Los Angeles suddenly has two teams with something real to play for in November.
UCLA kept rolling Sunday, moving up two places to No. 5 in the AP Top 25 after improving to 8-0. USC also got a boost, reentering the rankings at No. 18 after climbing back to 7-2. Between the poll bump and a wild Week 9 that saw Ohio State lose to USC, both programs saw their national title outlook improve.
The betting market noticed, too. At BetOnline Sports & Casino, USC made the biggest leap of any team in national championship odds, jumping from 150/1 to 50/1. UCLA’s number also tightened, moving from 75/1 to 55/1.
USC’s path is the more demanding one. The Trojans still have Indiana, Maryland and UCLA left, and that stretch gives them a chance to stack quality wins against No.
6 Indiana and No. 5 UCLA.
With two losses already, USC probably needs to run the table to give itself the best shot at an at-large playoff berth. Beating Indiana and UCLA would mean two wins over top-six teams and could change the entire playoff conversation around the Trojans.
UCLA, meanwhile, keeps turning heads. The Bruins are one of three undefeated teams in the top five, alongside No.
1 Miami and No. 3 Utah, and their move from No. 7 to No. 5 has them squarely in the national championship discussion.
The AP voters are buying in, even if the sportsbooks are still more cautious.
That disconnect showed up clearly in BetOnline’s numbers. Despite sitting fifth in the poll, UCLA has at least 10 teams ahead of it in title odds, including USC. That gap reflects how the market is weighing the road through the expanded playoff, not just where a team sits in the rankings right now.
A UCLA-USC matchup with playoff stakes attached would only sharpen the final month. A win would strengthen one team’s case and hurt the other’s chances of reaching the 12-team field.
The biggest jolt in the rankings came from Ohio State’s fall. The Buckeyes dropped from No. 2 to No. 11 after the loss to USC, and their title outlook shifted along with it. Quarterback Julian Sayin is out for the season, adding another hit to Ohio State’s hopes.
There was movement in the Heisman race, too. Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, who had 10 catches for 83 yards against USC, lost his spot as the betting favorite. Darian Mensah moved to the top of BetOnline’s latest Heisman board, while Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr climbed from 18/1 to 12/1.
At the top of the AP poll, Miami held on to No. 1 after improving to 8-0 and collecting 62 first-place votes. Georgia rose to No. 2 with seven first-place votes, Utah jumped to No. 3 with the remaining first-place vote, and Notre Dame moved up to No.
- UCLA followed at No. 5, then Indiana, BYU, Kentucky, Alabama and Texas.
USC was one of four new teams in the Top 25, joining Iowa, New Mexico and South Carolina.
The betting market paints a slightly different picture than the poll. Georgia is the championship favorite at 7/2 (+350), followed by Notre Dame at 19/4 (+475), Miami at 6/1, and LSU and Ohio State tied at 9/1. Alabama sits at 19/2 (+950), Indiana at 10/1, Texas at 12/1 and Ole Miss at 16/1.
Utah, despite being undefeated and sitting third in the AP poll, is listed at 38/1, another sign of how much the betting market values the path through the playoff.
Some programs moved off the board altogether. Oklahoma, which had been listed at 25/1, disappeared, and Auburn, Arizona, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Oregon and Wisconsin were also removed. SMU’s odds also lengthened sharply.
For UCLA and USC, though, the picture is simple: November is lined up to matter. UCLA can keep protecting its unbeaten record and deepen its case as one of the country’s best teams.
USC can keep climbing with ranked wins. With the expanded playoff in place, both Los Angeles programs have a route to the title even without a perfect regular season.
In Other News...
UCLAs Defense Is Changing What November Could Mean For The Bruins
Through the first eight games, UCLAs defense has started to look like the kind of unit that can change the tone of a season. Under Bob Chesney, the Bruins have been sturdier, faster and far more disruptive, and the recent win over Nevada was another reminder of how much the group has progressed. Sahir West, Aiden Gobaira and Trent Hendrick were among the players who helped set the edge and control the game, giving UCLA a defensive foundation it has lacked at times this fall.
The bigger question now is whether that improvement can travel into the tougher stretch ahead. Chesney has already pointed to the need for more growth, which is what makes the next few weeks so important for a team trying to turn a strong defensive trend into something more lasting. If the Bruins keep forcing opponents into uncomfortable, low-efficiency football, November could look a lot different than it did a month ago. [Read more 🡒]
UCLA Gets An Early Reality Check Against A Familiar Rival
UCLA is getting an immediate measuring stick against a familiar Pac-12 rival, with Arizona set to meet the Bruins in a neutral-site basketball game at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It is the kind of early-season matchup that can tell a lot about where a team stands before the schedule settles in, and this one carries extra weight because both programs arrive with national expectations attached.
Arizona comes in ranked No. 5 in the preseason AP poll, while UCLA opens at No. 22, giving the game a clear spotlight even before the ball is tipped. As part of the Hall of Fame Series opening-night slate, the matchup offers both teams a chance to make an early statement, and for UCLA it is a chance to see how far along it really is against one of the sports most established powers. [Read more 🡒]
UCLA Just Sent A Strong Message Before Minnesota
UCLA spent Saturday looking every bit like a team that wanted to make a point before turning its attention to Minnesota. The Bruins controlled the game from the start, building a 27-0 lead and never letting Nevada find any rhythm on offense, while the defense kept the Wolf Pack bottled up for the entire afternoon.
The tone was set early when Nevada quarterback Luke Duncan struggled and was eventually replaced, and UCLAs defense kept the pressure on from there. By the end, the Bruins had smothered Nevadas passing and running game while producing a takeaway-heavy performance that should travel well into a tougher test ahead. [Read more 🡒]