The CFP Era · 2014–present

USC

Twelve seasons in three acts · Big Ten

95–55Record
63.3%Win %
0National titles
2016Peak season
82Avg. percentile
50NFL draftees

The three-act trajectory

Within-season power percentile against the FBS cohort, season by season.

FOUNDINGTRANSITIONEXPANSION0255075100141516171819202122232425Peak of the era2016 · 10–3Steepest fall2021
Source CFB Zeitgeist · power ratings
Founding2014–2020

The four-team Playoff era. The bracket is small, the margin for error none.

56–29 · avg percentile 86
Transition2021–2023

The last seasons before expansion — NIL arrives, the portal opens, the four-team format ends.

23–16 · avg percentile 75
Expansion2024–present

The twelve-team Playoff. A wider field changes what a season has to prove.

16–10 · avg percentile 79

Defining games

Coaches of the era

Steve Sarkisian2014–2014
Clay Helton2015–2017
Clay Helton2020–2020
Donte Williams2021–2021
Lincoln Riley2022–2025

Roster of the era

50 players drafted into the NFL across the CFP era.

614
415
516
417
418
219
520
321
422
723
324
325

Entering Year 13

The 2026 season opens the next chapter of the expansion era under Lincoln Riley. See the 2014–2025 program page →