The prevailing consensus in the offseason was that USC was not yet ready to be a College Football Playoff team.
Pac-12 champion? Yes. Rose Bowl team? Yes. New Year’s Six bowl team? Yes. Not the playoff. That was — and still is — unlikely. Too many holes on defense. Too many questions along the defensive front. Too many weaknesses a good offensive line can exploit.
USC should have a playoff-caliber team in 2023, once more depth is infused into the program through another recruiting cycle and another transfer portal cycle. Roster limitations inherited from Clay Helton will continue to be addressed. More reinforcements and more bodies will improve USC at its weakest points. When a weakness becomes a strength, that’s when a program is ready to become a true giant. USC is not there yet.
Therefore, if USC has the best chance to make the College Football Playoff from the Pac-12 as of Labor Day 2022, that’s not what the Pac-12 wanted. Utah was supposed to carry the banner this year, and Oregon was supposed to at least be competitive against Georgia.
The Pac-12 went 0 for 2, meaning USC already has more margin for error than the Utes or Ducks.
We’re not talking about what we think will happen the rest of the season. We’re discussing the current situation as it is.
Let’s explore some of the nuances of this situation in greater depth: