The No. 19 USC Trojans get a week 7 breather, but that doesn’t mean Trojans fans will be short on meaningful football to watch. With Lincoln Riley and his team on the sideline, there are still a handful of Saturday games that could shape USC’s path the rest of the way.
The clearest must-watch matchup is No. 4 Ohio State against No.
5 Indiana. It brings together the highest-ranked teams on the week 7 slate, and it also features USC’s two highest-ranked remaining opponents.
The Trojans will host Ohio State on Oct. 31, then head to Indiana on Nov. 14.
If USC is going to strengthen its College Football Playoff case, an upset over either team would help a lot, so this game should tell Trojans fans plenty. Indiana has survived some tight moments against Northwestern and Nebraska, while Ohio State has mostly looked dominant despite its loss to Texas in week 2.
The big question: does one of these teams leave the matchup looking a little more vulnerable?
USC fans should also keep an eye on Wisconsin vs. No.
12 UCLA. Like Ohio State-Indiana, this one involves two upcoming Trojans opponents.
It could even turn into the kind of game that matters for USC’s own schedule, especially if the Trojans are tempted to look ahead to Ohio State. Wisconsin will be worth evaluating for that reason alone.
UCLA, meanwhile, is dealing with a major change after losing starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava to a season-ending injury in the Bruins’ upset win over the Oregon Ducks. How the Bruins handle that adjustment against the Badgers is something USC fans can learn from on Saturday.
There’s also a notable top-10 showdown between No. 8 BYU and No.
2 Notre Dame. With USC and Notre Dame no longer continuing their rivalry after failing to reach a scheduling agreement, the Fighting Irish filled that open spot by adding BYU.
This will be the first game in a home-and-home series between the two programs, and it will send the Cougars to South Bend in 2027. Both teams are undefeated and ranked in the top 10, which helps give the matchup some of the juice that disappeared when Notre Dame’s series with USC was paused.
Finally, Oregon vs. Nebraska could draw plenty of attention from USC fans for a different reason.
The Ducks are the Trojans’ only loss on the schedule, so their standing matters to USC’s resume. If Oregon beats Nebraska, it could eventually help USC by giving that defeat more weight as a “quality loss” if the Ducks climb back into the AP Top 25 Poll.
That’s not exactly an easy rooting interest, especially with Oregon coach Dan Lanning on the other sideline, but it gives Trojans fans a strange kind of hedge. If the Ducks win, USC gets a slight boost.
If they lose, West Coast rival or not, plenty of Trojans fans probably won’t mind at all.
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USCs road to the College Football Playoff may not look so steep in a few years. Reports indicate the postseason bracket is expected to grow from 12 teams to 24 as early as 2027, a shift that would change the calculus for programs trying to stay in the national picture. For the Trojans, the most immediate takeaway is simple: the margin for error could widen, and a season that once felt like it needed to be nearly flawless might still keep them in the conversation.
Under the proposed setup, the Big Ten champion would be guaranteed a top-eight seed and a first-round bye, another sign of how much weight the league is expected to carry in the expanded format. USC would still have to do its part, but the path to inclusion could become much more realistic, with an 8-4 record or better potentially enough to get in. Beyond the Trojans, the change would ripple through the Big Ten and SEC hierarchy, reshaping how teams are judged in a playoff era that may soon look very different. [Read more 🡒]
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Christian Pierce helped provide that late edge, and it came in a game that carried more weight than just one result. Riley pointed to the value of winning in tough road environments and the way the Trojans have continued to progress, and with bye weeks ahead, USC now has a chance to turn one of its best wins into something bigger. [Read more 🡒]
USC Found Something Huge Up Front In Its Toughest Road Test
Freshman offensive lineman Vlad Dyakonov got his first career start in USCs road game at Penn State, a difficult spot for any lineman and an especially demanding one for a newcomer. With Elijah Page sidelined by injury, Dyakonov was thrust into the lineup and held up well as the Trojans front kept the pocket relatively clean and helped the offense move the ball on the ground and through the air.
For a unit that needed stability more than flash, Dyakonov delivered a steady answer in one of the toughest environments on the schedule. Afterward, Jahkeem Stewart and Lincoln Riley both singled out the freshman for his composure and the way he handled the moment, a sign USC may have found an unexpected piece up front when it needed one most. [Read more 🡒]