USC zoomed up six spots to No. 3 in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll. It’s the Trojans’ highest finish since the 2008 season. Full poll is after the jump:
| 1 |  |
Clemson (60)
Record: 14-1
|
PV Rank
3 Points
1,500 |
| 2 |  |
Record: 14-1
|
1
1,440
|
| 3 |  |
Record: 10-3
|
9
1,292
|
| 4 |  |
Record: 12-2
|
4
1,277
|
| 5 |  |
Record: 11-2
|
7
1,252
|
| 6 |  |
Record: 11-2
|
2
1,240
|
| 7 |  |
Record: 11-3
|
5
1,130
|
| 8 |  |
Record: 10-3
|
10
1,105
|
| 9 |  |
Record: 11-3
|
8
1,032
|
| 10 |  |
Record: 10-3
|
6
1,001
|
| 11 |  |
Record: 10-3
|
13
920
|
| 12 |  |
Record: 10-3
|
16
730
|
| 13 |  |
Record: 8-4
|
19
651
|
| 14 |  |
Record: 9-4
|
20
640
|
| 15 |  |
Record: 13-1
|
12
619
|
| 16 |  |
Record: 10-4
|
18
610
|
| 17 |  |
Record: 10-4
|
11
585
|
| 18 |  |
Record: 10-3
|
14
368
|
| 19 |  |
Record: 11-2
|
25
358
|
| 20 |  |
Record: 9-4
|
–
338
|
| 21 |  |
Record: 9-4
|
15
277
|
| 22 |  |
Record: 9-4
|
–
253
|
| 23 |  |
Record: 9-4
|
–
222
|
| 24 |  |
Record: 8-5
|
17
206
|
| 25 |  |
Record: 11-3
|
–
113
|
I think this is the rightful place for our team at the finish of the season. And it should serve as the stepping stone for next year’s run to the national championship. I believe it’s certainly an attainable goal considering how special Darnold is. Just give him the supporting cast of good lines, RBs and WRs, and he’ll take us there. He’s got my undying trust to make it happen!
I gotta agree!
Fight On Trojan Nation!!!!!!
Amen. As the saying goes, it’s not about where you start but where you finish.
Capt. Caveman Darnold is talented, but I don’t see a NC happening with Gomer (Jack B’s name for Clay Helton) at the head of your team.
Well? Nobody knows that yet. But if a coaching lightweight such as Dabo Sweeney could win a natty, then I’m sure Helton very well could.
Lightweight?? Ah…OK. Dabo coached Clemson to two National Championships in a row and is light years ahead of “Wenig” Gomer, who won in a weak 2016 Pac 12 conference. Props to him for the improbable comeback win at the RB though.
Yeah, right! He’s a heavyweight head coach after belonging to a team that won a couple of NCs under a real heavyweight. So according to your logic, they become heavyweights by being around them for a while, huh? LMAO!
I said nothing of the sort, yet my previous comment stands on its merits/own two feet.
Although, Good try at logic skills there , RegalBegal. *sarcasm*
Your hilarious handle indicates your logic resides six feet underground.
Sure, Regal Beagle…sure.
Where’s Jack Tripper? Have ya seen Larry with him?
Let’s go check at the…
Last I checked he was buried at SUCLA cemetery right beside you, SUCCer. LOL!
After they way they started. Who ever thought nos. 3
So sad for SW. No words can describe his futility at this stage.
USC football has publicly overcome his Debbie Downer jibs and jabs and is now, however improbably, the #3 college football team in the USA.
Fight On! Recruit linemen!
Some one I hope has Whining Wolfie on 24 hr watch.Few hours ago he used word “Fantastic”.He must have been in altered state…for his own safety blog on alert……Jack ,we may be flipping a major DT from Washington.More information Tuesday.
Great year for USC football and one of my personal favorites all time. My son got to finally see his first USC game and now expects to have his own ticket going forward. Haha. But the Coliseum will be full next season. ESPN just released its early 2017 poll. PER Mark Schlabach…….
1. Alabama
2. Florida State
3. USC
4. Penn State
He also says Sam Darnold is considered the lone frontrunner in college football for the Heisman Trophy.
Oh god, you procreated ????
No poll, from anyone means a damn thing. I’m sorry but I am so sick of “experts” selling advertising. They are always wrong.
You bettter get used to it Steve because it’s going be everywhere now until we start playing games. I think #3 is the right ranking to start next season. I hope we come back hungrier than ever.
What’s the link to his ballot?
http://collegefootball.ap[dot]org/poll-voter/scott-wolf
ty
Thx for the link…incredibly bizarre ballot by Flow.
I expected him to put Western Michigan ahead of USC. While he didn’t he did rank them in the same spot he had them 12 before losing to Whisky yet dropped from 8 to 11. he put Michigan ahead of USC with the same record even thought they lost 3 of their last 4.
I wonder how long it will take the AP to take away the Blogger’s vote. He’s had stories written about him a couple times on his bazaar voting and that kind of publicity can’t be good for the AP poll brand.
If they haven’t pulled it yet they I don’t think they will. He likes to think he’s a contrarian when in fact, he’s a troll.
I believe Wolf votes based on where he believes the team will FINISH the season. Right now, the Trojan Family is excited and thinking great things. I actually think Wolf is realistic. Of course, I want to see SC win it all…..but there are big question marks. DLine, OLine. I don’t fault Wolf at all.
I think you give the Blogger way too much credit.
And this is the final AP poll AFTER the season has finished so he has all the information needed to make a ranking. There clearly is a bias in his reporting/rankings, which is his right as a journalist, but polls should not have individual biases present.
Thanks Sam
This is probably the most painful blog post Wolfy has had to write all year. It shows how out of touch he is with the rest of the country since he voted SC at #8. How ridiculous that appears right now.
Of course, he will always keep be in broken-record mode all off-season by hammering home his two points:
1) It’s Helton’s fault for not switching to Darnold sooner.
2) Darnold is a one-man team.
These two points only feeds into his narrative that Helton is a terrible coach and deserves zero credit as well as the entire coaching staff and the other 21 position players.
I’m hoping that will help in recruiting. There’s no way Ohio State should have finished ahead of Penn State.
I agree – they were shown to be a joke by AL – should have tumbled down to 7 or 8
Those committees love Michigan and Ohio State. They’ll do anything to get them in the playoffs. If Michigan would have beaten Ohio State, they would have taken them over Penn State. The same thing happened in 2014. TCU was 3rd and Ohio State was 6th. OS beat Wisconsin 59-0 in the last game and even though TCU beat Iowa State 55-3, they still bumped TCU out of the playoffs and put Ohio State in. Granted, OS won it that year but who’s to say TCU wouldn’t have won it if they would have gone. They love OS and Michigan.
OSU is usually talented, but overrated and Michigan is dirt.
Look at the current class, see any DL’s on there that are studs ?
I see a lot of projects. Some of them may turn out to be outstanding players, like Terrance Lang. But you’re right…..none of these guys will help us next year. But I’m hoping that we’ll get a stud like Jay Tufele. We still have 3 more weeks before signing day
Anyone know, is Adoree really going to classes?
On his Twitter, he’s posting about an accounting class that started at 8am. And he said he has another class at 11a.
ROFL Tide !?!
Nice ranking…I would have put ohio st at #9….which might be too high…they stunk like Colorado did in their bowl game…nice ranking for husky fans too,I would have ranked Penn st there…onto next year; some will reload with great able bodied reserves, some have to replace and find them….
Only conference with 2 teams in the Top 5… not bad! I’d say #3 is about right. Should be an exciting ’17. A couple of key position groups to work on (lines), but I like the trajectory.
Penn st below Ohio St makes no sense. Along with a few others in this poll, i dont think the coaches do one but i doubt if a lot of this would be the same. If we jump 6 spots hard to believe that Penn St would be that low
If you ucla little gutties jumped six spots you still wouldn’t even be close to the top 25. That’s how bad The Chimp and the bruins are. What’s even better is that it’s another horrible bruin season coming up! You poor bruin fans. How do you take so much punishment?
USA Today’s Final 2016/17 Poll just in, Jack. UCLA is #84. They aren’t in anybody’s top 50 for 2017/18.
#OwnsIsInForRoughYear
Too funny about the little gutties. I’d say #84 is spot on and good food for the Trolls.
They’re starving over here so any little crumb gives them reason for hope!
Your reaction: “Too Funny.”
Owns’ reaction: “Moving up 80 spots gets us in the playoffs!”
Urban’s wife give’s good hummer’s,even better than Jack B I’m told
So the Pac-12 ties the SEC with most teams in the final poll at five. But the Pac-12 is woefully weak?
Big 10 and Washington still over rated. January 2018, USC v Penn St in the Nat Champ with the Heisman winner and the runner up on the field. Wolf will have a stroke.
Now that’s funny
Boy, talk about the Double Whammy! First, Matt Leinart is elected to the College Football Hall of Fame and now USC finishes #3 in the final AP Poll, despite his every effort to make sure that didn’t happen. Maybe Wolf should call Jill Stein and demand a recount. If that fails, give Martin Sheen and the rest of the mentally challenged in Hollywood to ask to voter to vote with their conscience.
Trojans finished strong definitely, but still were a three loss team for the season. Darnold was #3 losing the one game at Utah. No west-coast bias in this poll w/ UW staying at #4. No way are they better than Penn St. Stanford also over rated. Come on now if Adoree leaves minus JuJu, Rogers, Mama, Davis, Stevie T., & Hutch it will be more than difficult to make the final four. On paper the receiving corp looks mediocre, and will need someone besides Burnett to step up big time. Remember w/ Barkley back after 10 – 2 season and pre-season ranked #1 team fell apart completely. Time will tell of course having spring practice along with new recruits.
Steve —-good stuff! [But next season won’t look like Matt’s last season unless Aundrey Walker leaves Canada and returns to USC to protect Sam’s blind side]……
Remember when SW was making fun of USC’s “tough schedule” They played 6 teams in the top 25 – did anyone else?
I can’t believe he’s got them at #8. Truly a pathetic little man.
Puny
Great to see the Tide at #2 without a single #1 vote. Sorry Nick! You really blew it last night. Don’t worry. You’ll get over it some day. Maybe.
Look at it this way. Your team couldn’t make a third down all night and CLEM moved the ball on that vaunted defense of yours for over 500 yds and 21 4Q points.
There’s a new king. Here’s to another one next season!
It hadn’t entirely dawned on me until I read your post, Jack —-but you’re right —-Nick’s defense lost the game. He can’t even pin the loss on Sark (or Kiff). For some reason, the middle of the field was open for the 25 yard pass all night. And, yeah, if we can develop a couple of All American tackles, USC’s king next year.
Bama’s frosh QB can’t hit the broad side of a barn with his passes. Great runner and leader, but he can’t throw – at least yet. He’s a running back who takes the snap.
And Bama’s D was on the field for 99 plays. Recipe for disaster. They were gassed at the end and no wonder. 99 plays! Saban got smoked on D.
Yet Bama still almost won. That’s how much talent they’ve got.
Great to see the Tide crumble. Worst defeat in Saban’s career. Football is cruel. Reminded me so much of Carroll’s loss to TEXAS. USC couldn’t stop Young. ALA couldn’t stop Watson.
Re Saban —-to be that much of a perfectionist, to work that hard, for that long —and, then, see it all evaporate in the final second —wowsie! I’ts impossible to imagine the thoughts that were going through his head when he woke up in the middle of the night last night…….
Alabama’s special teams also performed poorly and had some stupid penalties. The D could not cover Mike Williams.
Agreed [I hope you don’t hate hearing this—BUT— in the final analysis a team is measured by how it plays when the game is on the line—and, by the final game of the season, USC was a lot better at that defining moment than Bama was]……
I don’t hate hearing it, but Clemson and Alabama were the two best teams in the nation by a wide margin. The reason Clemson matched up well with Alabama was because of their defensive line. Clemson could handle the Alabama run game. Nobody else can, IMO. Certainly SC is a lot better with Sam Darnold than they were in week 1, but I still think Alabama would win again with their run game, just in a closer contest.
That’s just it —-Alabama IS a better team —-unless it’s a close game in the 4th quarter.
Better doesn’t always win and Clemson took advantage of some matchups and two pick plays that were well executed. Whether or not they were offensive PI may be tied to one’s rooting interest.
While ALA is better than USC, they certainly did choke away a game they had but could never put away. It was a brutal loss but I’m very glad the Tide folded and completely collapsed in the 4Q. That was pure gold and in direct contrast to SC’s clutch performance in the 4Q against PSU, when we outscored them 17-0.
Sark’s play calling was definitive Sark. Very little downfield.
I thought this was a blog for Westwood Tech Trolls ??? No school today little gutties ?
Oh have the Mighty been Silent !!! Thumping their chest !!! The Chosen One would lead them to greatness !!! How Mora was a superior coach !!! All I Hear now is…Crickets ,…. Crickets !!!!
Order is restored ! We play and win in the Rose Bowl before the Gutties do, in the new year !!!!
Hey gutties ! When was the last time you played in the Rose Bowl in January ? Like I’ve always said !!! The Rose Bowl , is our Home Field …. we just let you use it between Sept to Dec !
Just think if Helton had named Darnold the started to begin with, oh what might have been. But he was being a nice fellow, and apparently nice fellows finish ranked 3rd.
If you ever wonder what Wolf’s colleagues think of him here’s a quote,
” I actually cared about the AP poll this morning because I wanted to see if Jim Harbaugh homer Scott Wolf at the Los Angeles Daily News would still vote Michigan #1 even after the Iowa loss. ” Joe Kinsey.
So Wolf wants so bad not to be considered a “rah rah” his peers see him as a “Harbaugh Homer”. Priceless.
More on Wolf’s Harbaugh man crush.
“Scott Wolf of the Los Angeles Daily News finally has Alabama No. 1.
You might remember Wolf as the lone person in the Associated Press Poll who hadn’t voted the Crimson Tide as the top team in recent weeks. In fact, before Alabama became the unanimous No. 1 selection in the latest poll released Sunday, Wolf was the only voter in the poll since Week 8 not to place the Crimson Tide in the top slot.
At last, that all changed. The reason: Michigan lost.”
ANDREW ASTLEFORD
SEC Country Staff
It seems Wolf was the only AP voter to give Michigan his #1 vote for 8 weeks.
Two PAC12 teams in the top 4. Nice!
Fire Helton! He should have started Darnold sooner so it’s his fault we are not #1, right SW?
Amazing fact: Since the lone glory year of ucla football, way back in 1954 when the little gutties split a NC with OHIO ST and finished #2 in the AP poll, ucla has never finished as high as #3 in the AP Poll. Never.
USC, with a redshirt frosh QB and a first year coach, starts 1-3 and still ends up finishing higher in the AP at #3 than ucla ever has since ’54. Stunning little gutty futility vs Trojan superiority. Fight On!
Good Season… Fight On!
It was fun and this poll is nice chewing gum for the eyes…:D
And, Thank God Sam Mo-Jo-Risin’ Darnold is a Trojan.
On another note…
Atta-boy, Aztecs!
TRIVIA TIME REVISITED !
What Team in modern College Football history ever when’t from “not” being “Ranked” in the [ TOP-50 ] at midseason (6 games into the Season) and “finished” the Season within the TOP-3 ?
THE 2016/2017 USC TROJANS !
And while not being a Statistician, I’ll bet its “never” been done before EVER !!!
Fantastic JOB Cassius Clay Helton and Company…
Season Start 2017, Can’t Wait !
FightOn
I never realized that. Thanks Rick.
I was worried at the beginning of this season. It looked bad. I was thinking…..”ANOTHER new coach?” What a mess. But the coaching staff got things right. Watching the videos, it seems that Helton is a great motivator and the team responds to him. Who would have thunk it after the 1-3 start? FIGHT ON.
Outside of Bama and Clemson, who’s better/who’s had a better Oct and Nov/ who finished stronger?
I think of the Miami team that beat Nebraska for the National title but had started the season by getting pummeled by Florida, 31-0. Or, about the year Florida State started 0-2 with one of those losses against Southern Mississippi, but ended the season ranked inside the top 5 after, gulp, winning the rest of their games.
SW loves Michigan I guess. Did the Wolverines even win outside the state of Michigan? They played 8 home games plus MSU- what a scheduling joke.
THERE IS NO ARGUMENT OR BASIS FOR RANKING SC OUTSIDE THE TOP 4 OR 5. PERIOD.