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Welcome back to the Times of Troy newsletter, where summer break is over, USC’s preseason camp is underway and we are officially back in your inbox with news, notes and analysis on the Trojans every Monday morning from now through football season and beyond. I hope you had a lovely, peaceful summer. Because this fall, the stakes will have never been higher for Lincoln Riley, who’s entering his fifth and most consequential season yet as USC’s football coach, one that could decide the direction of the Trojan football program for years to come.

We’ve got a lot planned for the Times of Troy this season, including a very exciting announcement to come later this month. But over the next four weeks, before USC kicks off the 2026 season, we’ll take a close look at the team and season ahead.

This week, we start with the Trojans’ offense, which, in four years with Riley as coach, has consistently remained among the best in the sport. Say what you will about Riley as a play-caller or an overall CEO type, but only one team in college football ranks better in average opponent-adjusted efficiency (FEI) on offense over the course of Riley’s tenure (sorry, it’s Oregon). And only once, in four seasons with Riley, has USC fallen out of the top seven nationally in that efficiency rate.

USC finished third in the nation in offensive FEI last season. And there’s a legitimate case to be made that the offense should be even better in 2026. Two cases, really.

The first path is probably obvious and will no doubt be the source of every preseason TV segment about USC. The road to success for Riley has always run through the quarterback. And Jayden Maiava has all the tools necessary to be that guy. He took a huge step forward last offseason, and if he continues that trajectory, he should be one of the best quarterbacks in the country this season.

But Maiava has also been surrounded by seasoned receivers the last two seasons, including one who just got picked in the first round of the NFL draft. His top returning receiver, Tanook Hines, is sitting out with an injury to start camp, while the rest of the pass-catcher two-deep is made up of either freshmen or transfers. We don’t know how long Hines will have to sit out, but any amount of time isn’t ideal. It’ll be on Maiava to build chemistry in the room and make it all work on the fly.

I suspect he’ll do just fine in that regard. But if USC is really going to reach its offensive potential this season, I believe it’ll be the run game that gets them there.

Riley earned his reputation as a passing savant at Oklahoma for good reason. He had two Heisman Trophy-winning passers and one runner-up in his first three seasons with the Sooners, and all three are now starting NFL quarterbacks. There’s no college coach with a resume even close to comparable when it comes to passing. But what’s often lost about those Riley teams is that Oklahoma also had a stellar rushing attack, one that had to be accounted for at all times, and, in turn, made the passing attack all the more explosive.

USC’s run game hasn’t been bad since Riley took over, not by any stretch. In fact, in terms of expected points added per rush play, the Trojans have ranked among the 15 most efficient run games in college football in each of Riley’s four seasons. They just haven’t run the ball nearly as much as that efficiency suggests they would.

This season would be a great time to shift that ratio. Because this is the best backfield Riley has had at USC.

Before he got hurt last season, Waymond Jordan was on his way to being seen as one of the best backs in the Big Ten, if not the country. He averaged 6.55 yards per carry, which ranked 15th among qualifying running backs in the country, but better yet, he picked up more yards on average after contact (5.15) than all but one other running back in the nation.

Assuming he’s fully healed from his ankle injury last October, Jordan should immediately remind everyone that he’s bound for stardom. And his backfield mate may not be that far behind.

King Miller scores on a 41-yard run against UCLA last season.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

King Miller didn’t get regular carries until Week 6 last season, after Jordan went down. But he ended up busting 26 rushes of 10 yards or more anyway. That’s once every six carries. That’s bonkers, even before you consider that Miller is formerly a walk-on.

The pairing of those two backs, plus the threat of Maiava’s legs, gives USC a varied backfield capable of breaking a big play at any moment. Better yet, in the Big Ten, it gives Riley and his offense the ability to extend drives and wear down opposing defenses. That’s too often been missing from USC’s offense since coming to the Big Ten.

But there’s no excuse not to lean more on the run this season. Throw in the fact that USC is deeper and more talented on the offensive line than at any other point in Riley’s tenure, and it’s not hard to envision a Trojan offense dynamic enough to dominate teams on the ground and through the air.

Offense has never been a problem for Riley at USC. But we also haven’t seen Riley’s offense at the full extent of its powers just yet. And if USC is going to make the Playoff for the first time under Riley, that’s going to have to change this season.

Preseason MVP pick (non-QB): Waymond Jordan … Back from injury, I’m betting Jordan is better than ever.

Breakout pick: Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, freshman wide receiver … Take your pick of top prospects at the receiver position, but I think Dixon-Wyatt could be the big-play threat USC needs alongside Hines.

Biggest question mark: Wide receiver/tight end … So much talent, but so little of it is proven. Don’t be surprised if someone you’re not expecting breaks out at the position.

Bold prediction: Freshman tight end Mark Bowman leads the team in touchdown catches.

—USC‘s top projected cornerbacks are both cleared ahead of camp. We didn’t see Jontez Williams all spring, and we haven’t really seen Chasen Johnson at all since he was injured almost a year ago. So it’s easy to forget how touted both cornerbacks were coming out of the transfer portal. I’m particularly high on Williams, who was clearly the team’s top target in the portal this offseason. I expect both will start on the outside, unless Marcelles Williams makes a serious push to play there in camp.

—Riley is strongly in favor of the 24-team College Football Playoff. That’s been the official Big Ten Conference stance for months, so it’s no surprise to hear Riley echo those feelings. “This is something that’s not going to diminish the game in any way,” Riley said. “Having more teams in a tournament to determine a champion is not going to make it worse.” Of course, Riley’s concern isn’t the overall health of the game, but rather the fact that more playoff spots mean more chances for him to check that box. I don’t blame any coach for feeling that way. But there’s a reason why they shouldn’t be in charge of these decisions.

—Some weight fluctuations … The biggest change since spring belonged to offensive tackle Elijah Vaikona, who lost 25 pounds to open the fall at 360, while two players, tight end Walter Matthews (now 305) and defensive back Carrington Pierce (now 185) each added 20 pounds to their frames. A couple other notable changes: Veteran defensive lineman Jide Abasiri is down to 280 and could play more on the outside this season, while young edge rusher Jadyn Ramos bulked up to 250, after joining USC at (generously) 220 pounds last spring. Freshman five-star tight end Mark Bowman is also up to 245, which should help keep him on the field.

—Grant Govel spurned the Pittsburgh Pirates to return as USC’s ace. The Trojans were one of the big winners of the MLB draft deadline, as their No. 2 starter will now return to take over the top of the rotation. Govel had a 2.87 ERA and an opponent batting average of .203, which made him one of the better pitchers in the Big Ten. But Mason Edwards’ amazing year overshadowed, in some regard, the success Govel was having. That won’t be the case in 2026-27.

—Bloom Football Performance Center is having its grand opening this week. The football team already moved in a couple weeks ago, but the new state-of-the-art facility will get its close-up later this week. The media will be doing a tour Thursday, so be sure to follow along on social media for photos and videos from inside the facility.

The Best Thing I Watched This Summer

Anne Hathaway and Tom Holland in “The Odyssey.”

(Melinda Sue Gordon / Universal Pictures)

It’s not exactly an original take to sing the praises of a movie that’s become a global phenomenon. But “The Odyssey,” more than any blockbuster in recent memory, is worthy of piling on. I caught the film in its intended 70mm IMAX format, and I can confidently say it was the most amazing cinematic experience I’ve ever had.

The sheer scale of the movie is something to behold, even before you consider just how difficult it is to adapt an ancient epic poem into an interesting movie script. And on both counts, Christopher Nolan does not disappoint. The performances are outstanding, the score is beautiful, and the themes that Nolan pulls from the poem somehow manage to give a fresh take on a 3,000-year-old story.

I look forward to watching it again, as soon as I can, in IMAX 70mm. Though, judging by the current ticket situation, that might have to be at 3 a.m. on a Tuesday.

In case you missed it

New facility, new receivers give Lincoln Riley new hope as USC opens fall camp

Lincoln Riley says Trojans are ‘well-equipped’ to win consistently

Big Ten commissioner pushes back on talk of breaking away from NCAA with SEC

Long frustrated donor Brian Kennedy sues USC over practice field naming rights

‘Athlete of the century’ LeBron James pays tribute to USC staff members who saved Bronny three years ago

USC and Nike agree to extend apparel deal for 10 years

Until next time …

That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at ryan.kartje@latimes.com, and follow me on X at @Ryan_Kartje. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

The US-Iran memorandum of understanding expected to be formally signed in Switzerland on Friday could allow for the establishment of a $300bn investment fund for Iran, as part of a broader settlement to end the war that triggered a global energy crisis and upended markets worldwide.

US Vice President JD Vance told CBS News on Monday that the incentives would be connected to Iran’s “performance” in adhering to the deal, which was digitally signed by both sides on Sunday.

The scale of the financial incentives grabbed the headlines due to US President Donald Trump’s longstanding criticism of a 2015 nuclear accord that he claimed delivered economic benefits to Tehran.

In a bid to manage perceptions around this politically sensitive issue, Trump took to his Truth Social platform to claim that “the story that the US is paying Iran 300 million Dollars is Fake News,” while Vance told CBS News that the money would not be a US payout in exchange for Iran’s enriched uranium.

“When people say that billions of dollars of assets will be released, that’s not true,” the vice president told the CBS Morning programme. “What is true is that Iran will have a much better and much more prosperous future if they meet the obligations they make in this agreement.”

What do we know about the $300bn investment fund?

Vance said the deal “fundamentally extends a hand to Iran and says, ‘Look, if you guys are willing to honour your obligations, if you’re willing to allow real inspections of your nuclear programme, then we will welcome you back into the world economy.’

“That’s the sort of thing they could have access to, funded by the Gulf Coast coalition, so long as they honour their end of the obligation,” Vance told CBS. He also claimed that while US money would not be injected, economic opportunities could arise once Iran repositions itself in the global economy.

The New York Times quoted sources saying the fund would not come from governments but be created for companies eager to invest in Iran.

Muhanad Seloom, a non-resident senior fellow at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs, said the setup was a no-lose solution for Washington. “If Iran reforms, the administration owns the peace; if it doesn’t, the US loses nothing and the Gulf carries the risk,” he told Al Jazeera.

What about the Iranian frozen assets?

Seloom said the idea of an investment fund was built precisely to escape the optics of releasing Iran’s frozen funds. While the exact amount of Iran’s frozen assets is unclear, official Iranian reports and experts have set the total amount at more than $100bn.

Iran’s economy has been crippled due to years of sanctions imposed on the country by the United States and other nations following the Islamic revolution in 1979, and then amplified over Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missiles programmes. These measures have restricted Tehran’s ability to access its own assets, such as revenues from oil sales, which have been frozen in foreign banks.

Tehran was granted sanctions relief in the wake of the landmark 2015 nuclear deal signed under President Barack Obama, but Trump tore it up in 2018 during his first term. The 2015 deal had put limits on Iran’s nuclear enrichment in exchange for sanctions relief.

Iran’s state-affiliated Mehr News agency reported on Sunday that the 14-point draft memorandum of understanding provided for the release of $24bn in frozen Iranian assets.

Pressed by CBS News on the possibility of releasing frozen funds, Vance said the $24bn figure “just doesn’t appear anywhere in any of the texts that we’ve talked about with the Iranians”.

“What we have said is that we’re willing to talk about unfreezing assets, but a much, much bigger deal is unsanctioning their economy – so long as they make the long-term commitments on the nuclear programme,” the vice president added.

For Iran, where the war inflicted an estimated $29bn damage and the population is struggling with the highest inflation rate since 1942, the investment fund may constitute a much-needed lifeline.

But the optics will not be as favourable, raising a “dignity problem”, Seloom said. “Tehran reads this as supervised, conditional money rather than sovereign relief,” the analyst told Al Jazeera.

Which other contentious issues will be discussed after signing the deal on Friday?

One of the US’s main declared objectives has been to assuage concerns surrounding Iran’s nuclear programme, including a stockpile of more than 440kg (970lbs) of enriched uranium.

The memorandum extends an existing ceasefire arrangement for another 60 days, during which the two sides are expected to hold further negotiations on issues including the disposal of the enriched uranium.

Vance said Tehran had agreed to surrender its stockpile, undergo regular inspections and refrain from producing or buying nuclear weapons, but the full text of the memorandum of understanding has yet to be disclosed.

The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which has been subject to competing blockades by the US and Iran, has also been a point of contention. Trump suggested an agreement to reopen the waterway had been reached when he announced a deal on Sunday with the words: “Let the oil flow!”

Speaking to CNBC, however, Vance acknowledged that not all sticking points surrounding the passageway had been resolved. “Well, our expectation is that the strait is gonna be opened in a toll-free way for the long term, and that’s the sort of thing that we’re gonna figure out in these technical negotiations,” he said.

Israel’s ongoing aggression on Lebanon is also expected to create friction, as Iran has insisted any ceasefire deal must include the allied nation. Israel has so far rejected any arrangement that would limit its ability to strike what it says are Hezbollah targets. Defence Minister Israel Katz on Friday said the military would continue operating in Lebanon regardless of any agreement with Tehran.

Mixed reactions to the agreement

Iranian ⁠⁠Foreign ⁠⁠Minister Abbas Araghchi said the memorandum of understanding would reap economic benefits for Iran but stressed that Tehran would not rely on those benefits for all of its needs.

“We have a history of broken promises, non-compliance, and the tearing up of agreements,” Araghchi said on Monday, according to Press TV. He said discussions about the lifting of US sanctions and Iran’s nuclear programme would be held during a 60-day period of negotiations following the official signature on Friday.

Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has yet to comment. Some Iranian observers objected to the timing of the announcement, which coincided with Trump’s birthday. Referring to the assassination of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the beginning of the US-Iran war, conservative journalist Parisa Nasr wrote on X: “Was giving a birthday gift to the killer of the martyred Leader also one of the unwritten conditions of the deal?”

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran’s Supreme National Security Council had approved the deal so that “America’s genuine commitment to respecting the rights of the Iranian nation could be tested in practice.”

Speaking at the G7 summit in France on Tuesday, Trump described the deal with Iran as “fair”, “good”, and under which Iran “can’t have a nuclear weapon” or “they get blown up.”

Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who is also attending the summit, said the Iran-US agreement will result in positive outcomes for the region.

“This is a very important deal, there’s still a lot of work to be done, but with this momentum – if we continue like that, Mr President – I think we can achieve and do great things in the region,” Sheikh Tamim said.

US Democratic lawmakers welcomed a deal to halt the war with Iran but stressed that its terms must be made public. Senator Gregory Meeks said “any final agreement must be durable, enforceable, transparent” and more than “vague announcements or political spin”.

US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham on Sunday said he was “pleased” about the deal but also “somewhat concerned that Iran’s view of the agreement seems different than what the American negotiating team is claiming”.

Seloom, at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs, said the different narratives underlined that the two sides were “not really talking to each other”. “They’re talking past each other, to domestic audiences,” he said. “Each side has to sell this as a victory it cannot sell honestly.”

The United Arab Emirates has agreed to unlock billions of dollars for Iran, pursuing a tactical shift after weeks of Iranian attacks on the wealthy Gulf Arab state amid its ongoing war with the United States and Israel, four sources told the Reuters news agency.

The report on the move coincided with the final stages of broader negotiations between Tehran and Washington to end the war. Diplomats say those talks involve the release of tens of billions of dollars in Iranian oil revenues frozen in foreign banks under US sanctions.

Two regional sources told Reuters that the UAE had agreed to release a total of $10bn, more than $3bn of which had already been delivered.

Two other sources with knowledge of the ⁠arrangement put the total funds involved at $20bn, adding that the move had been agreed in return for a halt to Iranian attacks on the UAE.

One of the sources with knowledge of the arrangement also said a first tranche of $3bn had already been made available.

Reuters could not establish whether the funds earmarked for the transfers belong to the UAE or originate in long-blocked Iranian accounts in the UAE banking system, or elsewhere.

But a UAE official, asked to comment on the transfer, said the country was trying to ease tension and foster peace.

“The UAE’s foreign policy is guided by promoting de-escalation and reducing tensions across ‌the region, while advancing lasting peace and stability,” the official said.

“The UAE supports efforts, including those undertaken by the United States, to protect the peoples of the region from the repercussions of conflict.”

The White House did not immediately respond to Reuters’s request for comment on the move.

‘Red line’ workaround

Earlier on Friday, Vice President JD Vance said that frozen funds would not immediately be released to Iran upon signing a deal with the US.

He said the potential deal is structured to ensure that economic benefits would flow to Tehran if it meets its obligations.

There was no immediate response from Iranian authorities to a Reuters request for comment on the move.

None of the sources cited by Reuters would agree to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.

The arrangement signals a striking pivot from the open animosity of UAE-Iran relations through much of the war, when Iranian attacks emptied Dubai’s hotels, ⁠drove some expatriates to flee and shook the reputation for safety that is central to the country’s position as a premier business hub.

One of the ⁠sources with knowledge of the arrangement said the move offered a way to help solve the conflict between the US and Iran without either side crossing its red line. Iran can claim it extracted compensation for war damages. Washington can insist it paid nothing.

Abu Dhabi, meanwhile, obtains its own security and protects Dubai’s hub status, while framing the move as an investment in rebuilding regional trust.

The other source with knowledge of the arrangement said that in return for the disbursement, Iran ⁠would halt missile and drone attacks on the UAE, and there would be a rebuilding of bilateral ties, including intelligence sharing and economic cooperation.

The source added that Iran had approached at least two other Gulf Arab countries to make a similar arrangement.

The last known direct attack by Iran on ⁠the UAE was more than a month ago – a May 4 strike on the Gulf state’s Fujairah port on the Gulf ⁠of Oman.

The first source with knowledge of the arrangement said talks had started several weeks ago but quickened pace when officials of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard visited Abu Dhabi last week to meet Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed al Nahyan, the UAE’s national security adviser and deputy ruler of Abu Dhabi, and stayed at his guest house.

That trip was followed by a visit by UAE officials to Tehran to negotiate the details of the mechanism.

Frozen funds

Dubai’s banks have long held substantial Iranian-linked deposits, much of them now immobilised under US sanctions that police the global dollar-clearing system and expose any foreign bank dealing with blacklisted Iranian entities to being cut off from the US financial network.

On April 11, a senior Iranian source told Reuters that the ‌US had agreed to release Iranian frozen assets held in Qatar and other foreign banks, although a US official swiftly denied the assertion.

The source, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, said that unfreezing the assets was “directly linked to ensuring safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz”, a key issue in talks aimed at ending the conflict.