College Football Playoff (CFP) is an annual single-elimination tournament, knockout invitational tournament to determine a national champion for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, D ...

, they lost to

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

in the conference championship game eliminating them from national championship consideration. They received a bid to the

Cotton Bowl Classic The Cotton Bowl Classic (also known as the Cotton Bowl) is an American college football bowl game played annually in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex since January 1, 1937. The game was originally played at its Cotton Bowl (stadium), namesake ...

where they lost to No. 16-ranked Tulane. Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams was awarded the

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

for his performances during the season.

Offseason

Coaching staff departures

Transfers

Transfers out

The Trojans lost 27 players via transfer.

Transfers in

The Trojans added 23 players via transfer.

Returning starters

Key departures include :
Vavae Malepeai ( TB – 12 games, 5 started).
Keaontay Ingram ( TB – 10 games, 7 started).
Drake London ( WR – 8 games, 8 started).
Erik Krommenhoek ( TE – 12 games, 10 started).
Jalen McKenzie ( OT – 12 games, 6 started).
Liam Jimmons ( OG – 12 games, 12 started).
Kana'i Mauga ( LB – 12 games, 12 started).
Drake Jackson (

OLB ''OLB'' may stand for: * Oh Lord Buddha - Quotes related to Buddhism * Olbia - Costa Smeralda Airport, IATA airport code *Outside linebacker, a defensive position in American and Canadian football * Object Language Bindings (SQL/OLB) - a standard f ...

– 11 games, 9 started).
Chris Steele ( CB – 11 games, 11 started).
Isaac Taylor-Stuart ( CB – 11 games, 10 started).
Isaiah Pola-Mao ( S – 11 games, 9 started).
Greg Johnson ( S – 10 games, 9 started).
Ben Griffiths ( P – 12 games, 12 started).
Parker Lewis ( K – 10 games, 10 started).
Damon Johnson ( LS – 12 games, 12 started). Other departures include :
Kedon Slovis ( QB – 9 games, 9 started).

Jaxson Dart Jaxson Chase Dart (born May 13, 2003) is an American professional football quarterback for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans and Ole Miss Rebels. Dart was selected by the Gia ...

( QB – 6 games, 3 started).
KD Nixon ( WR – 10 games).
Michael Trigg ( TE – 6 games, 4 started).
Jacob Lichtenstein ( DL – 12 games, 8 started).
Hunter Echols (

– 11 games, 3 started).
Raymond Scott ( LB – 11 games, 3 started).
Chase Williams ( S – 12 games, 9 started). Offense Defense Special teams † Indicates player was a starter in 2021 but missed all of 2022 due to injury.

Recruiting class

The Trojans signed a total of yet scholarship recruits and walk-ons during national signing period.

Overall class rankings

Recruits

Preseason

Spring Game

Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released

Pac-12 Media Day

The Pac-12 Media Day was held on July 29, 2022 in

Hollywood, California Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and district in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. ...

with Lincoln Riley (HC), Caleb Williams (QB) and Shane Lee (LB) representing USC.

Preseason All-Pac-12 teams

First team Second team All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention

Schedule

Conference opponents not played this season:

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Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

Personnel

Roster

Depth chart

''True Freshman'' official Depth Chart Week 1 vs Rice (09/01/22)

Injury report

Scholarship distribution chart

*Scholarship Distribution 2022 / / * Former Walk-on – 80 players on scholarship / 85 scholarships permitted

Game summaries

vs Rice

at Stanford

vs Fresno State

at Oregon State

vs Arizona State

vs Washington State

at No. 20 Utah

at Arizona

vs California

vs Colorado

at No. 16 UCLA

vs No. 15 Notre Dame

vs No. 11 Utah (
Pac-12 Championship Game The Pac-12 Football Championship Game was an annual college football game held by the Pac-12 Conference to determine the season's conference champion. The game from the 2011–2021 seasons had the champion of the North Division against the cham ...
)

With the loss, USC was knocked out of playoff contention, letting

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

taking over the #4 seed.

vs No. 16 Tulane ( Cotton Bowl)

USC seemed to be in control for most of the contest, but in a shocking turn of events, Tulane scored 16 points in the final four and a half minutes of regulation to snatch the victory from the Trojans. With 4:30 remaining in the game and a 15-point lead, USC's win probability stood at 99.8%.

Rankings

Statistics

Team

Individual Leaders

Offense

Defense

Key: POS: Position, SOLO: Solo Tackles, AST: Assisted Tackles, TOT: Total Tackles, TFL: Tackles-for-loss, SACK: Quarterback Sacks, INT: Interceptions, BU: Passes Broken Up, PD: Passes Defended, QBH: Quarterback Hits, FR: Fumbles Recovered, FF: Forced Fumbles, BLK: Kicks or Punts Blocked, SAF: Safeties, TD : Touchdown

Special teams

Scoring

USC vs. non-conference opponents

USC vs. Pac-12 opponents

USC vs. all opponents

After the season

Awards and honors

Pac-12 Conference Individual awards

Individual Yearly Awards

All-America

PAC-12 Conference

Bowl games

Senior Bowl

East–West Shrine Bowl

NFLPA Collegiate Bowl

NFL draft

The

NFL draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

will be held at

Arrowhead Stadium Arrowhead Stadium is an American football stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. It primarily serves as the home venue of the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). It was built at the same time as neighboring Kauff ...

Kansas City, MO Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

on April 27–29, 2023. Trojans who were picked in the 2023 NFL Draft:

NFL Draft combine

Two members of the 2022 team were invited to participate in drills at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine. † Top performer DNP = Did not participate

USC Pro Day

† Top performer DNP = Did not participate

Notes

* November 28, 2021 – Lincoln Riley Named New USC Football Head Coach.

References

{{USC Trojans football navbox

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

USC Trojans football seasons

USC Trojans football The USC Trojans football program represents the University of Southern California in the sport of American football. The Trojans compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate ...