What USC learned from its Big Ten rivals in CFP quarterfinals

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After losing in the Alamo Bowl, the USC football team sat at home while all 3 Big Ten teams that made the College Football Playoff competed in the quarterfinals. Hopefully many of the Trojans watched the games, because there was plenty to learn about Ohio State, Indiana and Oregon. USC has to play all three of them next season.

I’m going to focus on elements of each program that USC should try to emulate in 2026, from a philosophical perspective.

Here’s some trends I noticed:

Ohio State proves defense alone is not enough

The Big Ten championship game between Ohio State and Indiana made something very clear: having an elite defense is a more surefire way to compete for championships in 2025 than having an elite offense.

Oklahoma making the CFP without Lincoln Riley before USC has made the CFP with him is also proof of this.

Ohio State’s 14-point limit

You still need to have a very good offense. Ohio State does not. The Buckeye offense is not effective against decent defenses. That is why they lost to Indiana in the Big Ten title game, and to Miami in the CFP. Against Indiana, Miami and Texas, Ohio State did not score more than 14 points.

USC shouldn’t feel bad about its investment on the offensive side of the football. The Trojans had their most healthy, balanced offense in the Lincoln Riley era this past season. They should put a lot of effort into having a good offense again next season.

But the Trojans do clearly need to put more into developing the defensive side of the football. Hopefully they do it in a way that won’t come at the cost of their elite offense.

Ohio State shows why starting slow doesn’t work

USC was a second half team in most of their games this season, especially defensively. It won the Trojans some dramatic games against Iowa and others, but also kept them from beating teams like Illinois and Oregon.

That just doesn’t work against elite football teams. Ohio State’s defense held Miami in check on the Hurricanes’ first two drives in the first quarter, but couldn’t get anything going offensively. Then, Miami scored two touchdowns in a row to open the second quarter, one on a 13-play offensive drive and the next on a pick six. Miami never trailed after that, Ohio State never really recovered, not enough to even tie the game.

USC needs to learn to come out of the tunnel with some juice, offensively AND defensively, in 2026. Or at least, if things go wrong in the first quarter, adjust by the time the second quarter starts.

Oregon shows why USC needs more opportunistic difference makers on defense

Oregon’s defense played very well overall against Texas Tech, limiting the Red Raiders in both the run game and pass game.

But the Ducks were able to pitch a shutout because they forced Texas Tech to turn the ball over four times. Oregon also forced two turnovers on downs and had four sacks and 7 tackles for loss.

Essentially, when Oregon needed someone on defense to make a play, someone stepped up and made it.

The opposite happened for USC in the Alamo Bowl against TCU. The Trojans had some nice defensive plays and series, but crumpled defensively in the biggest moments.

The Trojans need that killer instinct in 2026. It starts with the coaches and how they call plays.

Indiana’s relentless attitude

For a program that lost the most games in college football history before Curt Cignetti came to town, Indiana sure plays like a historic blue blood. Of any program in the CFP, Indiana seems the most likely to just be happy they made it there and celebrate the little things.

Curt Cignetti is not satisfied with that. And so, Indiana is never satisfied. They don’t just want to beat teams. They want to win every down. Will Curt Cignetti smile if Indiana wins the national championship? I’d venture to guess that he won’t and he’ll just say something about how its time to get ready for next season.

Overall, the Big Ten should be considered the cream of the crop

Five SEC teams made the CFP. One of them is left: Ole Miss minus Lane Kiffin. The Rebels aren’t favored to beat Miami in the semifinals.

Yes, there were a couple of head-to-head SEC games in there. But the fact still stands: the SEC is 3-3 in the CFP with two of the wins coming against other SEC teams and the other win coming against a G5 team. The Big Ten is 3-1.

In larger postseason play, the Big Ten is 9-4 in bowl games and the CFP while the SEC is 4-8.

And it’s not just the number of wins, it’s the quality of wins. Oregon and Indiana are blowing out teams in the CFP. Ole Miss thoroughly handled Tulane but barely beat Georgia in a shootout.

SEC did not step up

I think that if there was ever a time in recent years where the Big Ten should be considered the better conference from top to bottom, now is that time. Hopefully AP Poll voters are noticing and will give the Big Ten the same rankings boosts that they’ve given the SEC in recent years.

They probably won’t. But Trojan fans should be excited to take on the cream of the crop in the Big Ten next season. It’s the best college football on the planet.

I just wish that I was more confident that we would win those games at this point. But I have a whole offseason to drum up some optimism.

If you know me, you know I will, founded or not.

This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Oregon and Indiana advance to CFP semifinals, Ohio State is eliminated

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