No USC In Sports Illustrated Top 25

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The Washington Huskies are No. 7 and Washington State Cougars are No. 18.  But USC is not found in Sports Illustrated’s preseason Top 25 poll. Stanford is No. 11, Oregon No. 21 and UCLA No. 23. And San Diego State is No. 24.

93 thoughts on “No USC In Sports Illustrated Top 25”

  1. The ONLY time to worry is when Sports Illustrated DOES rank you….
    #CheckOutTheirTrackRecord
    #We’llBeFine

    • Lol.. I said to myself, OK ..Consider the source.. Not rated, yet favored to win the South.. Smh ..Polls matter when you win and continue to win..

      Should not be recognized when you have 65, 70, 75 wins in 10 years.. But ok.. USC is fine.. If not this year, we gain an extra year of experience.. USC will be back in the throne soon enough.. As for 80 yards, all hype and no glory!

        • I actually like SC being on the outside looking in. We have more than enough on our schedule to prove our worth. September will be a perfect 1st month to rank our team.

          • Exactly.. The nose is on every cover as the nose of college football, as usual they will fall a part like a cheap suitcase.. The only team in the Pac that is better than us is Stanford..the others are bottom feeders..

          • Serious question for you, USC55 —-do you think we’re gonna surprise Alabama and then blow it against Stanford….?

          • Considering Helton and his staff are on a short window to produce, they will do everything possible to have these guys prepared for game 1 to game 12 .. A lot is riding on this season, I also know Cowher and Tomlin are looking at the program.. Swann will have his guy either next year or 18.

          • Hope you’re right. No sense wasting any time on Helton if he shows early this is just another learning on USC’s dime gig.

          • The BOD will push Swann to do whatever it takes, we do have the resources to get a top HC.. But I am tired of the merry -go-round of HC’s giving Helton some time to show what he can do is best .. Haden was busy lining his pockets, never focused on the task in front of him. I spoke to Riki Ellison, before all the stuff came out.. Swann is the best option moving forward.. He knows USC and will protect us better than Pat did.

          • Let’s face it, Haden was a disaster for men’s sports at USC – but very good for the women.

            I’m just glad he’s gone. I also think Swann will be a big improvement.

            But I can’t say I admire Ellison much. I read some of his stuff on-line and all I can say is he could use some medication and grammar lessons.

          • I have known the Haden’s and the McKay’s since I was little, I’m 53 .. It sucks that he didn’t do his job, and again made the university look bad, our entire family is disappointed in him, we have not spoken in a few months.. I have a great relationship with Lynn.. I will see him satuday evening at the family bbq at USC. I support him and hope it leads to great things ..

          • Haden’s taken a huge fall – from Golden Boy to King Pariah. I never would have dreamed he’d make the mistakes he’s made, getting his family involved and all.

            I also could never understand how he could pay McKay 800+K a year to walk to practice and transmit messages. Bad judgment that turned out to be a sign of things to come.

            I knew the guy in college and he was a very impressive person in many regards. I think his absolute power corrupted him absolutely. Still hard for me to believe.

          • Do you think Helton will drink alcohol? Weird to think that at this time last year, Sark had a decent, pretty great life. One year later, wow! Divorced, out of football, disgraced…

            What a lesson. #1 – don’t drink at company affairs. #2 – don’t yell Fight Freakin On into an open mike.

          • Clay seems like a upstanding guy lol..not sure he drinks.. Looking for to football season though.

          • Nope !

            Let both (Alabama first, Stanford next) enjoy their preseason Top 10 while it lasts !

            Just hope there is no choke against Utah State…

            FightOn

      • That’s EXACTLY what I mean, Sam —-Sports Illustrated notoriously su*ks when it comes to their pre-season college football rankings….
        #StickWithSwimsuits

          • If that comes true, then the media will be heaping praise on Helton and the Blogger will look awful foolish.

          • I may be wrong, Helen —-but I think, deep down, our blogger would love it if we kicked butt for a change…..

          • Ding ding ding we have a winner. The real blogger used to post on Wild West and he is a passionate SC fan. He just can’t stand brainless rah rahs.

          • I can’t agree with you on that one. Irreparable damage was done when Kiffin booted him from practices and there is no returning to normalcy.

          • Doesn’t matter how he looks, Helen. In the end, The Wolfman will outlast this coach and probably this A.D. as he outlasted the last three coaches, AD and President (what was his name?)

          • When you make as little $ as SW and all you need are sweatshirts for your wardrobe, longevity isn’t all it’s cracked up to be – unless you’re a Troll.

          • Great tip! Thanks, Sam! (I have to wait till Monday to see USC’s Training Camp here in Hawaii —right now David Shaw is commenting on where Stanford is at—-and I hate to say this, Sam, but he sounds so much better focused than Helton)…..

          • I like David Shaw. But he’d sound focused describing a day on the beach in Maui.

            Now’s the time to take Stanford down. If Shaw were smarter, he could have had Rosen starting for the Cardinal right now. Rosen would have had a real chance for success there instead of wasting his talent behind Wimpwood’s ragtag o-line.

          • I’ll tell you what I noticed listening to Shaw today —he never discussed the team in terms of a bunch of position groups. You could tell that he conceptualized the team as one, cohesive whole that always works together. Even when he talked about his star players, he talked about how he envisioned they would fit into the larger scheme, how he planned to use them in a way that made their supporting cast— and the team itself—look good. He had a deeper, more overarching view of how he wanted his team to look on Day One than any of our coaches since Pete Carroll. And you can see the impact of his clarity of vision in the way Stanford plays football, Jack.

          • I agree. No drop off since Big Jim left. But I think this will be a big test year for Shaw and Stanford. Just a feeling. They’ve had a very nice run and definitely took USC’s place as the smashmouth team that won big.

            But it’s hard to keep it going and Stanford always has the target on its back now. The conference is better overall, more versatile, coached better, and I think Stanford is ripe. Not sure McCaffrey will duplicate last season’s greatness. I think he’ll have much more difficulty getting to the second level.

            No question Shaw has the Stanford vision. But it’s not easy being the hunted. I think SC will beat Stanford this year. Our OL will be the best its been in a decade, if any of the hype is right.

          • I think if we lose to Alabama, we’ll regroup against Stanford. But I wonder if this team —Banner, Browne, Jackson, etc —will be mean and hungry enough to beat Alabama and Stanford.

          • You’ll need to remind me —what happened in 2012, marv…?
            #LetMeGuess–TheyWereWrong

      • Its refreshing not be ranked or highly ranked Pre- season.
        We need an underdog chip,swagger go out and beat the world
        approach.Be physical and let our game speak for us.Our schedule shows a lot of tough games,win and rankings that matter will come.As for the Aztecs I can see them ending up
        20-25. Good team very winnable schedule( cal only tough game). But heck let’s play like we need earn each win.

        • I agree Pete. It’s all up to us and we have the perfect schedule to prove we are a good football team. I’m not buying the first year coach and QB thing, we have enough talent and experience right now.

          • Question is, is Helton the coach who crushed ucla or bent over against Wisky. The first half of the Holiday Bowl was the worst USC team I’ve ever seen. I’m sure rooting for him but am not sure he’s tough or smart enough. Solid and a players’ coach for sure. Let’s face it. if USC was being coached by Del Rio (he wanted it bad), Helton wouldn’t be anywhere near this job.

          • Your Helton question is valid.I think the question now ,Has the staff improved? I believe it has,how much it’s improved
            only playing the games will answer the question.

          • True. The staff is definitely much better which is one reason I have hope for Helton. But in the end, the HC still has to be big-time. That’s just the way it is. No staff ever made a HC great, at least not that I’ve seen. The winningest teams all had good staffs plus a big-time head man, which is why they make all the bucks.

            It starts at the top. Helton will be the guy who gives USC its ceiling. He has to have an inner sense and the instincts to make the right pre-game calls, recruiting direction and split-minute game decisions. Actually, Carroll made some significant bad decisions during games and as great as he was at USC, some bonehead decisions he made really cost him.

            It’s hard to find the great ones. SC’s got enough pure talent and depth to give USC a top 10 team I think. But if Helton doesn’t have what it takes, forget about. He’ll lose at least four and it’ll be business as usual since Carroll left – lots of questions, uncertainty and waiting for USC to be great once again.

      • Ya, that was bizarre. Makes you wonder. Those Aztecs area big concern.

        And IOWA at 14? They’ve never won a big game in their history. Crazy.

        • We must not forget SDSU is a possible add to the Pac when/if the Gutless U clowns fishtail out of the Pac .. The Big 12 needs another bottom feeder with burger world skills, lol just think of the trolls on the big 13 blog chirping .. They’ll slap worse than they do here.. Those cornrolls will clown BAT and their silly clueless we won in 1954 fan base..Lol Beat it psychobobble heads.. #Burp

          • The bruins supposedly have the best college QB since Peyton Manning and they still barely crack the top 25. little gutties obviously viewed a gutless.

        • Wrong as usual Jacqui the trans.In 1921, Iowa was selected as National Champion by Billingsley and Parke Davis.

          In 1956, Iowa was selected as National Champion by Football Research along with selections by others of Georgia, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.

          In 1958, the Football Writers of America, ranked the Iowa Hawkeyes as #1 and National Champions.

          You better stick to something you know, like trivia about Gigi Gorgeous.

          • Typical Troll view of success, anything over 50 years ago. little gutties nationwide will appreciate your wimpy definition of success toyboy.

            No do some more homework for me and tell me the last time crappy ucla won a Rose Bowl. What was the year?

      • When it comes to college football and boxing, you’re exactly right.
        #NobodyNohow
        #SportsBookOfTheDead

      • Magazines and newspapers are dead. Swimsuit issue does not even move the needle anymore.
        #noonereadsthebible

        • Maybe the swimsuit issue doesn’t move your needle anymore, but please direct your E.D. issues to another blog, OK?

          • Typical little gutty – just waiting for the lame swimsuit issue, so popular as prison contraband I’m sure. Always knew you had it big for those pictures Shirley.

        • SI has about four good stories a year nowadays. One 30 for 30 is easily worth a year’s worth of SI. SI never adapted.

    • UW has much too high an expectation. I know they have a very weak schedule, but they still have to go through the elite Pac-12 teams and there will be no place to go but down.

  3. That’s OK, it will be better when we beat them. PS who wants the SI curse anyway ?

  6. Lane Kiffen, and Steve Sarkisian have tarnished the USC brand, and year after year while they were at the helm, the team never made expectations. But not because of scholarship limitations, but for disarray, and horrible leadership. So I don’t blame Sports Illustrated for bypassing the Trojans, because until they earn something on the field, then they are just another average, Pac 12 program.

    • Fred you are rare, a realistic USC fan. All the preseason fluff (predictions, polls, magazines, etc.) is entertaining but doesn’t mean a thing when it comes time to performing on the field. You have to win, let your performance determine where you belong in college footballs hierarchy Great take Fred.

      • Glad you brought up realism Bernie. Let’s get real.

        ucla can’t win a simple conference championship, is always owned by either USC, Stanford or Oregon and is incapable of winning a national championship or even getting invited to play in the Rose Bowl.

        So with all your big talk about winning and performance, why can’t ucla ever do it? I say it’s the little gutty way. You’re a basketball school. Football’s just not your deal and never has been. Reality. Always a punch to the gut for little gutty football.

        • We were talking USC, not UCLA. Why are you so consumed with the Bruins? I liked Fred’s post, so I commented on it.

          I disagree with your statement “you’re a basketball school”, as UCLA no longer has an elite basketball program. That ship has sailed. But in that vain, as Fred said, USC football is”just another average program.”

          Maybe your beef is with Fred, and not me.

    • Agree !!! Apparently, SI has the Trojans loosing to the Huskies, the Trees, the Ducks, the Blue, the Dublins, and the Tide. Heaven help us if we catch the Wash St Cougs for the PAC’-12 Championship Game. IT’S TIME TO FIGHT ON, TROJANS !!! BEAT THE D@MN TIDE 1111111

    • No there not average if they were the NFL would cease picking the players – they’ve been poorly coached and not just on ‘game day’ but the entire ‘circus maximus’ that was there since PC.

      Helton appears to be a serious soul – whether he has what it takes to win and win often don’t know – again why wasn’t ‘The Princess’ in the Top 5?

    • Hey they beat the bRuins at the Rose Bowl last year. I think they’ll make it two in a row on the Cubs.

    • In theory that is all nice.. If the team looks ahead, we are doomed to fail.. We are NOT Ucla, lol nor Cal Poly as the psychobobble heads seem to reference me as.. Practice, Play and Produce.. Winners focus on winning, Losers (ucla trolls) focus on winners, and as tough as the schedule may be.. USC needs to focus themselves.. Thats how they built the legacy that others hate!

      • Good point. Practice, play and produce. We’ve been over ranked before and now it’s time to produce on the field. One game at a time is the cliche, but it fits the situation. I like that Helton will take 2 weeks to prepare for Alabama and not the usual 1 that we would take in the past.

        • With the numbers up, the three P’s will be a factor in how the program goes..

          And of course the recruits are watching, lots to play for..

          • Yeah, we have to do it before everyone starts to anoint us as “back”. Like us, everyone is waiting for us finish up the first four games at least. And we started off slow out of the recruiting gate, its picked up over the week, but our class will be a lot different if we have success. A lot of our targets are playing the wait and see game as they probably should.

      • Uh, bad news, Cow Poly. You had 6 losses last season and you didn’t make the SI top 25 this year. That makes you a winner?
        The only place you are a winner is in your inflated dome.

  9. I see a lot of “who cares” comments and I think hooray people are finally catching on to the fact that preseason polls are like rear ends- everybody has one and they all stink. From the point of view of SI (Swimsuit Illustrated= Playboy Jr.) The pamphlet is strictly entertainment unfit in a dentist’s office. We should check People magazine or Highlights if we want a better poll.

  10. “And San Diego State is No. 24” ?

    No where USC ??? (Nothing against San Diego State)

    So what does does this say about Sports Illustrated ???

    Sports Illustrated became “irrelevant” decades ago and no one really knows why they are still around, they don’t do anything any more and no one really cares anyway !!!!!!

    Sports who… ?

    That’s what I thought

    DeadOn

    • San Diego State is being ranked because of their soft schedule, much like Washington’s. San Diego State’s toughest game on the schedule is against Cal, which is supposed to take a step back this year, according to the experts.

  12. I see that SI put that Rosen punk on one of their covers. Good,may the curse be with you. At least the ESPN mag put Christian McCaffrey on the local cover. He is much more deserving than Rosen. ESPN also put USC 9th which is way crazy too high..

  13. Man ‘dago state made the Top 25? This smells of two things – age old animus towards USC and some fool who couldn’t fill out his dance card so he started throwing darts.

    Biggest surprise was them not ranking ‘The Princess’ in the top five – 28 years and counting…..

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