How important is the LSU game to USC’s season? The College Football Playoff math becomes much more favorable if the Trojans can beat LSU in Las Vegas in Week 1.
The big point to remember about the shift to a 12-team College Football Playoff in 2024 is that if a team can go 10-2, that should be enough to make the playoff from the Big Ten or the SEC. Teams from one of the toughest conferences in the country can now lose twice and still have decent odds of making the playoff. In the four-team playoff era, USC or any other team from the Pac-12 needed to go 12-1 in 13 games to have a good chance of making the playoff. Pac-12 teams with two losses simply did not get into the four-team playoff. It’s different now with USC facing a rough schedule in a 12-team playoff format. A 10-2 record will get the Trojans into the playoff. Therefore, if they beat LSU, the Trojans could go 9-2 in their remaining 11 games and still make the playoff. It really puts the LSU game into perspective.
Confidence in a revamped USC defense and concerns around LSU’s defensive line and secondary have the hosts of Trojans Conquest Live speculating about the USC-LSU game at The Voice of College Football:
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