The No. 20 USC Trojans and No. 4 Indiana Hoosiers are gearing up to face off in a pivotal matchup down the stretch of the season, and the College Football Playoff could be on the line for USC coach Lincoln Riley and the Trojans.

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti famously led his team to a national championship victory a season ago, but the Hoosiers' hopes of repeating a perfect season were dashed by No. 12 Ohio State. Indiana has looked vulnerable, though, needing overtime to win its last two games against Michigan and Minnesota.

Can the Trojans pull off the upset on the road and eliminate all conversations of Riley and the hot seat? A third loss does not completely eliminate USC, though Riley and company would gain an inside track to the Big Ten Championship Game with a win.

USC Trojans Coach Lincoln Riley on Indiana Hoosiers

When previewing USC's matchup with Cignetti's Hoosiers on Trojans Live, Riley was full of praise for Indiana, and he highlighted the overall experience on the Indiana roster.

"Really good football team. Definitely one of the more explosive offenses in the country. They return a lot of good players. They have multiple great wide receivers and an experienced quarterback. They're good at the running back position and offensive line," said Riley.

"It's just a really good group, and there's a lot of continuity in that group and I would say a lot of the same things about them defensively. They have a really strong defense that returns a lot of guys from a year ago. It's a very deep talented front It's probably one of the deepest groups that we've played all year.

"They've created a lot of havoc and they do a nice job in their coverages. And you look at their group it's literally junior, senior, junior, senior. Just literally across the board and it shows up on tape," Riley continued.

Lincoln Riley on Indiana Quarterback Situation

The Hoosiers are actually tied with USC in scoring offense, averaging 32.4 points per game this season. Indiana has had to deal with an injury to quarterback Josh Hoover, who has thrown for 1,860 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions on the season. In relief of Hoover, Indiana quarterback Grant Wilson has completed 13 of 22 pass attempts for 230 yards, 3 touchdowns, and no interceptions.

A majority of Wilson's production came in the Hoosiers' overtime win over Minnesota, the last game Indiana played before the bye.

In the build up to facing USC, Cignetti and the Hoosiers have not publicly named a starting quarterback. As a result, Riley and company are preparing for both, which the Trojans coach addressed on Monday.

"We've had a chance to see both of these guys but we've got to be ready for both. They have their strenghts and weaknesses and certainly some things that favor the other. We've got to be ready for them and potentially see both guys. They're both very capable of running their offense."