USC Football: Trojans Given 30-1 Odds at National Championship

USC football has 30-1 odds at next season’s national championship, even with the likes of Oregon, Iowa, Michigan State, Houston, Ole Miss, and Florida.

Those odds come courtesy of William Hill US Sports Books, as reported by CBS Sports.

Clemson leads the favorites to win the championship with 6-1 odds, followed by Alabama at 7-1, Oklahoma at 10-1 and Baylor at 12-1.

Stanford’s 15-1 odds are the best in the Pac-12. USC rival Notre Dame shares that probability, as well as Ohio State, Michigan, Florida State and Tennessee.

UCLA checks in with 40-1 odds while Utah was given a mark of 50-1 and Washington 75-1. Washington State and Arizona State are even at 100-1, with Arizona at 150-1 and Cal at an even more unlikely 300-1.

USC’s odds put them as the seventh squad most likely to take home the College Football Playoff trophy next year despite a lackluster finish to the 2015 season and question marks surrounding the new Trojan coaching staff.

More from Reign of Troy

• Markese Stepp enters transfer portal intending to leave USC football
• USC football’s Alijah Vera-Tucker declares for NFL Draft
• USC football adds Xavion Alford as transfer from Texas
• USC Podcast: RoT Radio Ep. 396 on the Football Season’s Fallout
• Talanoa Hufanga named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, USC football with five first-teamers

After firing Steve Sarkisian in October, USC promoted interim head coach Clay Helton to take the job on a permanent basis. Helton then promoted wide receivers coach Tee Martin to offensive coordinator and cleaned house on the defensive side of the ball where Clancy Pendergast will now take control.

The Trojans went 5-4 under Helton in 2015 and face a difficult early slate to the 2016 season. After facing defending champions Alabama at AT&T Stadium in Arlington for the season opener, USC will take on Utah State at home then finish out September with tough road contests against Stanford and Utah.

If USC were to make it out of the first month unscathed, or even with a single loss, their long-shot championship hopes would be bolstered. However, the likelihood of that happening remains slim.