USC Football Has The Best Chance To Quickly Climb The College Football Playoff

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USC Football Has The Best Chance To Quickly Climb The College Football Playoff

USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley watches during the NCAA football game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Los Angeles — USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Dana Becker · Sportsnaut

Thu, November 5, 2026 at 2:46 AM UTC ·

2 min read

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USC sits inside the Top 20 with key games vs. Indiana and UCLA on the horizon.

Don't look now, but USC football just might be back.

The Trojans are riding high after taking out Ohio State this past weekend in convincing fashion.

Sure, the Buckeyes were breaking in a new quarterback, but the result was still the same. USC and head coach Lincoln Riley are 7-2, with Indiana up next and UCLA down the pike.

Many – including several inside the Trojan camp – had Riley out the door after losses to Oregon and Wisconsin. But the ship has been righted – at least for now.

USC Might Have Best Chance To Crack College Football Playoff

Of the teams currently on the outside looking in at the College Football Playoff bracket, one would be hard to argue the case for the Trojans.

Assuming they win out, of course.

USC is currently 20th, one spot behind fellow Big Ten Conference contender Iowa. The likes of LSU, Texas Tech, Wake Forest, Houston and Missouri stand between them, but nobody has the chance to do what they can do.

Up first for the Trojans will be No. 4 Indiana on the road. The Hoosiers have some quarterback questions entering the game.

After that, Maryland visits SoCal before a showdown with eighth-ranked UCLA from the Rose Bowl.

Can USC Finish Strong And Make The Field?

For the sake of argument, let's assume the Trojans slip up in a close one at Indiana. Winning on the road is hard, as they showed in a 24-7 loss to Wisconsin.

But a one-possession defeat should not hurt USC's standing all that much.

If they take care of Maryland, and UCLA wins out, the winner of that could be a major player in the case for the playoffs.

A win by USC would give them victories over a pair of contenders in Ohio State and the Bruins.

Also, if they are able to run the table and defeat the Hoosiers, Terps and UCLA, there would be absolutely no denying their spot.

And honestly, not many teams would want to play a red-hot team like the Trojans with weapons such as Jayden Maivia, King Miller and Trent Mosley.