To salvage its season, USC must win its next five games

After a trio of anguishing, narrow losses to Michigan, Minnesota and Penn State by an aggregate of 13 points, USC's hopes of relevance in its 2024 campaign are on the verge of slipping away. As fans and alumni cast about, allocating blame to referees , coaches and players, there is one and only one route for the Trojans to save their season. USC must run the table in their next five games and head into its Nov. 30 season finale against Notre Dame with an 8-3 record.

In the apt, succinct words of Heisman Trophy-winning USC quarterback Matt Leinert, "Mediocrity isn't the standard at USC."

Here's a look at the docket for the Trojans in the second half of the season.

In all of these games, the Trojans will feature a roster comprised of talent exceeding their opponents, as was the case in every matchup in the first half of the season, with the possible exception of LSU , who USC defeated in Week 1.

Trojans Wire's Matt Zemek articulates the sentiments of many USC supporters at the midway point in the 2024 season:

"[F]or a team which was one play away against Michigan and just one or two plays away versus Minnesota, the reality of being 'one play away' offers no comfort or satisfaction at all. Competitors don't compete to be one play away. Coaches don't coach to come close to winning. Players don't come to USC to almost win games. It's a do-or-don't world and a succeed-or-fail[] business. Lincoln Riley does not get paid many millions of dollars by USC to come close to winning games."

USC's roster is loaded with five-star and four-star recruits, including the likes of Zachariah Branch, rated the No. 1 overall wide receiver in the 2023 recruiting cycle by ESPN, 247 Sports, and On3. Although Branch was a first-team All-American as a return specialist in his freshman year, the Trojans have failed thus far in 2024 to effectively optimize the gifted athlete's skills.

USC plays in the second-largest media market in the country. It boasts more Heisman Trophy winners than any other program in college football. USC is tied for the most inductees in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Thus, expectations of the football team are high at USC, to say the least.

Unless the team delivers by running the table from now until the season finale with Notre Dame, radical shake-ups are likely at USC.