Lincoln Riley could burn it all down. Southern California's coach could take a blow torch to the 12-team College Football Playoff by injecting a virus called chaos and a bacterium called overcrowding into the selection process.

If No. 15 USC (8-2) upsets No. 5 Oregon (9-1) this weekend and rams its way into the playoff picture, well, I’m afraid the bracket is not going to be big enough to accommodate all the Big Ten and SEC teams that finish with at least 10 victories.

And if USC finished 10-2 and got rejected from the playoff, well, that might be the end of the 12-team playoff as we know it. Killed off by USC’s renegade coach who’s starting to find his stride in the Big Ten, even as he complains about the travel schedule.

All of a sudden, the SEC-backed 5+11 playoff expansio

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