For No. 18 Southern California, making the College Football Playoff could be as easy as one, two, three, four.
Step one: Win on Saturday against Iowa. Step two: Pull off an upset of No. 6 Oregon in Autzen Stadium the following week. Step three: Beat UCLA to end the regular season. Step four: Pray that No. 17 Michigan beats No. 1 Ohio State.
This would likely leave the Trojans ahead of the Buckeyes and Wolverines in the Big Ten standings by virtue of a higher conference opponent winning percentage, earning a matchup with Indiana to decide the Big Ten championship.
In this scenario, USC would have the strongest case for being the third Big Ten team in the 12-team playoff field. Beyond finishing second in the second-best conference in the Bowl Subdivision, the Trojans would have wins against Michigan and Oregon along with competitive losses to Illinois and No. 9 Notre Dame.
Everything is easier said than done — for starters, USC hasn’t won five league games in a row during an unabbreviated season since 2017. But for the first time as members of the Big Ten, the Trojans are playing meaningful games in November.
