3 Pac-12 teams ranked among ESPN’s top-25 Future Power Rankings

We’ve all seen the top-25 rankings and power rankings for the 2022 college football season, detailing which teams stand where going into the year. But how do those rankings look when you expand it a bit and look at the next three seasons?

That’s a question that ESPN tried to answer this past week, offering their Future Power Rankings in college football. In order to do so, they factored in coaching changes and stability, and recent on-field/recruiting trajectory. They also put a weight on the transfer portal and NIL as well.

So with that in mind, where do the best teams in the Pac-12 stand when it comes to the next three seasons?

Here’s where they landed in the rankings:

No. 9 — USC Trojans

With Lincoln Riley now at the helm, and at least two seasons of QB Caleb Williams, there’s a chance that the USC Trojans are among the top of the nation for the next couple of seasons. ESPN seems to agree, ranking them at No. 9 on the list. Here is what they had to say about the Trojans:

2022 Future QB ranking: 2
2022 Future offense ranking: 3
2022 Future defense ranking: Not ranked
2021 Future team ranking: 16

Scouting the Trojans: I’m not among those ready to hand USC the next 20 Pac-12 titles, even though the program finally acted like it should and hired an A-list coach in Riley. But Riley’s presence and USC’s appeal to both transfers and high school players has the program set up to contend for CFP berths likely by 2023. There’s little doubt USC offenses will start to meet the standard Riley set at Oklahoma, perhaps as soon as this coming season. In Williams, the Trojans get a top-shelf quarterback for two more seasons, and should be well-stocked behind him, either with Miller Moss or 2023 commit Malachi Nelson. Riley also addressed wide receiver and running back in the transfer portal with Jordan Addison (Pitt), the 2021 Biletnikoff Award winner, as well as Mario Williams (Oklahoma), Travis Dye (Oregon) and Austin Jones (Stanford). While…