Matt Leinart Talks USC, Caleb Williams, Conference Realignment, More in B/R Interview

It's College Football Playoff or bust for the USC Trojans this season.

At least in the eyes of one of the program's all-time greats.

"From a Trojan perspective and also as a college football analyst, anything short of a Playoff spot for USC would probably be a disappointment," former USC quarterback and current Fox analyst Matt Leinart told Bleacher Report. "Just because of how close they were last year and the additions and transfers they added, especially on the defensive side. I think it's a Playoff run, that's the type of team they have."

The Trojans are always under the spotlight, but they will be even more so in 2023.

After all, this is the program's final season in the Pac-12 before a move to the Big Ten, where it will play against the likes of Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Wisconsin and others. It is also looking to take the next step after quarterback Caleb Williams' hamstring injury in the Pac-12 title game against Utah last season arguably cost USC a conference crown and CFP spot.

Throw in Williams attempting to join Ohio State's Archie Griffin as the only players in college football history to win the Heisman Trophy twice, and there is no shortage of storylines.

"It's only happened once, but I think if there's anyone who can do it, it's him," Leinart said of Williams' chances at another Heisman.

"I say that because of, one, the system and [head coach] Lincoln [Riley] and everything we know he can do with quarterbacks. Clearly, the resume speaks for itself. But I also think USC is going to be a lot better this year than they were last year, and I like to say they were a pulled hamstring away from probably getting to the Playoff. He's going to have a phenomenal year, and I think the Heisman is there. I know he wants to win another one, and he will go out there and say it."

Williams looked the part of a Heisman contender in Saturday's season-opening 56-28 win over San Jose State with four touchdown passes. The defense left something to be desired and could be a problem in later matchups with Notre Dame, Utah, Washington and Oregon, but the Trojans will be in every game as long as No. 13 is on the field.

It was the first step for a USC team that is attempting to reach the heights the program did when Leinart was under center.

While he was the No. 10 overall pick of the 2006 NFL draft and played for the Arizona Cardinals, Houston Texans and Oakland Raiders, he is best known for his collegiate career that included the 2004 Heisman Trophy, two Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year awards, a BCS national championship and a spot atop the final Associated Press Poll in another season.

Leinart threw for more than 3,000 yards in three different seasons with the Trojans in an era when the game wasn't quite as pass-oriented or up-tempo. It likely isn't difficult for fans to envision him throwing for over 4,500 yards in Riley's system given the quarterback success the head coach has established with the likes of Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray, Jalen Hurts and Williams.

But it apparently is difficult for the man himself to envision it.

"I don't know if I would fit in Lincoln Riley's system," Leinart said while laughing. "I think I would probably be terrible in that system. But it is amazing what he does. He's had a lot of different types of players. You go back to Oklahoma, and he had that run of Baker and Jalen and Kyler, all three very different types of players. All of them can move pretty well, but Kyler's one of one, he's a really unique athlete. Jalen was a very unique player, Baker was different than both of those guys. Caleb is kind of a mix of all of them.

"I think if I played for him, I'm sure he would work to my strengths. But you have to be able to move around in that system, and that was something that I did not do well."

Leinart may not be able to move as well in the pocket or as a runner as Williams does, but he can hold his own while acting beside him.

The pair of USC quarterbacks teamed up to promote Wendy's new fall items, including the loaded nacho cheeseburger and queso fries. The commercial is built around the fanfare Williams receives for transferring to Wendy's, while Leinart is not recognized in an amusing scene even though he is a national champion and Heisman Trophy winner.

"Wendy's has been great," Leinart said. "I've had a long relationship with them through Fox and our show. To be a part of this campaign with Wendy's—and I love Wendy's in general and the people behind Wendy's—it's been awesome. They're the hamburger of college football. It was a lot of fun to work with Caleb. I saw him a lot this summer, and I know he's excited for the season."

While Williams transferring to Wendy's was obviously a joke in the commercial, player and team movement was at the center of the college football world this offseason with the transfer portal and conference realignment.

It was already known that USC and UCLA are headed to the Big Ten and Texas and Oklahoma are headed to the SEC after the 2023 campaign, but now Oregon and Washington will join the Trojans and Bruins in their move. And Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah are going to the Big 12.

All the shuffling around marks the end of the Pac-12 as fans know it and has left Oregon State, Washington State, Stanford and Cal looking for permanent homes.

"There is a purist and traditionalist in me, and it's sad," Leinart said. "It's sad for those traditionalists who grew up in the Pac-10 and were a part of the Pac-10 or even the Pac-12 now. And as far as the other schools and other sports that are going to be affected by realignment. That's a real thing."

Leinart has a unique perspective because he played in the old Pac-10 for a program that is on the move to the Big Ten. But he is also a national college football analyst for Fox and approaches the topic of conference realignment from a big-picture perspective as well.

"I will say that college football is changing," he said. "It's evolving and kids are getting paid now. Traditions are going to end, and new traditions are going to form. Rivalries are going to end, and new rivalries are going to form. It's just the way it's moving, so I have the mindset of, 'if you dwell on the past and you dwell on all of this, you're going to get left behind.'... You have to swim or get left behind, and that's my view as an analyst. You have to move forward.

"I think college football is in a great spot. People get nervous with change, and rightfully so. But I think once the season starts, people are going to be excited that college football is back. And a couple years from now, it's going to become the new norm and we will kind of forget about all this other stuff that's happening."

Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

That excitement that comes with the start of a new college football season also means conversations naturally turn to CFP predictions.

Leinart believes there will be four national powerhouses left standing when the Playoff does roll around in Georgia, USC, Michigan and LSU.

"I'm high on LSU this year," he said. "LSU beats Georgia, but Georgia gets in. That would be right now, I might change that during my show on Big Noon."

As for a team that could challenge that group and sneak into the field?

"Penn State," he said. "James Franklin has done a really good job there. They just haven't been able to get over that hump of Michigan and Ohio State. Something about this year with them. Michigan is absolutely stacked, but they have to go to Penn State. Ohio State is stacked, but there's some question marks there.

"I think for the first time in a long time, Penn State has a quarterback in Drew Allar who people are super excited about what he can bring to the offense. And then those running backs. Even though they're top 10 and not completely out of the radar like TCU last year with their run, don't be surprised if Penn State makes a run at this thing. They can make a run at the Big Ten, upset one or two of those teams and end up in the Playoff."

Perhaps Leinart's Trojans will be waiting for the Nittany Lions if they do reach the Playoff.