USC Trojans Plummet In Latest AP Top 25 Poll

The USC Trojans lost an inexcusable game to the Minnesota Gophers and the dominoes are already beginning to fall.

Heading into the matchup, the Trojans were ranked 11th in the AP Top 25 Poll . After the loss, not only did they plummet, they fell completely out of the Top 25.

Here is the complete Top 25 Rankings:

USC Trojans Plummet In Latest AP Top 25 Poll

1. Texas
2. Ohio State
3. Oregon
4. Penn State
5. Georgia
6. Miami
7. Alabama
8. Tennessee
9. Ole Miss
10. Clemson
11. Iowa State (Tie)
12. Notre Dame (Tie)
13. LSU
14. BYU
15. Texas A&M
16. Utah
17. Boise State
18. Indiana (Tie)
19. Kansas State (Tie)
20. Oklahoma (Tie)
21. Missouri
22. Pitt
23. Illinois
24. Michigan
25. SMU

In what was going to be one of the premier games of next weekend’s unreal college football slate, the game against the 4th-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions has lost a little bit of its shine with the Trojans now being unranked.

It also is much more important as the USC Trojans season rides on the outcome of the game. The two losses that the program has are going to make it very tough to compete for a Big Ten title and a College Football Playoff birth, but it is not impossible. A 3rd loss would all but guarantee they are competing the rest of the way to play in the Holiday Bowl again.

Many questions surrounding this team since the beginning of the Lincoln Riley era continue to remain unanswered.

Also Read: What We Learned About The USC Trojans In Loss To Minnesota

The team looked extremely disciplined in the first two weeks, but they have not since. Costly mistakes and self-inflicted wounds have proven to be extremely detrimental and are the main factors for the two painful losses to Michigan and Minnesota.

In yesterday’s game, USC committed 3 turnovers (again), had a season-high 15 missed tackles, and a missed field goal.

There were plenty of other issues, but those three stats alone are going to lead to losses almost every time, regardless of opponent.

Next week will be the first time USC will be an underdog since their Week 1 matchup against LSU. Perhaps that is what they need and it will motivate them to play spoiler. Their season certainly depends on it.

More must-reads:

• Lincoln Riley Baffled By Gap Between Offensive Execution and Final Score
• USC Football’s 3 Worst Stats From Loss to Gophers
• What We Learned From The USC Trojans Painful Loss To Minnesota