In a boisterous corridor outside the winning locker room following a classic Rose Bowl game on Monday evening, Lynn Swann, USC’s athletic director, was asked if the win meant the Trojans were back at the top of college football.
"No, if we were back at the top of the national landscape, we'd be playing on Monday, January 9th,” Swann said, referring to the national championship game. “We're not there yet. It's a building process.”
USC’s nine straight wins, its sizable chunk of returning talent and its quarterback, Sam Darnold, will likely thrust the Trojans into the national championship hunt next season.