USC football: Can the Trojans actually make the College Football Playoff?

USC football will need a lot of help to make the College Football Playoffs.

USC football (5-0) has a date with the Oregon Ducks (3-2) in the Pac-12 Championship Game Friday on Fox. The fifteenth-ranked Trojans are in the same boat as the Ohio State Buckeyes. Both teams have played five games this season due to COVID-19. The Huskies won the Pac-12 North but are being replaced by the Ducks due to lingering COVID issues.

The Trojans beat Arizona State, Arizona, Utah, Washington State, and UCLA to get this opportunity. The Trojans have been led by Sophomore Quarterback Kedon Slovis who has thrown for 1,601 yards, 15 touchdowns, and four interceptions. Slovis is the main reason why the Trojans have the No.1 spot in Pac-12 passing yards with 319.2 yards per game.

It helps that he has Drake London, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Tyler Vaughns to throw to who are two, three, and four, respectively, in Pac-12 receiving yards. They have a combined 12 touchdowns on the season.

USC Football has to climb Mt. Everest to get in the College Football Playoff

The Trojans need a lot of help to earn a spot in the College Football Playoff top four. The Clemson Tigers, Ohio State Buckeyes, Texas A&M Aggies, Cincinnati Bearcats, Iowa State Cyclones have to lose, and the Trojans have to beat the Ducks.

It’s highly unlikely that all of those teams lose. None of those championship games are going to cakewalks for the teams that the Trojans need to root for. USC Football has to worry about itself because how it plays against Oregon is the only thing it has control over.

According to CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd, if things don’t go the way the Trojans want and they beat the Ducks, they will be the first undefeated Power Five champion not to play in the national championship game since the 2004 Auburn Tigers.