USC escaped Rutgers with its ranking intact, but the Trojans still have plenty to prove before the AP Top 25 settles down.
The No. 12 Trojans needed Jayden Maiava and the offense to steady things in a 42-35 road win over the Scarlet Knights on Saturday.
It was a survival job more than a clean performance, but it still left USC at 4-0 heading into a huge home game against No. 21 Oregon to open Big Ten play.
That result landed in a wild weekend across the country. No.
7 LSU fell to No. 8 Ole Miss, and No.
9 Texas A&M was upset by unranked Kentucky, creating room near the top of the poll. No.
13 Texas Tech had to grind past No. 22 Houston, No. 16 lost to No.
23 Louisville, No. 10 Alabama was pushed at home by Florida State before taking control in the second half, No.
24 Oklahoma almost slipped against New Mexico at home, and West Virginia knocked off No. 25 Virginia.
That kind of chaos makes Sunday’s AP release a moving target. Ole Miss should get a lift from its win, while LSU and Texas A&M are both headed for a drop. USC’s case is the more interesting one: does a shaky road win keep the Trojans in the top 12, or does the combination of losses elsewhere open the door to the top 10?
One prediction has USC jumping to No. 10, with Texas, Georgia and Ohio State holding the first three spots and Notre Dame and Ole Miss also moving ahead in the shuffle. In that projection, Indiana lands at No.
6, Miami at No. 7, Alabama at No. 8 and BYU at No.
- LSU slides to No.
11, Texas Tech to No. 12, and Penn State sits at No. 13.
Another version of the poll keeps the Trojans at No. 12, with Texas, Georgia, Notre Dame, Indiana, Miami, Ohio State, LSU, Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Alabama filling the top 10 ahead of them. That board also shows BYU at No. 11, Texas Tech at No. 13 and SMU, Utah, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Oregon, Houston, Louisville, Oklahoma and Virginia rounding out the final spots.
However the voters sort it out, week 4 is lined up to shake the rankings again. USC’s matchup with Oregon is the headline game in the Big Ten, and it comes with real questions attached.
Rutgers finished 6/11 on third down, 3/4 on fourth down and piled up 460 total yards against the Trojans’ defense. Oregon already has a loss to unranked Oklahoma State and is dealing with questions on both sides of the ball after losing both coordinators.
The Trojans will need their defense to make life difficult for Oregon quarterback Dante Moore, while also finding a way to run the ball and protect Maiava.
Elsewhere in the SEC, Texas A&M and LSU are set to meet in a game that looks a lot different now than it did before Saturday. Both teams are trying to avoid piling on a second loss, and both know what another setback would mean for their postseason hopes.
The week’s other ranked conference games include No. 2 Georgia against Oklahoma and No.
1 Texas against No. 15 Tennessee.
Another key one lands in the Big Ten, where No. 18 Iowa visits No.
19 Michigan as the Wolverines try to stay unbeaten and keep climbing.
In Other News...
Michigan Heads Into Iowa With Two Troubling Lineup Questions
Michigans 52-17 win over UTEP still came with a few uneasy moments, even after the Wolverines settled in and pulled away. The bigger concern for Iowa fans looking ahead is the status of two key starters: running back Jordan Marshall, who left because of an injury tied to a previous game, and right tackle Andrew Sprague, who was unavailable because of an unexpected issue. Both absences left Michigan thin in spots that matter against a tougher opponent.
Coach Kyle Whittingham offered updates on both players after the game and said he is hopeful theyll be back for the trip to Iowa. For a Hawkeyes team that knows how valuable it can be to force a defense to play without its preferred pieces, those two situations are worth tracking closely, especially with the matchup moving closer and the Wolverines still sorting out who will be available up front and in the backfield. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa's Offensive Outburst Turned Into A Breakout Day For Unexpected Hawkeyes
Iowas offense finally gave the crowd at Kinnick Stadium the kind of explosive afternoon it had been waiting to see, and it came in a runaway 55-0 win over UNI on Sept. 19. The Hawkeyes piled up 640 total offensive yards and 422 on the ground, with quarterback Hank Brown providing a steady hand through the air by completing all 12 of his passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns.
The bigger story, though, was the wave of unfamiliar names turning a dominant outing into a true breakout day. Xavier Williams, Nathan McNeil and Braeden Jackson each topped 100 rushing yards, with Williams finding the end zone three times and McNeil and Jackson both scoring the first touchdowns of their careers. For an Iowa team that needed balance and depth to show up, the blowout offered both in a way that should carry real weight beyond one September afternoon. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa Finally Looked Sharp But One Bigger Question Still Looms
After a sluggish start to the season, Iowa finally put together the kind of complete performance it had been looking for, rolling past Northern Iowa 55-0 in Week 3. Hank Brown was efficient from the start, hitting all 12 of his passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns before being rested, while the ground game powered the afternoon with 422 rushing yards on 41 carries and six scores. The Hawkeyes also showed some real balance, getting the ball to 10 different receivers and using the depth chart the way a staff hopes to in a game that got out of hand early.
Kamari Moulton and DJ Vonnahme were both held out late as Iowa shifted its focus to health and the bigger picture ahead of the next game. And while the shutout was a welcome step forward, the more important question still hangs over the offense: whether this version of Iowa can carry over once the competition tightens and the game stops being decided so quickly. [Read more 🡒]