Early in Saturday’s game against No. 16 UCLA, it looked like USC’s College Football Playoff hopes would vanish, much as Tennessee’s did. The No. 7 Trojans trailed their crosstown rivals by two touchdowns after a quarter. But quarterback Caleb Williams led USC to a 48-45 come-from-behind win.
UCLA scored a touchdown with 6:38 remaining. The Bruins then forced a punt from the Trojans and took possession, needing only a touchdown to win and only a field goal to send the game into overtime. Dorian Thompson-Robinson drove UCLA to just short of midfield but USC defensive end Korey Foreman got in the way of a Thompson-Robinson pass and hauled it in to seal the game.
The game was exciting. Every time one of the teams went on a run, the other one answered. College football fans reacted in a big way to USC’s thrilling victory.
With this win, coupled with No. 5 Tennessee’s loss, the Trojans will almost certainly move up in the College Football Playoff rankings. And while USC probably won’t jump into the top four, two more teams ahead of the Trojans — Michigan and Ohio State — play each other next week. So, if USC can beat Notre Dame, it will likely be positioned to jump over the loser of that game.
The Trojans still have a lot of work to do to get to the playoff. Notre Dame will be coming into that game on a hot streak. And even with a win against the Fighting Irish, USC will need to win the PAC-12 Championship Game to have any realistic chance at making it into the CFP. The comeback win on Saturday night, though, was a massive step in the right direction.