2011 College Football AP Top 25: Breaking Down Why USC Is Ranked No. 25

With Saturday's release of the Associated Press top 25, several questions come to mind.

Not the least of which, for this writer, is why the USC Trojans were ranked so low.

After pondering these questions and attempting to look at it from the AP voters point of view, a few possibilities may be considered.

While the forthcoming issues do serve to possibly explain USC's placement in the poll, they reflect an effort to understand the rationale more than the reality of the situation.

Nonetheless, despite the vehement objections to the Trojans residing at the bottom of the poll, here are some of the reasons why they have been placed there.

The Marc Tyler Fiasco

Perhaps the national pundits covering college football felt that Trojan running back Marc Tyler's ill advised shenanigans reflected both a lack of discipline and a dearth of a ground game for the 2011 version of the men of Troy.

In reality, neither is the case.

Although no other Trojans have found themselves in hot water, the image of Tyler's inebriated rant outside of a Los Angeles nightclub may have stuck in writers' minds who suspect that USC's running game may be on indefinite suspension along with the indiscriminate tailback.

While Tyler did represent the Trojans' lone "big back," he is by no means USC's only talented runner. But perhaps those ESPN news reports were hard to shed for reporters as they filled out their ballots.

8-5 Is a Record That Won't Knock Anyone's Socks off

Some times you reap what you sow, and when the Trojans harvested an 8-5 record in 2010, it was going to take some convincing for the national perception that USC was on the decline to be overturned.

Thus, going into 2011, the Trojans will have no favors done for them when it comes to rankings in the only national poll that has the guts to rank them at all.

A reputation only takes you so far, and in 2011, USC's aura will have to be re-established in order for their former respect to be offered by those who vote.

Simply put, 8-5 is a record more fitting for a  No. 25 than a top-10 team.

Voters May Think the Trojans Don't Have Enough Depth

Those who follow the Trojans know that because of scholarship reductions in the next three years, coupled with a lack of able bodies that Pete Carroll left behind for Lane Kiffin, there has been a "depth issue" which has cost USC effective rotations in some units, especially last year.

And because there was a lack of depth, the Trojans wore down in some second-half collapses in 2010 (more on that later).

However, those depth concerns have been somewhat mitigated this year.

Most programs go into a football season with 70-75 scholarship players.

USC will likely enter the 2011 season with 62-68 after holding back players for redshirt years.

Although these numbers are only approximate, the point is that the Trojans are in far better shape than last year when some games found them suiting up 55-plus scholarship players.

Despite this, there may be a national thought that USC simply isn't deep enough to make much noise in the upcoming year.

The Trojans Faded in the Second Halves of Games in 2010

As mentioned in the previous slide, USC had problems putting opponents away in the second halves of games last year.

Because of that, leads in games that the Trojans had historically finished strong in the past would be squandered in 2010.

And in addition to the notch in the loss column, another thing would occur.

The Trojan "mystique" began to suffer.

No longer were the big, bad Trojans feared.

In fact, even their home, the legendary Coliseum, was no barrier for these teams. And some, such as Oregon, simply destroyed USC on their home turf.

Fading in the second half and getting beat in your backyard both lent themselves to the increasing notion that perhaps the Trojans were no longer a top-fight team, and perhaps were best placed at the bottom of the polls.

Poor Defense in 2010 May Be Why the Trojans Are Downgraded in 2011

As anyone who has followed the Trojans over the years knows, USC has always prided themselves on their stout defense.

With more players in the NFL than any other program in history, and many of those from the defensive side of the ball, USC has long established a legacy of great players.

Not so in 2010.

Although the Trojans had some good defensive players—such as defensive tackle Jurrel Casey—move on to the next level, they were uncharacteristically bad in the first year of defensive coordinator Monte Kffin's system.

However, there were good reasons for the drop-off.

First, as stated numerous times, the Trojans were playing with a depleted roster.

But perhaps as important was the fact that due to a lack of bodies, Lane Kiffin installed a "no tackling" policy that was carried out through both spring and fall camps of last year.

Unfortunately for the Trojans, the no tackling policy also carried into the season, which explains why the "D" was so bad last year.

It is difficult to be dominant on defense when you don't practice the fundamental foundation, which is tackling.

Now in the second year of the elder Kiffin's system and bolstered by a full roster along with a return of tackling in practice, the Trojans are positioned to return to the glory of years gone by.

But until they prove it to the pundits, they will be holding up the rear of the AP poll.

Perhaps the AP Writers Are Concerned by the Trojans' Offensive Line

In looking at the 2011 Trojans, one thing is apparent to their coaches, fans and, apparently, the AP writers: USC has a suspect offensive line.

With only two starters returning from 2010, and one of those, Khaled Holmes, moving over from guard to center, the Trojans appeared to have a genuine concern about the "big uglies" in the trenches.

And even with the start of the season being less than two weeks away, those concerns are still evident.

While left tackle Matt Kalil and center Khaled Holmes are outstanding linemen, the guards are yet to be set and depth is also a concern across the line.

However, Kevin Graf has all but locked up the right tackle position, and even though there is uncertainty with the interior positions, there is talent and they will only get better as the season progresses.

Having said that, those who follow the Trojans closely are aware of the promise of this revamped offensive line; the writers around the country are not.

And that may also have played into why they only ranked the Trojans at No. 25.

Sadly, Lane Kiffin May Not Be Well Regarded by Those Who Vote in the AP

To listen to those who follow college football in the South, Lane Kiffin is only slightly removed from the devil himself when it comes to his supposed transgressions he committed while at Tennessee.

Worse yet, Kiffin had the temerity to leave the vaunted SEC for his dream job with the Trojans.

Because of this, Kiffin has carried the baggage of his one year with the Vols to his stint with USC.

And along with that, those prejudices against him also have been nurtured by those who write about college football.

That includes the largest segment of writers in the East.

To what extent those bad feelings for Kiffin played into how the voters in the AP have penalized the Trojans is undetermined, but it certainly couldn't help USC's case.

Which is yet another possible reason why they placed the Trojans so low in their poll.

Having No Bowl to Play for in 2011 Means No Motivation for USC, Say Many Writers

It has been said by many national corespondents that because the Trojans will once again not be playing in a postseason bowl, they will lack motivation to succeed in 2011.

For the coaches and the players, nothing could be further from the truth.

While there is no doubt that the Trojans would love to play in a bowl game this year, the fact of the matter is that everyone who is connected with the program is using this as motivation to play well—damn the bowl game.

And now with the recent revelation that Paul Dee—the former Miami athletic director who sat in judgment of the Trojans while ignoring the litany of infractions that took place under his watch while with the Hurricanes—has come under fire, the indignation of USC's players and coaches are even more laser focused to have a good season here in 2011.

Nonetheless, judging by the incessant babbling by national writers saying not having a bowl game to play for is a reason for USC not to be good this year, it is a valid assumption for why they have downgraded the Trojans in the AP poll.

Conclusion

Make no mistake about it, the Trojans are a long way from where they want to be.

However, if you ask fans of the program, you would have a tough time convincing them there are 24 better college football teams out there.

Still, it is not the fans that vote in the AP, and clearly those that do have their doubts.

This slideshow in no way endorses those doubts but instead, attempts to glean the rationale that those who vote in the poll used to place the Trojans where they did.

The only way for USC to change their thinking is to play well week in and week out.

If the Trojans can do that, they will force the voters in the AP to move them up or face ridicule if they don't.

So when all is said and done, the preseason poll doesn't amount to anything anyway.

Check back in December when it matters.

That's when we will see if the AP voters were right all along.

And that is also when Trojan fans get to laugh at them if they weren't.