Dan Lanning and Oregon have landed in a wild spot: after knocking off Ohio State, the Ducks still have a path back into the College Football Playoff picture, but it runs straight through Lincoln Riley and USC.
That’s the twist. Oregon’s season now hinges on USC beating Indiana this Saturday in Bloomington.
If the Trojans pull it off, the Ducks stay alive in the Big Ten title race. If Indiana holds serve, Oregon’s road gets much, much harder.
The setup is messy because the Big Ten standings are a mess. Indiana is one of only two conference teams with fewer than two Big Ten losses going into November 14.
UCLA is unbeaten, Indiana has one conference loss, and everyone else has at least two. Oregon’s upset of Ohio State gave the Buckeyes a second conference loss and pushed Indiana past them into second place in the league.
That puts the Hoosiers in prime position to reach the Big Ten Championship Game if they keep winning.
USC is the key obstacle. If Indiana beats the Trojans, it stays ahead of the pack and keeps control of its path to the title game. If Indiana loses, the logjam behind it gets a lot more dangerous, with the two-loss teams suddenly back in the mix for a championship berth.
Indiana’s remaining schedule makes the USC game even bigger. After that, the Hoosiers finish with Washington and Purdue, and both are described as bad teams.
Washington in Seattle could still be tricky, but the Huskies just lost at home to Penn State and have not played well at home this year. That leaves USC as Indiana’s toughest remaining test, which is why Oregon, along with the rest of the Big Ten contenders, needs Lincoln Riley and Desman Stephens to come through.
There’s also a tiebreaker wrinkle waiting in the background. Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois join USC, Ohio State, and Oregon as Big Ten teams with two conference losses.
If USC beats Indiana, the standings could get crowded enough to force a multi-team tiebreaker for the Big Ten Championship Game. If Indiana wins out, that won’t matter.
If IU slips once, it almost certainly does.
And because the four power conference champions get automatic spots in the College Football Playoff, Oregon’s three losses do not fully close the door. The Ducks can still get there by winning the Big Ten title, but that means reaching Indianapolis first. For that to happen, USC has to beat Indiana.
Lanning has already thrown a few pointed words USC’s way this season. After Oregon beat the Trojans in late September, he said, "Three wins against these guys.
I guess if you’re interested in winning football games and you’re from this area, you should go to Oregon. If you want to go to a Chris Brown concert, go here.”
Now the Ducks are the ones waiting on USC.
Oregon has consistently had USC’s number under Lanning, who has never lost to Riley and the Trojans since arriving in Eugene. But the roles are flipped for the moment. The Ducks, who usually treat USC like a team they have to beat, are suddenly depending on the Trojans to do them a favor.
As the source put it, "How the turn tables," as the kids like to say.
So yes, Oregon fans are now in the strange position of rooting hard for USC. Saturday in Bloomington will decide whether that bizarre scenario keeps rolling.
In Other News...
USC Suddenly Holds A Surprising Amount Of Big Ten Power
USCs trip to Indiana next Saturday has become a lot more than just another Big Ten road game. The Trojans are suddenly sitting in the middle of a conference race that has turned unusually crowded, with several teams carrying multiple losses and watching the matchup closely because the result could reshape the path to the Big Ten Championship Game.
For USC, that means the stakes extend well beyond its own standing. A win over Indiana would not only help the Trojans, it would also suit a handful of Big Ten contenders looking for help elsewhere, while UCLA, which currently leads the league, is expected to be pulling in the opposite direction for obvious rivalry reasons. It is an odd spot for USC to be in this early in its Big Ten life, but the conference picture has made every result feel bigger. [Read more 🡒]
Oregon Suddenly Has A Real Opening After Wild AP Poll Chaos
USCs first College Football Playoff ranking of the season came in at No. 20, even though the Trojans were placed higher in the AP Top 25. That split alone says plenty about how the committee sees the early-season field, and it also leaves USC in a familiar spot where a strong finish can still change the conversation. With the AP poll expected to shuffle after a weekend that knocked off multiple top-10 teams, the Trojans are positioned to benefit from the chaos even if the movement is only modest at first.
The bigger picture for USC is less about one spot in one poll and more about the opportunity that opens when the teams ahead of it start stumbling. Ohio State and Kentucky were among the weekend losers, and that kind of upheaval tends to ripple through the rankings in a hurry. For the Trojans, the immediate task is simply to stay in the mix and keep climbing as the bracket picture and the AP order continue to sort themselves out. [Read more 🡒]
USC Is Finally Giving A Trojans Legend His Due
USCs latest Athletics Hall of Fame class brings a familiar name back into the spotlight, with All-American receiver Mike Williams among the honorees. The school made the announcement as part of its 13th Hall of Fame class, and Williams learned the news in a fittingly personal way when coach Lincoln Riley surprised him during a team meeting.
The formal introduction for the class is set for Nov. 21, before USCs final home football game against Maryland, giving the Trojans a chance to celebrate one of their standout pass catchers in front of the home crowd. For a program that leans hard into its history, it is the kind of recognition that connects the current team to the players who helped define the standard. [Read more 🡒]