With Thursday’s news that former Pittsburgh wideout Jordan Addison will suit up for the USC Trojans next fall, the folks at ESPN now view USC as one of the four best teams in the country.

On paper. In the offseason. Four months from the start of the season. Whatever. In ESPN’s updated way-too-early Top 25, released Thursday after Addison’s announcement, college football insider Mark Schlabach moved USC up from No. 12 to No. 4.

The previous No. 4 in Schlabach’s rankings: Utah.

Here’s what he had to say about USC:

“Former Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley’s face-lift of USC’s roster includes the addition of 14 players through the transfer portal, highlighted by the addition of Pitt WR Jordan Addison, to a group that included former Sooners starting quarterback Caleb Williams and Oregon star tailback (Travis) Dye. Even before Addison’s arrival, Riley had vastly upgraded the wide receiver corps by bringing in Mario Williams, (Brenden) Rice and (Terrell) Bynum. (Bobby) Haskins, who started 20 games at Virginia, might get plugged in at left tackle. USC’s defense seems to need more work, although former Alabama linebacker (Shane) Lee and ex-Colorado cornerback (Mekhi) Blackmon should help. The Trojans won’t play Oregon or Washington during the regular season, and they’ll hit the road for games with Stanford, Utah and UCLA.”

Here’s what the rest of Schlabach’s top 10 looks like:

  1. Alabama
  2. Ohio State
  3. Georgia
  4. USC
  5. Texas A&M
  6. Utah
  7. Notre Dame
  8. NC State
  9. Michigan State
  10. Michigan

The Utes are the defending Pac-12 champions. They beat USC last season in Los Angeles 42-26. The two meet this season on Oct. 15 in Salt Lake City.