USC Trojans Voted No. 1 In AP Top 25 Preseason Poll

The USC Trojans are no strangers to being voted as the No. 1 team in the AP Top 25 preseason poll, and they are back to where they feel they belong. The preseason AP Top 25 has the Trojans as the top team, and they can thank the troubles of former LSU Tigers standout Tyrann Mathieu being dismissed from the team.

In fact, LSU is ranked No. 3 in the AP Top 25 poll, one spot behind the team who beat them in last year’s BCS National Championship Game, the Alabama Crimson Tide.

USC earned the top spot in The Associated Press’ preseason college football poll for the seventh time in school history and the first time in five seasons. Behind quarterback Matt Barkley and Penn State Nittany Lions running back transfer, Silas Redd, the Trojans should have an unstoppable offense.

USC on top in the AP is quite different than how the top few teams shake out in the USA Today rankings, with Alabama No. 1, followed by LSU at No. 2 and USC at No. 3. But both polls have the exact same order for teams four through fifteen. The other difference is that only one team received any first place votes outside of the top three in the AP Top 25, and that was the No. 8 Michigan Wolverines, who received one first place vote.

Here is a look at the AP Top 25 list in its’ entirety:

AP Preseason Top 25

Others receiving votes: Notre Dame 83, Washington 55, Auburn 53, North Carolina 32, Utah 30, Georgia Tech 25, Brigham Young 22, Tennessee 15, South Florida 11, Baylor 9, Texas A&M 5, UCF 4, Missouri 3, North Carolina State 3, Cincinnati 3, Houston 1, Louisiana Tech 1, Mississippi State 1, Northern Illinois 1

As always, the SEC has its’ fingerprints all over the top of the poll, with five teams being represented in the Top 10. A few of these teams ranked this highly in the preseason will fluctuate throughout the season, especially with so many of them playing each other.

In fact, things could change after the first Saturday of the regular season, with No. 8 Michigan facing off against No. 2 Alabama. Expect the winner of that game to receive a plethora of first place votes.

And then  expect things to change at the top on a weekly basis, especially as the season progresses. We have seen in the past that being ranked No. 1 or No. 2 can be both a blessing as well as a curse.