College football upset alert, Championship Week: Ohio State among 3 teams in danger

College football upset alert No. 2: USC Trojans

Rank: 13 | Opponent: Oregon Ducks | Time: Friday, Dec. 18, 8 p.m. ET

It feels as if I’ve put the USC Trojans on upset alert every week since the Pac-12 season started in the first weekend of November. But when you look at what Clay Helton‘s team has done to get to the point where they have their 5-0 record entering the Pac-12 Championship Game, saying that they’re in danger of losing to good teams is far from outlandish.

Of the five wins USC has to this point, three have been earned in comeback fashion against teams that they should be more talented that. The most recent example came against rival UCLA when the Bruins, more or less, outsmarted themselves and allowed Kedon Slovis to kick down the door in the final quarter. So as they’re set to face Oregon, USC is getting put on upset alert again.

Make no mistake, Oregon has been a bit of a disappointment in the abbreviated season. Mario Cristobal’s Ducks picked up three narrow wins to start the year but have lost their last two games on the road, falling to Cal and Oregon State.

But in terms of the talent on paper, the Ducks are the only program in the Pac-12 that can match what USC can bring to the table. And if Oregon is hungry to take advantage of the opportunity to even be in this game while the Trojans continue to play their lackadaisical brand of football that sees them fall behind, Oregon might well be talented enough, especially on defense, to not let that lead slip away.