Even with all of the success that the No. 15 USC Trojans have earned this season, the chase for a College Football Playoff is the realest it's been all season.

Hear me out, Oklahoma fans. If and when you finish watching the No. 8 Sooners take care of No. 22 Mizzou to preserve a clear path to the Playoff, flip on CBS. At 3:30 p.m. ET, Lincoln Riley will lead No.

LOS ANGELES—USC head coach Lincoln Riley has been named a semifinalist for the George Munger Coach of the Year Award.

Lincoln Riley said he sensed a shift in his team's demeanor at halftime, just as the team’s Playoff hopes were hanging by a thread.

The speculation about a departure emerged earlier this week when ESPN college football analyst Josh Pate suggested that Riley could be on the hot seat or leave the school, cryptically saying “Let’s just keep an eye on Lincoln Riley at USC.”

The Trojans head to Oregon next week — where they have not won since 2011 — for a game with significant CFP ramifications.

The No. 15 USC Trojans will aim to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive as they will go on the road to take on the No. 7 Oregon Ducks. Autzen Stadium

Riley's hiring sought to propel USC back to the center of the college football universe, and though the landscape looks much different than previous title-winning tenures in LA, the current outlook does have the Trojans where they hoped to be for the games that matter the most.