USC’s first College Football Playoff ranking didn’t match the noise the Trojans just made on the field.
Fresh off a 30-18 win over No. 12 Ohio State on Saturday night at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, USC landed at No. 20 in the initial CFP Top 25. The Trojans are 7-2 overall and 4-2 in Big Ten play, and with three regular-season games left, their route to the bracket is now laid out in plain view.
That path runs through No. 4 Indiana on Nov.
14, Maryland on Nov. 21, and No. 8 UCLA on Nov.
- If USC wants to make the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history, those final three games will decide it.
There’s also a strong case that the Trojans should have landed higher. In the AP Top 25, USC sits two spots ahead of its CFP placement at No.
- After taking down Ohio State in one of the biggest wins of Lincoln Riley’s tenure, the No. 20 slot feels light.
The committee may have leaned on that 24-7 loss at Wisconsin, especially since the Badgers were just handled by No. 19 Iowa. That defeat likely kept USC from cracking the teens.
Even so, the Trojans are still very much in the hunt. They’re the fifth-highest-ranked Big Ten team behind Indiana, UCLA, Ohio State, and Iowa, and they control their own fate. If USC beats the Hoosiers and Bruins, it should lock up a trip to the Big Ten championship at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Dec. 5 and do enough to earn a place in the 12-team field.
The timing of the bye week helps, too. USC gets an extra week to get ready for a road trip to Bloomington, where Indiana has shown some cracks lately with narrow wins over Michigan and Minnesota.
That matchup is set for Nov. 14 at 12:30 p.m. PT on CBS.
It will be the first meeting between USC and Indiana since the Trojans joined the Big Ten in 2024. USC has never lost to the Hoosiers, going 4-0 all-time, with the last game between the teams coming at the Coliseum in 1982.
In Other News...
Lincoln Rileys Postgame Reaction Added Another Twist For Ohio State Fans
USCs upset of then-No. 2 Ohio State was already one of the most striking results of the weekend, but Lincoln Rileys postgame press conference added another layer to the conversation. After the win, the Trojans coach read a handwritten statement addressing the noise around his job security and making clear where he stands with the program, turning a big on-field victory into a broader moment about pressure, perception and the scrutiny that follows a high-profile coach.
For Ohio State fans, the reaction around Rileys remarks became part of the story almost as quickly as the upset itself. The timing of the prepared statement, delivered after USC had just taken down a heavyweight opponent, prompted plenty of discussion across sports media and left the impression that the nights biggest twist might not have come on the field at all. [Read more 🡒]
USC Fans Have A New Reason To Watch Oregon Closely
The first College Football Playoff Top 25 rankings gave USC fans an unexpected reason to keep an eye on Oregon, with the Ducks landing at No. 23 despite already having three losses. For a Trojans fan base that knows how much the Big Ten race can shape the bigger picture, Oregons place in the poll is a reminder that the conference still has plenty of moving parts, and that the Ducks are not fully out of the conversation yet.
Rece Davis pointed out that Oregon still has a slim but possible route to the Big Ten Championship and a playoff berth, but it would take a clean finish and help elsewhere. For USC, that means Oregons remaining schedule now carries added weight, because every Ducks result could ripple into the standings and the postseason picture the Trojans are watching so closely. [Read more 🡒]
USC Just Got Its First CFP Reality Check
The College Football Playoff committees first rankings of the 2026 season arrived with a reminder that nothing is settled in November, even for teams with playoff ambitions. Miami landed at No. 1 in the initial 12-team field, which also features first-round byes for the top four seeds and campus-site games to open the bracket, setting the early tone for how the race could unfold from here.
For USC, the bigger takeaway is the reality check that comes with seeing the first snapshot of the committees thinking. The rankings will keep coming each week through the regular season, and the final version will decide the bracket, so the Trojans now have a clear benchmark as they try to climb into the conversation and avoid leaving their fate in anyone elses hands. [Read more 🡒]