USC viewed as College Football Playoff team in post-spring rankings

USC football faces a prove-it season in 2026. It will be an uphill battle for the Trojans in a loaded Big Ten. Can Lincoln Riley give the Trojans their first College Football Playoff appearance? Fans are expecting it, and they should. A USA TODAY Sports college football analyst thinks USC just might sneak into the back end of the 12-team CFP field. Paul Myerberg of USA TODAY re-ranked every FBS program after spring practice.

USC is No. 11 in the post-spring rankings. This is just barely good enough to make the playoff. There are four teams from the different power conferences ahead of USC. Those would be the projected conference champions in the CFP field. Ohio State is the projected champion of the Big Ten. Texas is the projected champion of the SEC. Miami is the projected ACC champion. Texas Tech is the projected Big 12 champion.

The Group of Five gets one playoff spot, so that makes five slots accounted for. USC being No. 11 means the Trojans would get the final at-large berth in the 12-team field, since the Group of Five team would almost certainly be the No. 12 seed. USC edged out No. 12 Alabama for the No. 11 spot and the last at-large berth.

Other teams projected to get at-large CFP berths: Notre Dame, Georgia, Indiana, Oregon, Oklahoma, and Texas A&M.

USC fans won't care if the Trojans are the No. 11 seed in the CFP. All that matters is that the Trojans get into the dance for the first time in school history.