Projected final 2020 College Football Playoff Top 25 rankings after Week 16
By Zach Bigalke
808. lost 31-24 vs. Oregon (Pac-12 championship in Los Angeles). player. 5-1. USC Trojans. 19. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis
USC is going to take a huge tumble down the College Football Playoff rankings when the selection committee releases its final Top 25 of the season. The Trojans hosted the Pac-12 championship and even got to play the second-best team in the North, but they still came up short in a 31-24 loss against unranked Oregon. Clay Helton’s job could be on the line after blowing a gift-wrapped chance to win the league crown in 2020.
Kedon Slovis struggled in defeat against Oregon’s strong secondary. Slovis finished with 320 yards and two touchdowns, but he needed 52 passing attempts to get there and also threw three interceptions along the way. The combination of Stephen Carr and Markese Stepp managed only 65 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. Though the Trojans allowed only 108 passing yards, they also gave up four touchdown throws to Tyler Shough and Anthony Brown in the defeat.
The New Year’s Six is now out of reach at this point. Instead of waiting to see what is left in terms of bowl scraps, the Trojans instead opted to eschew a bowl invitation this year.
Penn State opting out of a bowl, too. Here's a running list (I think):
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) December 20, 2020
Boston College
Pitt
Virginia
Stanford
Georgia Tech
Virginia Tech
Kansas State
San Deigo State
UCLA
Louisville
Washington State
Florida State
Utah
Washington
USC
Penn State
It will be interesting to see whether the decision to opt out of a bowl game this year is in part due to another decision to get a head start on finding their coach of the future.