Projected 2020 College Football Playoff Top 25 rankings for Week 13

Given the way games progressed over the course of Saturday in Week 12, it could be dangerous to assume that USC wins against Utah on Saturday night in Pac-12 After Dark action in Salt Lake City. Should the Trojans pull out the victory and improve to 3-0, they will fall somewhere in the high teens of the opening set of Top 25 rankings from the College Football Playoff selection committee after taking sole possession of the Pac-12 South a half-game ahead of idle Colorado.

Perception is already down on the Pac-12 as the last of the Power Five conferences to return to fall play. With at most only six games for each team to prove themselves, the odds are long for anyone from the league to take one of the four spots in the Playoff itself. And with the Rose Bowl featuring among the semifinal sites this season, either the DFW Metroplex or the greater Phoenix area will serve as destinations for the league champion.

Staying undefeated multiplies the hopes of sneaking into the College Football Playoff. USC follows up their duel against Utah with a Week 13 matchup against Colorado two days after Thanksgiving that will likely decide which team takes on Oregon (or whoever knocks off Oregon for the Pac-12 North title) in the conference championship.