The USC Trojans have undeniably had a positive season so far, being ranked as the No. 15 team in the nation with a record of 8-2. However, if they retain only that position in the College Football Playoff (CFP) committee rankings, they will unlikely be making it into the CFP later this year.
However, they have a golden opportunity this Saturday. Today at 3:30 p.m. ET, they play the No. 7 Oregon Ducks. An upset victory over them will likely put them over the No. 10 position, which is likely to be the cutoff point for the committee to pick the teams to participate in the postseason this year.
As a reminder, the top five-ranked conference champions will automatically qualify for the CFP, and the top four-ranked teams will get a bye and advance directly to the quarterfinal round. As things stand, the conference champions should be Indiana, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Miami, and Tulane, and the at-large bids should go to Ohio State, Georgia, Ole Miss, Oregon, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, and Alabama.
As a refresher, here are the latest CFP Top 25 rankings.
- Ohio State: 10-0
- Indiana: 11-0
- Texas A&M: 10-0
- Georgia: 9-1
- Texas Tech: 10-1
- Ole Miss: 10-1
- Oregon: 9-1
- Oklahoma: 8-2
- Notre Dame: 8-2
- Alabama: 8-2
- BYU: 9-1 (first team out)
- Utah: 8-2
- Miami (Fla.): 8-2 (fourth-highest-ranked conference champion)
- Vanderbilt: 8-2
- USC: 8-2
- Georgia Tech: 9-1
- Texas: 7-3
- Michigan: 8-2
- Virginia: 9-2
- Tennessee: 7-3
- Illinois: 7-3
- Missouri: 7-3
- Houston: 8-2
- Tulane: 8-2 (fifth-highest-ranked conference champion)
- Arizona State: 7-3
Is there another way for the USC Trojans to make the CFP?
There’s another way, an even safer path, for USC to make it to the CFP. The Trojans would just have to win the Big 10, which they’re in a position to do. Currently, they sit third in the conference standings, behind Ohio State and above Oregon. If they beat Oregon and Ohio State falls to Michigan in “The Game” next week, USC would make it to the Big Ten championship against Indiana due to having defeated the Wolverines earlier in the season ( record against common opponents and head-to-head are tie breakers for the Big Ten).
However, that would, admittedly, be an extraordinary set of circumstances. Beating Oregon and Indiana, two of the top teams in the nation, would be no small feat.
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