USC's slow creep in CFP shows that committee isn't sold on the Trojans

It was a small leap to 17th for USC in the college football playoff rankings, but the good news is what happened behind and ahead of the Trojans.

With Iowa only dropping one spot after an 18-16 loss to Oregon, the Trojans are almost assured that two of their final three games will be against Top 25 competition. USC hosts Iowa on Saturday afternoon in the CBS slot at 12:30 (PST).

From this point on, all USC football games are playoff eliminations. The Trojans must win out to get into the 12-team bracket. 

The Big Ten order doesn't change

There were six teams from the Big Ten in this week's ranking and USC remains in a spot as the fourth Big Ten team in the 12-team bracket. Ohio State and Indiana remain at 1 and 2 respectively, while Oregon, fresh off its road win over the Hawkeyes, moved up a spot to eighth. 

One spot behind USC is Michigan at 18th, which means the committee respects the Trojans' head-to-head win over the Wolverines last month and, as previously mentioned, Iowa dropped a spot to 21st.

What teams are in USC's way?

Both BYU and Utah are the two teams that could provide a major roadblock. I thought BYU would drop a couple more spots in the rankings after that 29-7 loss to Texas Tech, but the Cougars survived to stay at 12. 

Utah is at 13 and the Utes have a pretty friendly schedule down the stretch. They have lost to both Texas Tech and BYU, so that limits their movement, but a surplus of 10-2 teams means the committee will have to make some tough decisions. 

Key games to watch Saturday

Notre Dame (9) at Pittsburgh (22): An ND loss will drop the Irish out of the projected bracket.

Oklahoma (11) at Alabama (4): An Oklahoma loss would benefit USC greatly

Utah (13) at Baylor and TCU at BYU (12): A loss by Utah or BYU should allow the Trojans to jump them and assure the Big Ten of a fourth team.