BCS Rankings: USC Trojans Prove Their Worth in Win vs. Oregon

You have to wonder where the USC Trojans would be right now without their past transgressions.

Given a two-year bowl ban and denied a chance to compete for the Pac-12 championship after Reggie Bush was deemed to have received improper benefits, the Trojans entered the 2011 campaign with no trophy to play for.

But, boy, have the Trojans played.

Placed No. 10 in the latest AP poll, USC now has a 9-2 overall record, with a triple-overtime loss to then-No. 6 Stanford and a thrilling 38-35 victory over then-No. 4 Oregon on Saturday.

Led by top pro prospect Matt Barkley, the Trojans have bounced back in a big way, now on top of the Pac-12 South division with a 6-2 conference record.

If this were any other season, the Trojans would be in place to capture the Pac-12 championship (they've shown they can compete with Stanford and Oregon, the conference's two top teams).

Barkley threw for 323 yards and four touchdowns on Saturday against an Oregon defense that had just kept Andrew Luck in check, the same Andrew Luck who is widely considered to be the top pro prospect in the nation.

On top of that, USC's offensive line, led by offensive tackle Matt Kalil, has allowed Barkley to be sacked just seven times this season, concurrent with its dominance last season.

Oregon had rattled off nine straight victories after its season-opening loss to No. 1 LSU. The Ducks were in prime position to assert themselves into the title game picture on Saturday after Oklahoma State lost to Iowa State. And they were just coming off a 53-30 thrashing of Stanford.

Enough can't be said about the job controversial head coach Lane Kiffin has done. He took over a program facing massive sanctions and did so knowing he wouldn't be able to repeat the glory of his predecessor, Pete Carroll...at least for a couple of years.

Barkley is likely headed off to the NFL after this season, and USC will be left to pick up the pieces.

But in a season that literally means nothing in the NCAA, the Trojans haven't folded at all.

They've had a season they should be proud of, knocking off a legitimate title contender playing for much more than they were.

Then again, playing for pride sometimes trumps all of that.