How USC Can Win The Pac-12 South
Despite all hope seeming lost, the Trojans are not out of it just yet. While the Pac-12 North is essentially Oregon’s to lose as long as the Ducks beat Stanford on Saturday, the South is completely up in the air. All teams, except for Colorado, are within striking distance of a spot in the Pac-12 Championship Game on December 5 that Levi’s Stadium, so USC has a lot riding on its next three games.
That being said, the road to Levi’s Stadium will not be easy. USC still has to face the two best passing offenses in the conference in Washington State and California, and UCLA, who has won the past two games in the rivalry and is led by dangerous dual-threat quarterback Brett Hundley. They will also need some help from a few of their contenders in order to crash the Championship.
As of now, the Pac-12 South standings look like this (USC in bold):
#15 Arizona State: 4-1
#14 Arizona: 3-1
#18 Utah: 3-1
USC: 4-2
#25 UCLA: 3-2
Colorado: 0-5
Here is arguably the most realistic scenario over the final five weeks of the season that gives the Trojans the crown, taking into account tiebreakers and the upcoming schedules for each of the five teams.
SEE ALSO: How Does Sark's First Year At USC Compare To Carroll and Kiffin's?
Week 10
Things will start out promising for the Trojans, as the other four candidates face each other next week. Meanwhile, the Trojans will head up to Pullman looking to get revenge for their 10-7 loss to the Cougars at the Coliseum last season.
USC, assuming the Trojans don’t make too many mistakes in their secondary, should be able to bounce back against a fairly one-dimensional Washington State squad. UCLA redeems itself after a disappointing performance at Colorado to upset Arizona in a shootout at the Rose Bowl, while Utah continues their return to relevancy and beats the Sun Devils in Tempe to take the lead.
Utah: 4-1
USC: 5-2
UCLA: 4-2
Arizona State: 4-2
Arizona: 3-2
USC is off in Week 11, so the Trojans will be focused on resting up for the remainder of the season and keeping an eye on the competition. Meanwhile, Arizona State takes on Notre Dame, which has no impact on conference standings.
Arizona rebounds and puts up a ton of points against the cellar-dwellers of Colorado. UCLA goes up the West Coast to beat the Huskies, while Oregon and Marcus Mariota do what they do best: putting up a lot of points and doing just enough on defense to pull out the W against the Utes.
USC: 5-2
UCLA: 5-2
Utah: 4-2
Arizona: 4-2
Arizona State: 4-2
SEE ALSO: USC Falls Late In Utah Amidst Another Fourth Quarter Meltdown
Week 12
UCLA has an off-week to prepare to host the Trojans. In the meantime, the other four contenders all win their matches as likely favorites (USC over California, Arizona over Washington, Arizona State over Oregon State, and Utah over Stanford), leaving all five teams within half a game of each other for the title with two weeks to go.
USC: 6-2
Utah: 5-2
UCLA: 5-2
Arizona: 5-2
Arizona State: 5-2
USC goes into Westwood and gets revenge on UCLA, exploiting the Bruins’ porous offensive line and using their young playmakers to steal a win and eliminate them from contention. Arizona uses its offensive firepower to beat Utah, eliminating the Utes, while the USC win eliminates the Wildcats, since the Trojans own the tiebreaker. The Sun Devils hold the Cougars' air raid offense in check to keep the drama going to the conference’s final week.
USC: 7-2
Arizona State: 6-2
Arizona: 6-2
Utah: 5-3
UCLA: 5-3
Week 14
USC concludes their regular season against Notre Dame, meaning their title hopes lie in the Duel in the Desert. If the Sun Devils win, they’re in because of their win over USC, but a loss gives the Trojans the South. The Wildcats may have been eliminated from the title game, but they’ll do everything in their power to ruin ASU’s chances. Behind the freshman duo of Anu Solomon and Nick Wilson, the Wildcats have the ability to get it done.
USC: 7-2
Arizona State: 6-3
Is it unlikely? Definitely. Considering how tight the South is, that USC’s two conference losses are to two of their biggest threats, and that some of the Trojans’ recent late-game performances (sans Colorado) have been hard to watch, finishing the year first in the South with a 7-2 conference record seems like a longshot. However, despite everything, the Trojans still have a chance to be champions in Steve Sarkisian’s first season, so it’s not time to give up hope just yet, especially with the chaos that has been the Pac-12.
Reach Staff Reporter Andrew Schultz here or follow him on Twitter.