The goal at USC is always to win the conference championship (in the future, it won’t be the Pac-12, but the Big Ten). The Trojans are fully intent on winning the Pac-12 title and creating a situation where they either make the College Football Playoff and face Georgia in the Peach Bowl, or go to the Rose Bowl, where Michigan would be the likely opponent.
That’s the top-line goal for the Trojans. If they don’t reach that goal, however, it’s important that their Plan B for the postseason leads them to the New Year’s Six.
It’s certainly significant to play in a top-tier bowl game in Year 1 — partly as a reward for a good season, partly to show to recruits and commentators that this program really did make substantial progress.
It would feel empty to some degree to settle for the Alamo or Holiday Bowl after being 9-1 through 10 games. Let’s walk through the details of USC’s posteason picture and explain why the odds of a New Year’s Six bowl are getting better for the Men of Troy:
