5 Schools That Signed Better 2020 College Football Recruiting Classes Than USC

Clay Helton signed a five-year contract extension in 2018 designed to keep him at USC through 2023, but it didn't take long for his future with the Trojans to hit the rocks last season.

After what at one point seemed to be an inevitable change at the head coaching position last season, Helton was surprisingly endorsed for another season in December 2019 by USC's newly-hired athletic director, Mike Bohn.

However, a 2020 recruiting class failure of historic proportions for USC certainly didn't earn him any more points with the Trojan faithful, especially for program with an inherent advantage from being proudly located in heart of one of the country's most abundant hotbeds of recruiting talent.

USC Recruiting Class Ranking 2020

Following the conclusion of Wednesday's (Feb. 8) 2020 National Signing Day, USC's 2020 recruiting class finished ranked 55th in the country – its worst class in program history by more than 30 spots since 247Sports.com began formally recording class rankings in 2000.

Prior to this week's stunning No. 55 final result, USC had never welcomed a recruiting class ranked lower than No. 20 (2001), as a program that has recruited top-10 classes or better in 16 of the past 20 years. This is the same USC program that averaged a No. 6.5 recruiting class over the 20 seasons prior to this year's class.

USC Recruiting Class Rank by Year

All 2020 college football recruiting class rankings are according to 247Sports.com.

2020: (No. 55)
2019: (No. 19)
2018: (No. 4)
2017: (No. 4)
2016: (No. 10)
2015: (No. 2)
2014: (No. 10)
2013: (No. 13)
2012: (No. 8)
2011: (No. 3)
2010: (No. 3)
2009: (No. 2)
2008: (No. 4)
2007: (No. 2)
2006: (No. 1)
2005: (No. 1)
2004: (No. 2)
2003: (No. 2)
2002: (No. 8)
2001: (No. 20)
2000: (No. 12)

With that being said, here's a look at five college football programs that shockingly hauled in better recruiting classes than USC this year.

All College Football Playoff odds, futures and betting lines are according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

5. Cincinnati Bearcats

Cincinnati Recruiting Class Rank: (No. 40)
2019 Season Record: (11-3)
Odds to Win 2021 CFP: (+30000)

4. Arkansas Razorbacks

Arkansas Recruiting Class Rank: (No. 30)
2019 Season Record: (2-10)
Odds to Win 2021 CFP: (+50000)

3. Northwestern Wildcats

Northwestern Recruiting Class Rank: (No. 47)
2019 Season Record: (3-9)
Odds to Win 2021 CFP: (+30000)

2. Vanderbilt Commodores

Vanderbilt Recruiting Class Rank: (No. 54)
2019 Season Record: (3-9)
Odds to Win 2021 CFP: (+50000)

1. Oregon State Beavers

Oregon State Recruiting Class Rank: (No. 52)
2019 Season Record: (5-7)
Odds to Win 2021 CFP: (+30000)

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David Hayes is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, David Hayes also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username DavidWHayes. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.