I'm no USC fan and really couldn't care less if they were to lose, but they still have by far the most talented team in the nation along with Georgia, Oklahoma, Texas and yes, Ohio St. One game doesn't mean all that much, even if it costs them the title. They didn't win the title last year either and they were a better team than LSU.
To me I can tell who the most talented teams are without the National Championship. A bad break here or there and you can be eliminated from the NC, but that doesn't mean the team wouldn't beat the NC 7 out of 10 times.