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USC Trojans land at No. 16 in the penultimate 2025 College Football Playoff rankings

Erik-McKinneyby: Erik McKinney8 hours agoErikTMcKinney

The USC Trojans are ranked No. 16 in the penultimate College Football Playoff rankings going into conference championship week. It’s a one-spot jump up from their No. 17 ranking last week.

Coming off a rivalry game win over the UCLA Bruins, USC is the second three-loss team in the rankings, three spots behind 9-3 Texas at No. 13. USC’s highest ranking this year was No. 15, earned two weeks ago before a road loss to Oregon.

Notre Dame might be the big loser this week as the Fighting Irish dropped behind Alabama following the Crimson Tide eking out a 27-20 win over a 5-7 Auburn team last week. That might be the playoff committee providing Alabama some cover to stay in the playoff if they lose to Georgia in the SEC Championship game this weekend. And that puts Notre Dame’s playoff hopes in real jeopardy no matter what happens to BYU in the Big 12 Championship game. If BYU vacates the No. 11 spot, it would likely put Notre Dame and Miami back-to-back in the rankings for the final spot. At that point, it might be difficult to send the Irish through and keep the Hurricanes out, considering Miami has a head-to-head win this season. Of course, that all depends on where Alabama lands and maybe Miami winds up being the first team out.

In all, it looks like five SEC teams will make the playoff (Georgia, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Alabama) and three Big Ten teams will go (Ohio State, Indiana and Oregon).

The five highest-rated conference champions are guaranteed a spot in the field, but not a first-round bye. The remaining seven bids will be filled by seven at-large qualifiers.

Those who finish between 5-12 will participate in the first round. First round games will be hosted by the higher seed. The subsequent rounds will be played at traditional bowl sites.

Complete Week 15 CFP Rankings

RANKTEAMOVERALL RECORD
1Ohio State12-0
2Indiana12-0
3Georgia11-1
4Texas Tech11-1
5Oregon11-1
6Ole Miss11-1
7Texas A&M11-1
8Oklahoma10-2
9Alabama10-2
10Notre Dame10-2
11BYU11-1
12Miami10-2
13Texas9-3
14Vanderbilt10-2
15Utah10-2
16USC9-3
17Virginia10-2
18Arizona9-3
19Michigan9-3
20Tulane10-2
21Houston9-3
22Georgia Tech9-3
23Iowa8-4
24North Texas11-1
25James Madison11-1

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Garry Paskwietz (1966-2019)

Garry Paskwietz was a pioneer in bringing team-specific sports coverage to the internet. He founded WeAreSC in 1998 and was an Emmy winner for his work with Fox Sports West. Always generous with his time, knowledge, and compassion, he touched the lives of countless USC and high school football fans.

Garry Paskwietz