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Pac-12 football: Midseason awards and superlatives

By Patrick Mayhorn

GENE, OR - OCTOBER 13: Linebacker Justin Hollins #11 of the Oregon Ducks, place kicker Peyton Henry #47 of the Washington Huskies, punter/holder Race Porter #46 of the Washington Huskies and cornerback Thomas Graham Jr. #4 of the Oregon Ducks watch as Henry's field goal attempt to win the game misses in the final seconds of the regulation at Autzen Stadium on October 13, 2018 in Eugene, Oregon. The Ducks won the game in overtime 30-27. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)
GENE, OR - OCTOBER 13: Linebacker Justin Hollins #11 of the Oregon Ducks, place kicker Peyton Henry #47 of the Washington Huskies, punter/holder Race Porter #46 of the Washington Huskies and cornerback Thomas Graham Jr. #4 of the Oregon Ducks watch as Henry's field goal attempt to win the game misses in the final seconds of the regulation at Autzen Stadium on October 13, 2018 in Eugene, Oregon. The Ducks won the game in overtime 30-27. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)
(Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images) /

Playoff dark horse: USC

Okay, I know, this is ridiculous, but hear me out. Is USC a decent team at best right now? Yes, absolutely. However, they’re easily the most national brand in the conference. They’re in the easier of the two divisions. Both of their losses came early on in the season, with a true freshman quarterback, against a top ten team (Texas) and a solid bowl team (Stanford), meaning they can be rationalized.

All of that is to say that if USC wins out, which is possible with this schedule, they could be a playoff contender. They would need a ton of help, and a ton of improvement from their own team, but I do think it’s possible for USC to slip in with a bunch of chaos. If JT Daniels continues to improve, and the defense finds a groove, I think USC can be a very solid team. They have good receivers, a solid line, and plenty of talent on both sides of the ball. Can they beat Notre Dame? Probably not. But it’s not completely out of the question.

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A win of that caliber, paired with nine straight wins to end the regular season, a conference title win over what should be a very good North champion, and the resume for the Trojans starts to look pretty good. I think they need two of the following four scenarios to happen to get them in if all of that happens.

  1. NC State beats Clemson, gets upset by a bad team, wins the Atlantic, loses in the ACC title game to a three-loss Coastal champ.
  2. Oklahoma State upsets Texas, Texas wins out after that, as does Oklahoma. West Virginia fades down the stretch, and Texas wins the rematch against the Sooners in the Big 12 championship giving the Big 12 a two-loss champion with two bad losses, while pumping up USC’s resume.
  3. Notre Dame loses to USC and another team, either Northwestern or Syracuse.
  4. Alabama goes undefeated in the regular season, Georgia loses to Kentucky but wins the East with two losses, Alabama crushes them in the championship, putting Alabama in.
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