The No. 19 USC Trojans may not be on the field this weekend, but their AP Top 25 position still has plenty of room to move. After seven straight games, the bye comes at a good time for a team that just picked up a 31-23 road win over Penn State in Happy Valley.
That victory helped steady USC after its loss to Oregon in Week 4, when the Trojans slid from the top 15 all the way down to No. 19.
Even with the Penn State win, the rankings didn’t budge. This Saturday, though, a handful of other results could shake things up around them.
The biggest swing could come from Austin, where Texas hosts Florida. Steve Sarkisian’s team is 1-1 against Florida as SEC members, but the Longhorns are trying to rebound from a messy loss to Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry. Arch Manning flashed with two touchdown passes, but his turnovers hurt Texas badly, and the No. 1 team in the nation did not look the part.
Florida, meanwhile, is searching for answers after losing two in a row. The buzz that followed the upset of No.
4 Ole Miss has faded fast, and the Gators also took a hit with the injury to starting quarterback Aaron Philo. Backup Tramell Jones is expected to start Saturday, though On3’s Pete Nakos reported that a final decision will be made before kickoff.
If Florida pulls off the upset, Texas could tumble well below the top 15 with two losses to unraked teams.
Another game with USC implications involves a pair of future Trojan opponents. UCLA will be without starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava for the rest of the season after the injury he suffered in the win against Oregon. Ty Dieffenbach, who replaced Iamaleava after his struggles, will get the start against Wisconsin.
That matters to USC because both teams are still on the Trojans’ schedule. Wisconsin, though, has been on the rise since its season-opening loss to No.
2 Notre Dame. Luke Fickell’s group has won four straight, including a major road win at Penn State.
If the Badgers can pressure Dieffenbach and slow down UCLA’s rushing attack, an upset is there for the taking.
Tennessee also enters a major matchup with some momentum, riding back-to-back wins after its close loss to Texas. The Volunteers now face Alabama in the third Saturday in October, and the Crimson Tide are coming off a tight loss to No.
1 Georgia that still showed plenty of their talent. An Alabama win could send Tennessee sliding with two losses, opening the door for USC to climb.
Quarterback injuries pop up again in the Mississippi State-Missouri game. Bulldogs quarterback Kamario Taylor has been downgraded to doubtful ahead of Saturday’s matchup with the Tigers.
That could affect Lane Kiffin’s team as it looks to recover from an overtime loss to No. 15 Kentucky.
With a loss, Mississippi State would likely drop out of the rankings.
Ole Miss, meanwhile, is trying to build on the big win it got over struggling Vanderbilt after the bruising setback in Gainesville against Florida. If the Rebels handle Missouri comfortably, the Tigers would likely fall out of the top 20. Still, Missouri has already shown it can spring surprises this season, so that one is hardly a sure thing.
In Other News...
USCs Midseason TV Numbers Say A Lot About This Team
USCs first half of the season has played out under an unusually bright national spotlight, and the Nielsen numbers help explain why. The Trojans have already been part of a handful of heavily watched games, including a Pac-12 rivalry matchup on NBC that drew the biggest audience of the group. Along the way, the TV ratings have mirrored the bigger storyline around this team: when USC is involved, people tend to tune in, whether it is for the brand, the stakes, or the chance to see how the Trojans handle a big-stage opponent.
The midseason viewership snapshot also offers a reminder of how often USC has been in games that carried real national interest, with key performances and defining moments helping drive those audiences. It is the kind of exposure that comes with being one of college footballs most recognizable programs, and it will only matter more as the schedule moves deeper into the year. The broader ratings picture is still taking shape, with more games ahead and other programs, including Wisconsin, showing their own audience draws in the same tracking. [Read more 🡒]
USC Just Sent A Clear Message About Lincoln Rileys Future
USC president Beong-Soo Kim made it clear the school is looking at the football program through the lens of the season in front of it, not the price tag attached to Lincoln Rileys contract. With Wisconsin next on the schedule and a difficult stretch still ahead, the message from the top is to shut out the outside chatter and stay focused on the only thing that can change the conversation: winning.
It is an understandable stance for a team still trying to steady itself in a season with plenty of noise around it. The Trojans have ranked opponents looming and the usual championship and playoff talk hanging over the program, but Kims comments suggest USC is not interested in letting speculation about Rileys future drive the story right now. Instead, the coming weeks will be about performance, not panic, and whether the Trojans can play their way into a better place. [Read more 🡒]
USC Bye Week Could Change Everything For Lincoln Rileys Playoff Push
The first bye week of the season comes at a useful time for USC, which has been managing a growing list of bumps and bruises while trying to keep its playoff hopes alive. Tight end Mark Bowman has missed recent games because of an undisclosed injury, and defensive linemen Jide Abasiri and Jahkeem Stewart have also been slowed by leg and foot injuries, leaving the Trojans with a chance to get healthier before the next stretch of the schedule.
USC comes out of the break with a tricky road trip to Wisconsin on Oct. 24 at Camp Randall Stadium, and that makes this pause feel especially important. For Lincoln Riley, the week away from game prep is more than a breather - it is an opportunity to reset bodies, clean up the roster and see whether some key depth pieces can be closer to full strength when the Trojans return to action. [Read more 🡒]