No. 17 Southern California will be out to keep a narrow focus on No. 21 Iowa this Saturday in Los Angeles, knowing that a victory will continue to make the bigger picture come to life.
The Trojans (7-2, 5-1 Big Ten) will need some help to get into the Big Ten championship game, but by winning their last three games — against Iowa, Oregon and UCLA — a spot in the College Football Playoff might be there for the taking.
Overlooking the Hawkeyes, though, with a date against Oregon next, would ruin future plans.
Since falling 34-24 at Notre Dame on Oct. 18, USC got back into Big Ten play with victories over Nebraska on Nov. 1 and Northwestern at home Friday when the Trojans pulled away in the second half for a 38-17 victory.
Jayden Maiava completed 24 of 33 passes for 299 yards and two touchdowns, while wide receiver Makai Lemon had 11 receptions for 161 yards and a touchdown, as well as a rushing TD. Walk-on running back King Miller gained 127 yards with a TD.
USC’s defense recovered a pair of fumbles and gave up just 28 rushing yards in the second half while allowing three points over the final two quarters.
“We know the more we win, the bigger these opportunities get,” USC head coach Lincoln Riley said. “We’ve got some big ones coming up that are big because we’ve made them big. And so I think for the team, just making sure they understand that, they understand how hard it is to get to this point in any year, where you have in front of us what we do.”
If Ohio State and Indiana win out, those teams will meet in the Big Ten title game. But if USC wins out and Ohio State falls to rival Michigan, the Trojans would board a flight for Indianapolis next month. That is just one outside scenario that would help USC down the stretch.
The Hawkeyes (6-3, 4-2) dropped an 18-16 heartbreaker at home to No. 9 Oregon on Saturday. All three of their losses this season have come to ranked teams, as they fell to Iowa State on Sept. 6 and lost to current CFP No. 2 Indiana 20-15 three weeks later.
Iowa took a 16-15 lead over Oregon with less than two minutes remaining after a 3-yard touchdown run from Mark Gronowski off a quarterback draw, but the Ducks got a 39-yard field goal from Atticus Sappington with three seconds left.
“We came up a little short, but proud of our team’s effort and the way we competed certainly,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said. “Tough loss. A lot of little things that we’re going to have to figure out, do a little bit better at, but the most important thing for our team is they understand there’s a lot to be proud of.”
For the Hawkeyes to have a chance in their second-ever conference visit to the L.A. area (they lost 20-17 at UCLA last season), they likely will have to lean into a defense that is third in the Big Ten with 13.7 points allowed per game. USC leads the conference with 503.2 yards gained on offense per game.
