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...
Texas Heads Into SEC Play With One Big Offensive Concern
Texas finished its non-conference slate unbeaten and healthy after a 30-6 win over UTSA, and that alone is a useful place to be heading into SEC play. The Longhorns got the kind of defensive outing they have come to expect, holding the Roadrunners to 143 total yards, while Derrick Cooper Jr. added a fresh wrinkle in the backfield with 44 yards and a touchdown.
The bigger question sits on the other side of the ball, where Arch Mannings day underscored both the upside and the unevenness of the passing game. He threw for 161 yards and two touchdowns, but the rhythm was not always there, leaving Texas with a little bit to clean up before the competition gets much tougher. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Suddenly Has A Major Defensive Concern Before Tennessee
Texas got a jolt of concern on the defensive side when Colin Simmons was spotted on the sideline in street clothes and wearing a walking boot during the UTSA game. Simmons has been a key edge rusher for the Longhorns, so even the sight of him away from the action immediately changed the temperature around a unit that has otherwise tried to build more depth at that spot this season.
Steve Sarkisian did not offer an update on Simmons at halftime, and no official information has been released since, leaving Texas with more questions than answers as Tennessee approaches next week. The Longhorns have worked to add depth at edge rusher, but losing or even limiting a player like Simmons would be a significant development for a defense that needs as many answers as it can get right now. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Win Over UTSA Still Left Fans With One Big Concern
Texas handled UTSA in a 30-6 non-conference win, and there were enough encouraging signs to make the afternoon feel like a step in the right direction. Arch Manning came out sharp enough to set the tone, the running game found some support from Hollywood Smothers, Raleek Brown and Derrek Cooper, and Cam Coleman finished as the top target with two touchdown catches. On the other side of the ball, Texas did what it was supposed to do, holding UTSA to 70 rushing yards and getting an interception from Rasheem Biles.
Still, the result did not erase the biggest question hovering over the Longhorns afterward. Manning's line finished at 164 passing yards with two touchdowns, but the inconsistency showed up often enough that it left fans wanting more than just a comfortable win over an overmatched opponent. For a Texas team with bigger goals ahead, the margin of victory was fine, yet the passing game still has to look a lot steadier before the schedule gets more demanding. [Read more 🡒]