Is USC Still an Elite Football Program? ESPN Minions Say No

The haters have spoken.

After an almost a decade long run of brilliance in which the football team at USC routinely beat all comers, the tables have turned, and now the national fans of college football are getting their revenge.

Responding to an ESPN poll, which asked if the Trojans were still an elite team, and in which some 170,000 plus responded, 54 percent said no.

The salad days of USC are behind them.

I guess a 9-4 record in 2009 with a young team and a brutal schedule is the tip off that rough days are ahead for the men of Troy.

And yes, there is the specter of the looming NCAA sanctions, which include a loss of 30 scholarships over three years, probation, and a two ban on bowl games to consider as well.

Of course, USC is appealing the severity of those sanctions and if successful, the prescribed punishment will be reduced, although apparently, in the eyes of many, the damage is done.

This attitude can even be reflected in the collective voice that ESPN speaks with when it comes to college football.

Ivan Maisel, one of the networks leading college football writers, recently wrote an article in which he predicts long days ahead for new Trojan coach Lane Kiffin.

And then there is Bob Davie the erstwhile former head coach of Notre Dame who pulled no punches when assessing the 2010 USC Trojans on the local Los Angeles ESPN radio station yesterday.

When asked to assess the Trojans, Davie called USC’s offensive line and defensive backfield “below average.”

Interesting…

Never mind that the Sporting News named Trojans Butch Lewis and Tyron Smith to their first team all Pac-10 offensive line. And that center Kristofer O’Dowd has made several pre-season all-American lists.

Below average indeed.

And while the USC defensive backfield is admittedly young, it is anchored by another Sporting News all Pac-10 corner back, Shareece Wright.

The rest of that backfield will be patrolled by four and five star former recruits who weren’t considered “below average” coming out of high school.

Of course, old habits die hard.

Perhaps Davie felt like this would be a good time to get a dig in at Notre Dames eight year tormentor.

But it may be premature.

The Trojans will benefit from that young team in 2009 being a year older and a schedule that is far more favorable then USC faced last year.

They should improve on that 9-4 record from last year but to what extent is anyone’s guess.

I guess it comes down to how one defines “elite."

Dictionary.com says that elite means, “the choice or best of anything considered collectively, as of a group or class of persons.”

In its poll, ESPN chooses not to define it at all, preferring to allow its audience to make their own determination as to what constitutes that label.

Given the liberal spectrum of what each individual considers to be “elite,” perhaps the Trojans really won’t merit such lofty praise at the end of the year.

After all, no matter what USC does on the field, they won’t be able to play for the BCS Championship in 2010.

So technically, the USC haters at ESPN are right.

For the purposes of the NCAA this year and perhaps next, USC is no longer an elite team.

But not because Ivan Maisel and Bob Davie think so.

And certainly not because the minions of bitter fans at ESPN voted that way.