Preseason rankings offer a fascinating question to USC football fans
· Yahoo Sports
USC football knows that if it goes 10-2 this season, it will make the College Football Playoff. The real question might be this: If USC goes 10-2, does that mean the Trojans will necessarily be third in the Big Ten Conference? USC plays a lot of the top teams in the league, so a 10-2 record -- two losses in the conference -- might mean USC is finishing third. However, what if Ohio State, Indiana and Oregon all lose one game? USC going 10-2 would put the Trojans fourth. It could be enough, but it will depend on what other teams do. Wolverines Wire recently noted that the new SP+ rankings for Big Ten teams have USC fourth.
Ohio State is first, Oregon second, Indiana third. That's three teams USC plays this season finishing ahead of the Trojans. However, USC is finishing ahead of Penn State and Washington, two teams on the Trojans' schedule. If USC finishes fourth in the Big Ten, will that be enough to make the playoff? It might depend on the SEC, which had only three teams in the playoff in 2024 but put five in the playoff last year in 2025.
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Would you, as a USC football fan, take a deal right now which said that USC will finish no worse than fourth in the Big Ten in 2026? It would mean USC is in the playoff conversation. It wouldn't guarantee a berth. Finishing third instead of fourth would likely put USC in the playoff itself, as opposed to merely being in the mix in late November. If USC finishes third, that means the Trojans would finish ahead of one of the projected top three: Ohio State, Oregon, and Indiana.
Our advice: No, you shouldn't sign on the dotted line for a deal in which USC is guaranteed to be a top-four Big Ten team. We would sign a contract if promised that USC would finish in the Big Ten's top three in 2026.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC football Big Ten preseason rankings raise intriguing question