USC Football moves up to eighth in College Football Playoff rankings

The College Football Playoff Committee has met for the second time this season and, based on their research, has deemed USC Football a top eight team in the country for their Week 11 matchup against Colorado. In a weekend that saw three top 10 teams lose, USC was not one of those teams.

Even with the score of the California game being closer than anyone would have liked, it always remained doubtful that the Committee was going to punish the Trojans for winning, especially with so many key players out. USC deserves this ranking because the Committee says they do.

Whether it is a correct representation is up for debate, and trust me, it will be debated. But with the rankings, we can only take what is provided to us, and right now, USC has a path to the playoff.

If the Trojans are going to put themselves in the best possible situation to win a conference championship and threaten for a playoff spot, the path ahead is relatively simple: Win. It will also be easier if Oregon wins the rest of its games because this eliminates tiebreaker situations.

Luckily for USC Football, the remaining regular season games on the schedule are all being played in Southern California.

USC Football's lone trip away from the Coliseum will take place at UCLA, who is ranked 12th in the College Football Playoff rankings, at the Rose Bowl on November 19th. With three games left in the regular season, USC can face two ranked opponents. They would be UCLA and Notre Dame. Notre Dame received a ranking of 20th in this week's rankings.

There is the possibility of a potential third ranked opponent in a conference championship game, should the Trojans make it far enough. With two guaranteed ranked opponents on the schedule, SC has a phenomenal opportunity in front of them.

Two ranked wins would play very favorably with the Committee, which already holds the Trojans in high regard, which is evident in their ranking of this SC squad. Of course, this only matters if USC first handles Colorado at home this Friday night. One thing is for sure: the Trojans still have all of their goals on the table, and with the regular season reaching its most important moments, USC has everything to play for.