Greg McElroy is back with another episode of his “Always College Football Podcast,” tackling a number of topics out of SEC Media Days.

During the mailbox portion of the episode, McElroy touched on USC with a question from a listener in California. That question asked what kind of impact a national title for the Trojans would have on the power balance of college football.

McElroy noted it would be especially significant because of the impact it would have on the respective legacies of Lincoln Riley and Caleb Williams:

“It would be significant,” said McElroy about a USC title. “Because it adds for Lincoln Riley ultimately getting over the College Football Playoff hump, getting the job done. Caleb Williams, if they go 15-0, guess what he’s going to have a second Heisman Trophy which would make him at worst the second-best player ever when it comes to Heisman Trophies.”

In terms of the national landscape, McElroy made the case that a win for the Trojans this season would actually be a big win for the Big Ten. While the latest string of national titles has been centered in the southeast, USC’s arrival in the Big Ten with a national title in hand would put the conference back in the spotlight.

“It would be as big of a national championship as there’s been in quite some time, and partly because the Big Ten will be welcoming in a new member. We haven’t had a west coast champion in a really long time, 2 decades… ultimately knocking down the door and getting the job done would be massive,” explained McElroy. “Plus for the Big Ten, right now the national championship focus in the last 8 years has been Bama, Georgia, LSU, Clemson and then you did have Florida State in ’13. The one outlier as of right now has been Ohio State in 2014. So to add another national champion to the Big Ten in 2024 would go a really long way.”

Here’s the segment from McElroy, USC conversation begins around the 28-minute mark: