re: USC moved ahead of LSU because

It's sort of a mute point at this point in time. Reality and order will play out and be evident after this weekend and next. I feel they probably have teams in this order now based mostly on what they feel is most likely to happen over the next 2 weeks.

The winner of LSU/Georgia is the SEC champ and is in. If USC wins out, the PAC 12 champ is in. Whoever wins the Big 10 championship is in. And then it comes down to TCU. If they win the Big 12 that makes 4. I think this would be the ideal for the voters and what they envisioned when they went to a 4 team tournament.

Now if either of the mentioned pac or big 12 teams should fall, then they look at the 2 usual suspects, Clemson and Alabama, and the Big 10 loser if the championship game is a tight one. It would be tough to not take a Conference Champ like Clemson with their record being as good or better than anyone left. I think Alabama and both Mich/Ohio St are better teams than Clemson, but it really isn't a power poll or power ranking, is it?

Sorry, if LSU loses to Georgia, there is just no way they could or should qualify. If they win, I don't see how they could not put them in. If Georgia should lose, it would be the Big 12/Pac 12 champ, or both, that probably gets the shaft.

I could easily imagine a scenario of a losing Georgia and Ohio St both still getting in ahead of all the other conferences. However, there would be a lot of upset fans around the country if the 4 ended up being from just 2 conferences, like Georgia, LSU, Ohio St, and Michigan, even if they were in reality the 4 best teams.