USC is smelling roses, officially
The Trojans settled in at No. 9 in the final College Football Playoff rankings, finishing ahead of Colorado, who fell after losing to Washington in the Pac-12 Championship Game on Friday.
With the Huskies booking a place in the playoff bracket at No. 4, their place in the Rose Bowl will be filled by the highest-ranked Pac-12 team in the CFP. That team is USC.
The berth in the Granddaddy Of Them All is a reward for an impressive season turnaround for the Trojans.
Clay Helton’s seat was hot and USC was reeling after losing three of their first four games, falling to Alabama, Stanford and Utah.