USC, Oregon, and UCLA are in the hunt for the College Football Playoff right now in mid-November, completely flipping the script on what everyone thought would happen in the Big Ten. Remember how 2024 and 2025 saw Oregon do alright, but USC, Washington, and UCLA all totally struggled? Well, Washington is still down, but the other West Coast schools are absolutely crushing it, making all those “travel is a handicap” takes look ridiculous.
The Numbers Don’t Lie: West Coast Dominance
College football writer and analyst Dan Wetzel dropped some serious truth bombs after the November 7 games. Get this: the trio of USC, UCLA, and Oregon is rocking an overall record of 22-5, with a 14-4 mark in Big Ten games. That’s not just good, that’s playoff-contention good! Now, compare that to the supposed Big Ten stalwarts: Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State. Their combined overall record is a paltry 16-11, and they are struggling at 8-10 in Big Ten play. You kidding me? The numbers don’t lie, folks. The West Coast schools are absolutely showing up.
So Much For That “Travel Problem”
For ages, the widely-accepted chatter among pundits was that the brutal long-distance travel from the Pacific time zone to the Central and Eastern time zones would just kill the West Coast teams. It even had some logic, honestly. USC, under Lincoln Riley, definitely had a tough time on Big Ten road games in those Central and Eastern time zones. But that idea that the deck was stacked against them? It totally missed one HUGE possibility: what if the Midwestern and Eastern Big Ten schools just plain sucked because of bad coaching? Seriously. UCLA and Bob Chesney are unbeaten this year. Unbeaten! And Oregon just went into Columbus and absolutely thrashed Ohio State. The narrative that this was some kind of travel or logistics nightmare? Nah. It’s really just a coaching problem, plain and simple. Ohio State is a complete mess under Ryan Day, Michigan is an absolute disaster under Kyle Whittingham, and Penn State is just struggling under Matt Campbell. When the West Coast Big Ten schools are just better coached, that whole travel thing becomes secondary.
Can Lincoln Riley prove the West Coast coaching advantage even more? We find out this Saturday when his USC squad takes on Curt Cignetti’s Indiana in Bloomington, Indiana. This isn’t just another game, it’s another chance for the West Coast to show they’re not just here, they’re here to dominate.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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