Greg McElroy: 'October is going to define USC's season'

USC finds themselves in an interesting spot as they enter the Big Ten in 2024. Still, the Trojans could get themselves out of it if, in the opinion of Greg McElroy, they make the most of their four games this upcoming October.

McElroy broke down USC’s schedule for this fall during a recent episode of ‘Always College Football’. To him, their year will come down to the four-game stretch in the midst of conference play from October 5th through October 26th. They could be what helps them to recover from a difficult start and sets them up for a solid close.

“I think the second part of the schedule for ‘SC is more manageable than even the first month of the season,” said McElroy. “In October, you have at Minnesota. That’s a game you can absolutely and, hopefully for ‘SC fans, you do win. You got Penn State at your place. That’s a game that I think that can be won. I would lean Penn State at the moment but I think that is a game that can absolutely be won. You’re at Maryland – going to be a tough road trip, for sure, but one that can be won without question. Rutgers comes to you – another game that can be won.”

“Those, to me? October is going to define USC’s season because there are winnable games on that part of the schedule,” McElroy said.

Those four games all fall between the Trojans’ first and second bye week. It splits between two at home and two on the road with, based on preseason predictions, the two more challenging games, Penn State and Rutgers, coming in Los Angeles as compared to the other pair, Minnesota and Maryland, being away games.

Again, though, the importance of the stretch also comes due to the challenging start for USC. They’ll open the year with LSU in Sin City before opening league play three weeks later after the first bye in The Big House against Michigan, the defending national champions. Add in other games like Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Notre Dame, albeit all in The Coliseum, and it leaves the Trojans in need of some of those wins during that second month of the season.

“Here’s where I’m at right now. How likely is it that USC will be 3-1? I feel like, if they’re 3-1, that’s like an incredibly good start to the season. That means you beat either Michigan at Michigan or LSU in Las Vegas,” said McElroy. “Like, either one of those two wins is massive for Lincoln Riley. Now, if he wins one of the two? You’re in great shape. If you lose them both? I don’t even think your season is over.”

“If you go beat LSU? You’re going to shock a lot of people. If you go beat Michigan at Michigan? You’re going to shock everybody, especially knowing how Michigan has played and how Michigan controls the line scrimmage as that has been a bit of a question mark for you up to this point. I also think there’s a really good chance that they could finish strong as well.”

McElroy has circled October as the crucial stretch for the Trojans. If they can manage that span well, it could make all the difference for them in their final record overall.

“I actually think things set up pretty well for USC this year,” said McElroy. “I think they get off to a 2-2 start and still have plenty of meat on the bone with some of the matchups they have in October and November to potentially get back to relevance by season’s end.”