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USC Still Doesn't Make College Football Playoff Rankings; Oregon in Top 4

Oregon joins Mississippi State, Florida State and Auburn in the potential playoff.

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The USC Trojans are 6-3 (4-2) now, but that's still not good enough for the College Football Playoff selection committee's top 25 ranking. While five Pac-12 teams make the rankings, the Trojans aren't one of them.

While the Trojans remain on the outside looking in, Oregon no longer is. The Ducks moved up to No. 4 after their dominant victory over Stanford and Ole Miss lost to Auburn. The SEC West still has two squads in the all important final four, but Auburn and Mississippi State will still have challenges on their schedules. Oregon has a tough battle this weekend when it travels to Utah while Florida State should be able to waltz through the rest of its schedule.

There are still a number of one-loss teams that have a good chance of being in the top four spots if they win out, including USC's interstitial rival, Notre Dame (No. 10), and the Pac-12's Arizona State (No. 9). The Pac-12's two-loss squads are bunched up in the back end of the top 20: Utah (No. 17), UCLA (No. 18) Arizona (No. 19). All three squads need to win out and have some extra help.

Here's the full Top 25, plus the current postseason picture and the toughest opponent left, according to Football Outsiders' F/+:

Rank Team Last week Week 10 result Toughest opponent left (per F/+) If the season ended today ...
1 Mississippi State (8-0) 1 Won 17-10 vs. Arkansas Ole Miss Sugar Bowl vs. Oregon
2 Florida State (8-0) 2 Won 42-31 at No. 25 Louisville Miami Rose Bowl vs. Auburn
3 Auburn (7-1) 3 Won 35-31 at No. 4 Ole Miss Alabama Rose Bowl vs. Florida State
4 Oregon (8-1) 5 Won 45-16 vs. Stanford Utah Sugar Bowl vs. Mississippi State
5 Alabama (7-1) 6 Idle Auburn Orange Bowl
6 TCU (7-1) 7 Won 31-30 at No. 20 WVU Kansas State New Year's bowl
7 Kansas State (7-1) 9 Won 48-14 vs. Oklahoma St. TCU New Year's bowl
8 Michigan State (7-1) 8 Idle Ohio State New Year's bowl
9 Arizona State (7-1) 14 Won 19-16 vs. No. 17 Utah Notre Dame New Year's bowl
10 Notre Dame (7-1) 10 Won 49-39 at Navy Louisville New Year's bowl
11 Ole Miss (7-2) 4 Lost 35-31 vs. No. 3 Auburn Mississippi State New Year's bowl
12 Baylor (7-1) 13 Won 60-14 vs. Kansas Oklahoma
13 Nebraska (8-1) 15 Won 35-14 vs. Purdue Wisconsin
14 Ohio State (7-1) 16 Won 55-14 vs. Illinois Michigan State
15 Oklahoma (6-2) 18 Won 59-14 at Iowa St. Baylor
16 LSU (7-2) 19 Idle Alabama
17 Utah (6-2) 17 Lost 19-16 at No. 14 Arizona St. Oregon
18 UCLA (7-2) 22 Won 17-7 vs. No. 12 Arizona USC
19 Arizona (6-2) 12 Lost 17-7 at No. 22 UCLA Arizona State
20 Georgia (6-2) 11 Lost 38-20 vs. Florida Auburn
21 Clemson (6-2) 21 Idle Georgia Tech Orange Bowl
22 Duke (7-1) 24 Won 51-48 at Pittsburgh Virginia Tech
23 West Virginia (6-3) 20 Lost 31-30 vs. No. 7 TCU Kansas State
24 Georgia Tech (7-2) NR Won 35-10 vs. Virginia Clemson
25 Wisconsin (6-2) NR Won 37-0 at Rutgers Nebraska