USC Football climbs to brink of Top 10 in College Football Playoff rankings

USC Football may be back in the playoff hunt after the Week 11 College Football Playoff committee rankings boosted the Trojans to the brink of the Top 10.

USC Football isn’t dead yet, at least when it comes to the College Football Playoff.

The CFP committee released their Week 11 rankings on Tuesday, launching the Trojans up six places to No. 11.

USC was one of the biggest risers in the poll this week. Only a six-place leap for Washington State to No. 19 could match their rise, behind a 12-spot jump for Michigan State to No. 12.

The move opens the door for the Trojans, whose strength of schedule is a major plus in their favor, to once again be in the hunt for a place in the playoff Top 4 by season’s end.

That would have seemed unlikely a couple of weeks ago when USC suffered a blowout loss at the hands of No. 3 Notre Dame, their second loss of the season.

Since the loss, the Trojans have rallied with a big win over ASU and a nervy 49-35 victory over surging Arizona over the weekend to take command in the Pac-12 South.

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If USC were to best Colorado and UCLA in the coming weeks, as expected, the Trojans would be 10-2 with a date against the Pac-12 North champion in the conference title game, which could serve as a major resume builder on either side.

USC, Washington State and No. 9 Washington are the only Pac-12 teams remaining in the playoff rankings. Arizona and Stanford both dropped out this week, the Wildcats for losing to the Trojans and the Cardinal for losing to the Cougars.

Of course, the Trojans would need to take care of business themselves while following a wave of good fortunate in results for the teams currently ranked ahead of them in order for their dashed playoff hopes to be truly reborn.

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It all starts with the Buffaloes in Boulder this weekend. A win would clinch the Pac-12 South division title for the Trojans and set them one step closer to an exciting finish to the 2017 season.