With the Week 11 loss to the No. 5 Indiana Hoosiers, the USC Trojans path to the College Football Playoffs seems nearly impossible. USC now has three losses this season, with the program’s CFP drought set to continue.
The UCLA Bruins’ football program has been dormant for much of this this decade but all UCLA needed was one year ofBob Chesney and it’s looking like the Bruins are set to reach the CFP. No. 4 UCLA is 10-0 and has already matched the program’s single-season win total.
UCLA accomplishing more than USC in the Lincoln Riley era in just one year is a surprise to everyone, with the Trojans failing to take the next step in 2026. Trojans Wire writer Matt Zemek detailed those shortcomings for USC.
“We have to be honest: The Big Ten wasn't
good this year. We can already say that. Ohio State and Oregon lost three games apiece well before the end of the regular season. Michigan was bad. So was Penn State. Indiana still has just one loss, but we can all see the Hoosiers are far inferior to their 2025 iteration. UCLA leads the Big Ten with a backup quarterback and a very modest offense. There are no great teams in the conference. USC not being able to make the College Football Playoff in a year when the Big Ten was so weak is a massive failure which goes beyond numbers,” Zemek said. “Dante Moore, Julian Sayin, Josh Hoover, and Nico Iamaleava all got hurt this year. USC faced backup quarterbacks against Oregon, Ohio State, Indiana, and (coming up later this month) UCLA. The Trojans couldn't have had more good luck in terms of facing limited offenses without their best players at the most important position. Lincoln Riley failed to take advantage of this. If you think USC "came close" to making the playoff and the Big Ten title game this year, please realize the Trojans had amazing injury luck at quarterback and still couldn't cash it in.”
If USC were to fire Riley they’d be stuck with a massive buyout and would lose a lot of the talent that Riley recruited to the Trojans. It’s another season of underachieving for USC, with UCLA barrelling closer to securing a playoff spot before their archrival could.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: USC almost certainly won't make the College Football Playoff in 2026
