One win, a nine-year curse broken, and suddenly, USC’s playoff hopes look a lot more interesting. The Trojans’ victory over Penn State at Beaver Stadium has shifted the conversation around coach Lincoln Riley’s team, but the job is far from finished. A daunting schedule still threatens to spoil the momentum. Riley isn’t shying away from the challenge, though, and ESPN’s Rece Davis isn’t ready to count USC out either.

During his appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Rece Davis was asked how many Big Ten teams he expects to make the College Football Playoff. While several analysts have seemingly written off the USC Trojans, Davis isn’t ready to count them out, believing Lincoln Riley’s squad still has a legitimate shot at securing a playoff berth.

“I still think we’ll probably wind up with three. I’m not sure exactly who the third one will be. I haven’t lost total faith in USC yet. That was a big win for them on the road against Penn State. I know Penn State’s struggling, but Lincoln Riley’s had all kinds of trouble in the Eastern time zone. You go to the East Coast, you win in the white out. Really big win for them,” said Davis.

The USC Trojans have made a compelling case for the College Football Playoff with a 6-1 record and two Big Ten road wins over Rutgers and Penn State. However, those victories come with a caveat: the Scarlet Knights and Nittany Lions have combined to go 0-5 in conference play.

With Ohio State, the Indiana Hoosiers and UCLA still on the schedule, USC’s playoff ambitions face a far tougher test ahead.

Well, USC’s road to the College Football Playoff was never going to be a cakewalk. Even before the season kicked off, the Trojans faced the nation’s 19th-toughest schedule and the Big Ten’s fourth-hardest slate.

On top of that, despite enjoying a favorable non-conference schedule, their 3-0 start failed to silence critics, with questions lingering over the quality of their performances.

Entering Big Ten play, a hard-fought yet impressive 42-35 victory over Rutgers did little to ease those concerns, while their subsequent home loss to Oregon only added to the doubts surrounding their playoff ambitions.

However, despite the daunting road ahead, the $11.5M head coach Lincoln Riley remains unfazed, backing his Trojans to fight their way into the playoffs and tackle whatever challenges lie ahead.

“So here in the next four weeks, two of them are byes for us. So it’ll be a chance to keep developing the roster, keep developing these young guys. We obviously have a handful of guys that we need to get healthy or healthier, which I think there’ll be some obvious benefits there. But yeah, you have to believe, and I very much do, our threshold as a team to get better is really high,” said the head coach on Y-Option with Yogi Roth on October 14.

Quite encouraging words from the head coach, and Lincoln Riley has every reason to back them up. The Trojans have bounced back over the past two weeks, with the offense holding firm despite injuries and the defense delivering crucial stops, from Kameryn Crawford’s red-zone sack against Washington to Christian Pierce’s timely peanut punch at Penn State.

But the tougher stretch of Southern California’s season is just getting started. In Week 8, the Trojans hit the road to face Wisconsin. While ESPN’s Football Power Index gives USC a 55% chance of winning, the Badgers’ record demands respect. Entering Week 7 at 4–1, Wisconsin has already pulled off a 24–20 upset over Penn State on the road, just like the Trojans.

After Wisconsin comes Ohio State, followed by another ranked opponent, the Hoosiers. The road ahead is anything but easy, and the Trojans will have to brace themselves for a tough finish if they want to make the playoffs.