The USC Trojans get a breather this week, but the stakes around them are anything but quiet.
After knocking off the previously ranked No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes 30-18 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, No.
20 USC heads into its second bye week of the season at 7-2 overall and 4-2 in Big Ten play. Lincoln Riley’s team is still chasing its first College Football Playoff appearance in program history, and the road to get there is lined with a final three-game stretch against the No.
4 Indiana Hoosiers on Nov. 14, Maryland on Nov. 21 and the No.
8 UCLA Bruins on Nov. 28.
But before the Trojans get back on the field, there are a few results that could shape how the CFP picture looks around them.
The first one comes in Columbus, where the No. 23 Oregon Ducks and No.
12 Ohio State Buckeyes meet in a game that looked like a marquee showdown in the preseason. It still matters plenty, even with both teams missing their starting quarterbacks, Julian Sayin for Ohio State and Dante Moore for Oregon.
USC’s playoff path is tied to what happens there, especially since the Trojans beat Ohio State but lost to Oregon at the Coliseum on Sept. 26.
Oregon already has three losses, so USC would likely be pulling for the Buckeyes to stumble again. Under Ryan Day, Ohio State has never dropped two straight regular-season games. That streak will be on the line Saturday in Columbus.
Another game with USC interest is the one in South Bend, where the No. 4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish host the No.
1 Miami Hurricanes in a matchup that has a real chance to feel like the game of the year. Miami, led by Heisman Trophy contender quarterback Darian Mensah, is trying to stay unbeaten.
Notre Dame, which already has a loss to the No. 9 BYU Cougars, is looking for the kind of win that would sharpen its CFP case.
The Hurricanes will have to do it without one of their biggest weapons. Wide receiver Malachi Toney, who has 73 catches for 1,027 yards and 13 touchdowns this season, suffered a high ankle sprain during practice on Nov. 4 and is scheduled to have surgery. For Notre Dame, led by quarterback CJ Carr, this is a chance to land a signature win in a hostile setting on Saturday night.
Then there’s the top-10 clash in the Holy War, where No. 9 BYU visits No.
3 Utah in a game with Big 12 title and CFP implications all over it. Both teams could end up in the 12-team playoff field by season’s end, and Utah enters as one of the three undefeated teams left in the country, alongside Miami and UCLA.
BYU has won the last three meetings in the rivalry, a run that goes back to 2021. Utah will try to end that streak and stay unbeaten.
For USC fans, that one carries a familiar edge. The Trojans and Utes had plenty of battles during their Pac-12 days, and USC often came out on the wrong side.
In Caleb Williams’ Heisman Trophy-winning season in 2022, the Trojans were knocked out of CFP contention by Utah, losing to the Utes in the regular season and again in the Pac-12 championship. That was Riley’s first year at USC, and it remains the closest the Trojans have come to reaching the playoff.
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Utah Just Landed A Huge Chance To Impress Alex Jensens Target
A busy stretch is ahead for Matija Lukic, and Utah is right in the middle of it. The Serbian prospect is set to make a whirlwind run of official visits over eight days, with stops that also include BYU, Boston College, Duke, N.C. State, North Carolina and UConn. For the Utes, it is a meaningful opportunity to make an impression on a player whose profile has been built well beyond the usual high school circuit.
Alex Jensen has already made it clear that European recruiting and the programs overseas connections matter in this chase, and Lukic fits that mold. He is coming off a strong international resume, including a silver medal with Serbia at the FIBA U17 World Cup, while also developing with Casademont Zaragoza in Spain. Utah gets its turn to sell itself in a crowded race, and the next few days could go a long way in showing where it stands. [Read more 🡒]
Utah Is Winning But One Problem Still Wont Go Away
Utah kept its unbeaten start intact at the Huntsman Center, beating Towson 67-57 in a game that looked comfortable at times and messy at others. The Utes leaned on defense and a useful lift from the bench, and they did enough to build a lead as large as 15 points while moving to 2-0.
Still, the win came with the kind of slippage that can linger if it does not get cleaned up quickly. Utah had to work through a turnover problem that repeatedly gave Towson extra chances and made a double-digit cushion feel less secure than it should have, even in a game the Utes were clearly in control of for much of the night. [Read more 🡒]
BYUs Holy War Path May Come Down To One Brutal Matchup
The build-up to this Holy War has plenty of familiar pressure points, but the most obvious one may be the ground game. Utahs defense has been stout against the run all season, and that matters because BYU has had trouble getting its rushing attack going. If the Utes can control that part of the field, it would force the Cougars into a tougher offensive script and put more weight on the passing game and the little edges that tend to decide rivalry nights.
For Utah, the other big swing factor is Devon Dampier, whose play at quarterback could help determine whether the Utes can keep enough balance on offense to match the stakes. Special teams and turnovers also loom large in a game with College Football Playoff implications and ranking consequences hanging over it. In a matchup this tight, the team that handles the hidden yards and the pressure moments may end up shaping the entire conversation. [Read more 🡒]