At Issue: Is USC’s No. 1 ranking in the AP poll justifiable, and was there a team that got snubbed from the Top 25 that deserved to get in?
USC’s ranking shouldn’t surprise
Jong Lee
USC’s No. 1 rank in the AP poll is justified. Senior quarterback John David Booty is back and should be more prepared to start his second season as the quarterback. Wide receiver’s Dwayne Jarrett and Steve Smith left, but there are a couple of potential replacements in junior Patrick Turner and sophomore Travon Patterson. Turner has the big frame you would like to have in a possession receive and Patterson, can stretch the field.
As for the defense, the Trojans are returning 10 starters from last season and could be the second best defense in the nation.
I was surprised not to find Miami in the poll. They seem like regulars in the preseason polls, but the promotion of Randy Shannon to head coach might have scared off some pollsters. Miami will be back in the top 25 by the end of the season, and rival Florida State will fall out.
Elite team deserves praise
Eli Jabbe
USC deserves its No.1 ranking. The proof is there: They have been one of the elite teams in college football consistently for several years now. They have definitely earned respect and deserve to be n√∫mero uno.
Where USC starts off the season won’t matter in the long run. I don’t believe they will be able to stay at the top spot as the season goes on. Jong brought up an interesting point about USC’s offense. The new quarterback will probably never be able to fill the shoes of Matt Leinart. The 100 running backs vying for the job will have a tough act to follow when compared to great backs in USC’s recent past. USC winning games will be predicated on how the defense performs.
I was also taken by surprise to not see Miami. I always think of them as a consistently great college football program, which they have proven themselves to be for over a decade, so it is unusual to see them out of the Top 25.
The world was made for Sparta
King Leonidas
I, King Leonidas, strongly disagree with those two weaklings, Jong and Eli. They don’t have big enough six packs to say that USC’s No. 1 ranking was justified.
As a Spartan, I know what it takes to kick butt and take names, and only a team that goes by the name of Spartans is worthy enough be ranked No. 1 by this so-called AP poll. That’s why I have appointed the Michigan State Spartans as the No. 1 team in my own specially made poll. It’s called The-Spartans-Could Kill-a-Trojan-Faster-Than-I-Can-Flex-My-Six-Pack-Poll.
The Spartans are the one and only team because if I put any other team in the poll with them, the Spartans would probably kill them faster than I could flex my six pack.
Who cares if the Trojans have been one of the most dominant teams in the sports world in the last decade?
The Spartans would kick the Trojans’ butts in a fistfight.
Don’t underetimate USC
Judge Dredd
How dare another man enter the Fighting Words arena and attempt to upstage Judge Dredd with challenging words of manliess. King Leonidas, though you may intimidate Eli and Jong, Judge Dredd fears no man – even if he is a Spartan. So you lose, because Michigan State is a horrible football team and because your manliess pales in comparison to Judge Dredd’s.
Though Judge Dredd is far from a USC supporter, he cannot deny their constant annual ability to compete for the BCS National Championship.
As for Miami not making the Top 25, Judge Dredd was far from surprised. This team hasn’t been in the upper echelon of programs for about three years now. It’s always seemed like everyone in the country, other than ESPN and the AP writers responsible for the poll, has known about the Fighting Irish being overrated for like the last 10 years. It’s nice to see they finally got it right.
The winner: Jong Lee
