Lincoln Riley, USC Trojans can invigorate College Football Playoff

Lincoln Riley's USC Trojans play Utah in the Pac-12 Championship Game on Friday night. Riley and USC can keep Ohio State and Alabama out of the College Football Playoff. The committee loves bluebloods. Alabama was left for dead after losing at Tennessee and Louisiana State in a three-game span. Ohio state was beaten by Michigan last Saturday. Texas Christian will play in Big 12 Championship on Saturday in Arlington. It's a possibility that the committee will listen. Alabama, Clemson, Ohio and OU were regulars in college football.

The College Football Playoff needs new blood. TCU and USC are on the cusp. If they lose this weekend, the committee will choose between Ohio State and Alabama. This would be Michigan’s second appearance and Georgia”s third. The committee can't quit the Crimson Tide. Clemson, Kansas State, LSU and Utah could win league title games this Saturday. Georgia and Michigan are automatics for the field, win or lose. This is a weekend to hold your noise and wish Lincoln Riley well. He absconded to LA and invited his quarterback to join him.

The committee’s penultimate rankings will be released Tuesday night.

Georgia is going to play USC in the College Football Playoff.

Georgia is the favorite to win the College Football Playoff. Michigan is second.

TCU is 12-0. The team's Power Five opponents are Kansas State, Texas, OSU and Texas Tech.

Lincoln Riley's USC Trojans are 11-1 and can invigorate College Football Playoff.

Ohio State is 11-1. The Buckeyes have good-win list that includes Penn State, Notre Dame, Maryland and Iowa.

Lincoln Riley's USC Trojans are the team to beat in the College Football Playoff.

7. Alabama's best win is at Texas, at Ole Miss or Mississippi State.

LSU lost at Texas A&M 9-3.

Utah beat USC 9-3.

Lincoln Riley's USC Trojans can invigorate College Football Playoff. Clemson's best win was against Wake Forest.

UW lost to Arizona State.

Lincoln Riley's USC Trojans can invigorate College Football Playoff. Oregon is 9-3 with good wins and solid losses.

Oregon State finished the season with a 9-3 record. They played all the good Pac-12 teams except UCLA.

Lincoln Riley's team came close to beating USC, but lost 9-3.

The Oklahoma State football team is struggling this season. Mike Gundy's team lost to WVU this weekend. The team was ranked in the AP top 10 before the season started. Lacey and Tramel are calling for Gundi to be fired. Tramel declines. For the last 12 seasons, the Cowboys have been the second-most successful program in Big 12 football. They beat Notre Dame in Fiesta Bowl and finished No. 7 in nation. In summer 2020, there was talk of Gundo being fired, because the players revolted against him. He was more detached from them than before.

Lincoln Riley, USC Trojans coach, can invigorate College Football Playoff.

Gundy is not a good coach. If Gundy were to lose his job, other teams would be interested in replacing him.

Luke Fickell has left the University of Cincinnati for Wisconsin. Ficcke turned UC into a national brand, going to back-to-back major bowls. Cincinnati was in the Big East from 2005-12. Now Cincinnati is coming from the American Conference. The step up in competition will be drastic. UC has a history of hiring good coaches. They are looking for a new coach. They have some strong names. Tom Herman, Jackson State coach Deion Sanders and Ohio State offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson are potential candidates. Central Florida is ranked 22 in AP poll. It's not a good idea to expect UC to be an upper division team in Big 12.

Houston Cougars are the favorite to win the NCAA championship.

Rose Bowl wants to be excluded from the College Football Playoff expansion. The playoff wants the expansion to start in 2024. Rose Bowl is demanding its traditional New Year's Day, 2 p.m. California time kickoff be preserved. ESPN reports that CFP executives have issued an ultimatum to Rose. If Rose doesn't get its way, the expanded playoff will start until 2026. In the new 12-team format, quarterfinals and semifinals will be played in bowl games. There are six major bowls: Rose, Orange, Sugar, Cotton, Fiesta and Peach. On a rotational basis, each bowl would get two quarterfinal and one semifinal every three years.