Oregon loss provides opening for USC in latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches poll

The top six teams remained the same in the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, with Georgia picking up 61 of 63 first-place votes. Ohio State and Michigan were the other teams to receive a first-place vote.

Just as soon as it looked like we had a handle on who the contenders for the national title were, one of those teams took a loss, knocking them out of contention.

That was the case for the Oregon Ducks, who’d been building momentum for the last several weeks. They lost a close one to the Washington Huskies 37-34 and, with a second loss, are essentially out of the playoff discussion. With UCLA also losing, the Pac-12’s only playoff hope resides with USC.

The Trojans may not have a resume full of ranked wins on their ledger, but they have just one loss. Depending on how the remainder of the season plays out, USC could find themselves in the playoff picture if they win out. USC will need to win the Pac-12 and hope the playoff committee views that as more valuable than anything Tennessee or the loser of Ohio State-Michigan has done this season.

The other wild card in all of this is two-loss LSU. They continue to find ways to win and have earned an SEC title berth. They’ve got top 10 wins over Alabama and Ole Miss. Their only losses on the season are to No. 5 Tennessee and Florida State, who came in at No. 20 in the latest coaches poll. Would the playoff committee permit a two-loss team into the CFP if the Tigers were able to win out and capture an SEC title?

The voters didn’t take too kindly to Texas‘ loss at home. They fell from No. 18 to outside the top 25 in the Coaches’ poll.

While the stat sheet will say it was just a seven-point loss, it took a botched mesh-point handoff between Max Duggan and Kendre Miller of TCU to score their first touchdown. The Longhorns’ offense was held to three points by a TCU defense that had allowed at least 24 points per game in each of their last seven games.

Oklahoma’s next opponent, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, earned their way back into the poll on the backs of a strong defensive performance against Iowa State. The Sooners and Cowboys will play Bedlam this Saturday night under the lights.

Here’s a look at the latest USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll.

Schools dropped out: