The USC football team is ranked No. 14 in the new US LBM Coaches Poll, presented by USA TODAY Sports. The Trojans did not play on Saturday. They are preparing for their massive, season-defining game at Indiana this coming Saturday, November 14.
While the Trojans didn't play on Saturday, the Big Ten received a major shakeup with Oregon's win over Ohio State. Going into this past weekend, Ohio State still held the cards in the Big Ten title chase, owning a head-to-head win over Indiana and thereby being in pole position to face UCLA in the Big Ten Championship Game. Now, after the Buckeyes' loss to Oregon, Indiana is in position to face UCLA in Indianapolis in December. Guess who plays Indiana next? USC.
The Trojans, if they can somehow win out
and finish with just two losses in the Big Ten (to Oregon and Wisconsin), have a chance to win a multi-team tiebreaker which includes Ohio State (a team USC defeated) and Indiana (which USC will wind up defeating if the Trojans do run the table and finish 10-2). USC could play its way into the Big Ten Championship Game and might face rival UCLA. That's how big this Indiana game is. It could set up USC to play and beat UCLA not only once in the regular-season finale, but twice. The second win could come in Indianapolis one week later. USC doesn't get that prime-stage scenario if it can't first handle the Hoosiers on November 14. This is it. This is the game Lincoln Riley and his team have to own with toughness and totality.
USC has everything to play for. Now the question is if USC can play well enough to make it really count.
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This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC rises in new US LBM Coaches Poll while Ohio State falls
