This Saturday presents the Iowa Hawkeyes with a unique opportunity to rapidly take the opposite spot that they held last weekend. Against Oregon, Iowa was fighting for its Big Ten and College Football Playoff hopes.
While those were unfortunately dashed, Iowa has the opportunity to reverse its fortunes and take its frustration out on USC, which needs a win to stay alive in the same races. The Hawkeyes can put a damper on USC’s season, while also salvaging some success of their own.
With kickoff rapidly nearing, ESPN looked at the entirety of what’s at stake in this game for USC, the College Football Playoff, and how the Iowa Hawkeyes can win this matchup.
Iowa-USC: Despite getting dominated on the ground by Notre Dame to the tune of 306 yards in Week 8, USC has not gone away. It only has one conference loss — a two-point heartbreaker against Illinois earlier in the season — and now find itself with a very clear mandate: Win out and the Trojans can all but guarantee the program’s first ever College Football Playoff appearance.
The first obstacle in front of them is Iowa, which comes to Los Angeles after watching its own Big Ten and playoff chances evaporate in a close loss to Oregon. The Hawkeyes could not be more stylistically different than the Trojans and, like they did against Oregon, will try to slow down and muddy the game to their liking. If USC can’t establish a good rhythm on offense, it will have to try and beat Iowa at its own game.
Lincoln Riley’s team has one of the most effective offenses in the nation, leading to at least 30 points scored in all but one game this season. That happened against Nebraska a few weeks ago, but USC was still able to pull out a very Big Ten win with its defense. Chances are, the Trojans will be forced to do the same this Saturday if they want to keep their playoff hopes alive. – Uggetti, ESPN
The Hawkeyes, which have lost three one-score games this year, are aiming to rally and use those close losses as fuel when they take on the USC Trojans this Saturday afternoon from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: What’s at stake in Iowa football vs. USC? ESPN views CFP implications
