People are going to say that since Utah beat USC 47-24 in the Pac-12 Championship Game — and Utah lost three games this season — it’s a reach to say that the Trojans would have been competitive in the College Football Playoff semifinals had they gotten that far.
USC skeptics would also make the claim that since Brett Neilon would not play in the game (Andrew Vorhees might not have opted out of a playoff semifinal, as opposed to the Cotton Bowl, and the same goes for Jordan Addison), USC would not have its best and strongest offensive line. Fair point there.
However, one can factor in the Neilon injury and still make the claim that USC would have been competitive in the playoff if it had gotten past Utah. At the very least, Saturday’s two semifinals moved the needle closer to — not farther away from — that conclusion.
Let’s discuss this: