One week ago, the USC Trojans were actually slated to play in the Las Vegas Bow by one expert. Yes, the Vegas Bowl.
After they knocked off UCLA and sent Chip Kelly’s team home with a frustrating loss, Lincoln Riley’s Trojans are in a terrific position.
Will they end up in the College Football Playoff? Before then, they have to face Notre Dame and then another opponent in a Pac-12 title showdown that will change the landscape.
Jerry Palm of CBS Sports has USC in the Peach Bowl, the CFP semifinal, against Georgia in his latest projections.
The other CFP game is Ohio State against TCU in the Fiesta Bowl, but Riley getting the defending champions is an unfortunate landing spot for them.
Nonetheless, this should be a common pick, at least for this week. If TCU loses, they drop out, and Michigan faces Ohio State, so it’s fair to say that both Big Ten teams will stay in the CFP projections for a week.
After Mike Bohn swung for the fences with the Riley hire, a Playoff appearance in year one would be the absolute best-case scenario. Sure, Travis Dye is out, but Caleb Williams is playing like a Heisman Trophy candidate.
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