The Pac-12 hasn’t had a national champion since Reggie Bush mesmerized the world with his Heisman-winning moves as part of a star-studded USC team that claimed two titles in the early 2000s.
If that sounds like a long time, it is. Bush was just elected to the College Football Hall of Fame on Monday.
USC’s latest Heisman winner, quarterback Caleb Williams, has a chance to change that in what will be the Trojans’ final Pac-12 season in 2023.
USC has 13-1 odds to win the title next season, tied for fifth shortest at Tipico Sportsbook behind the usual suspects from the SEC and Big Ten: Georgia, Alabama, Michigan and Ohio State. USC has something those teams don’t, though, and that’s the best returning quarterback in college football. Williams’ odds to win next year’s Heisman are the best by a lot.
That’s not all. USC’s rising junior class (2021) ranked eighth in the country, according to 247Sports, the school’s best recruiting class since 2017. In 2022, USC had the sixth-best overall class, including transfers. Between the two years, the program brought in four five-stars and 25 four-stars.
Many of those players will return after contributing to a team that had CFP hopes this past season, going 11-3 and reaching an AP rank as high as No. 4. The Trojans will also have key seniors returning at important positions like wide receiver and defensive back.
In the end, though, it all comes back to Williams. USC won’t out-talent the teams with better title odds at any position but quarterback. Georgia is losing Stetson Bennett, Alabama losing Bryce Young, Ohio State C.J. Stroud. Of the top teams, only Michigan is expected to return their starter, J.J. McCarthy.
Then, there’s Williams. The clear best quarterback in the country and enough to make USC’s early title odds a steal.
