Since SC doesn’t play Oregon obviously the best chance they have for a playoff spot would be to beat UCLA at the RB and then again in the Pac12 CG. Of course Oregon would also have to knock off Utah or something like that. Java knows the answer to all these scenarios.
If: a) UCLA, Oregon, Utah, and USC win out against lower tier Pac12 and b) USC beats UCLA, here are the scenarios:
Oregon beats UCLA and Utah, Oregon gets first spot. UCLA is out with two loses. Utah is out with two in-conference losses. USC is in.
If Oregon beats UCLA, but loses to Utah: UCLA is out with two losses, Oregon is out with two total losses. Utah is in with head-to-head with Oregon and two total losses. USC is in with one loss.
If UCLA beats Oregon, both Oregon and Utah are out due to at least two overall losses. Both USC and UCLA play each other again in 14 days - only one loss.
Since SC doesn’t play Oregon obviously the best chance they have for a playoff spot would be to beat UCLA at the RB and then again in the Pac12 CG. Of course Oregon would also have to knock off Utah or something like that. Java knows the answer to all these scenarios.