In lieu of rehashing last week's bowl projections where we laid out the rationale for why Clemson was in the best position to finish in the fourth spot for the College Football Playoff, we'll simplify things and make focus on the cases for Tigers and Southern California because that' seems where the debate may wind up a week from Sunday.
The Trojans took a major step forward Saturday with their dramatic road win at UCLA and they're inarguably ahead of Clemson at this point. The problem for USC is that its road is much more difficult with Notre Dame next and then a likely meeting with Oregon in the Pac-12 title game.