College Football Playoff Rankings 2022: Final Top 25 projections

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Nov 26, 2022; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams (13) celebrates after the game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

Say goodbye to your playoff hopes, USC.

The Trojans just had to take care of business against Utah to get into the playoff and likely get Caleb Williams a Heisman Trophy, but they squandered an early 14-point lead over the Utes to lose by 23.

USC was up 17-3 in the blink of an eye and it felt like it was just going to run away with a win in the Pac-12 title game and exact revenge over Utah which beat the Trojans earlier in the year, but Kyle Whittingham’s team had other ideas. They did something impressive for a second straight year: beat the Pac-12 title favorites twice in a single season.

The Trojans allowed a 44-7 run which buried them and knocked them out of the playoff race for a team that was hoping for a top-four loss or two after not making its conference title game.

Williams still deserves Heisman consideration because he looked solid against Utah while not being near 100 percent healthy.

Lincoln Riley will have to get back to the drawing board and settle for a New Year’s Six bowl.

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