Associated Press Poll Released, USC Ranks No. 1

The Associated Press Top 25 Poll was released Saturday and USC earned top billing. The Trojans’ 25 first place votes constitute a rather overwhelming majority, given USC has a thinner bench that only gets thinner.

USC is riding a wave of hype not unlike the mid-2000s, when the Trojans were the pre-season No. 1 in 2004, 2005 and 2007. Only in 2004 did USC go on to win the BCS championship, which was also the last of 10 times the initial No. 1 claimed the national title. ReignOfTroy.com mentions in its camp update that Lane Kiffin downplayed the ranking, as expected.

The reigning national champion, Alabama, edged out SEC West rival LSU for the second spot. Oddly though, the Crimson Tide was ranked as low as ninth. BamaHammer.com examined San Jose Mercury News columnist Jon Wilner’s perplexing selection.

Because the AP poll does not impact the BCS points race, egregious selections are less infuriating here than with the USA Today Coaches and Harris polls. There is also the BCS poll, which had the PR nightmare of allowing Craig James and his laughable ballot to participate in 2011.

1USC (25)0-014452Alabama (17)0-014113LSU (16)0-014024Oklahoma (1)0-012865Oregon0-012746Georgia0-011077Florida State0-010938Michigan (1)0-010009South Carolina0-099410Arkansas0-096311West Virginia0-085612Wisconsin0-083813Michigan State0-074214Clemson0-061515Texas0-056916Virginia Tech0-054817Nebraska0-048518Ohio State0-047419Oklahoma State0-043020TCU0-039721Stanford0-038322Kansas State0-030023Florida0-021424Boise State0-021225Louisville0-0105

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