That is the door that opened when South Carolina beat No. 5 Tennessee 63-38 in Week 12. Now, first-year coach Lincoln Riley – who led Oklahoma to the CFP three times – has a chance to lead the Trojans to a remarkable turnaround after one season. It does not hurt to have transfer portal gems Caleb Williams and Jordan Addison, among others.
MORE: Five CFP scenarios worth watching
USC also will benefit from the loser of the matchup between No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Michigan falling from the ranks of the unbeaten teams. The loser of The Game still might have a backdoor into the CFP, but it likely will take a Trojans’ loss or a loss from No. 4 TCU.
Sporting News has No. 1 Georgia meeting USC in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl and Ohio State and TCU meeting in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl. No. 7 Clemson and No. 19 Tulane moved back into our CFP projections.
The College Football Playoff semifinals will be on Dec. 31 this season. Those semifinals will be played at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in Atlanta and the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz. The College Football Playoff championship game is on Jan. 9 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.
Week 13 College Football Bowl Projections
College football New Year’s Day Six picks
College Football Playoff championship pick
