Welcome to Before The Snap, For The Win’s college football series where we’ll break down the sport’s trending storylines, examine each week’s biggest matchups and track the College Football Playoff and Heisman Trophy races.
Despite multiple major upsets in college football’s Week 2, USC is looking good with a 2-0 record so far in coach Lincoln Riley’s first season with the Trojans.
USC beat up on Rice in its season opener before cruising to a victory last week against Stanford in the team’s first conference matchup. Now, the Trojans are up three spots to No. 7 in the AP Poll and up four to No. 8 in the Coaches Poll, and, for the first time this season, they’re among the top-10 teams with the best chances to make the College Football Playoff with a 19.7 percent shot, per ESPN’s Playoff Predictor.
But is USC a serious playoff contender and one that could go up against powerhouses and playoff-contending regulars, like Alabama, Georgia, Clemson and Ohio State?
After two games, the Trojans’ defense looked good with room for improvement, but their offense, led by Heisman Trophy candidate Caleb Williams, could be dominant throughout the season, should it continue to play like it is.
On the latest episode of Before The Snap, we take a look at USC, its schedule and what it will likely take to make the College Football Playoff.
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