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USC Loses First-Place Vote in Coaches Poll
Top-ranked Southern California won its season opener Saturday night, but lost a first-place vote in the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll released Sunday.
Heavily favored to beat unranked Virginia Tech in the Black Coaches Association Football Classic at FedEx Field, the Trojans trailed by three points in the third quarter before rallying for a hard-fought 24-13 victory.
USC had 44 of the 61 first-place votes and 1,500 points in the preseason poll. But that total slipped to 43 first-place votes and 1,495 points in latest poll.
No. 3 Louisiana State, which shared the national championship with USC last season, picked up the first-place vote, raising its total to 12 first-place votes and 1,396 points.
Oklahoma remains second with 12 first-place votes and 1,434 points.
Many believed that USC should have ended the 2003 campaign atop the coaches poll. The Trojans went 12-1 and routed Michigan in the Rose Bowl but earned just a split of the national championship. All but three of the 63 coaches - obligated to vote for the winner of the BCS title game - cast their first-place ballots for LSU, which defeated Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl.
USC was voted No. 1 in the Associated Press poll, resulting in the split national championship.
Georgia remains fourth in the latest coaches poll, followed by Miami, which is joining the Atlantic Coast Conference this season.
Florida State is sixth, followed by Michigan, Texas, Ohio State and Florida.
West Virginia, which is expected to highlight a depleted Big East Conference, is 11th, followed by Iowa, California, Tennessee, Clemson, Missouri, Auburn, Utah and Virginia.
Maryland, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Oregon and Purdue complete the poll.
Nebraska, which is under first-year coach Bill Callahan, leads the group of others receiving votes.
Source: AP
Heavily favored to beat unranked Virginia Tech in the Black Coaches Association Football Classic at FedEx Field, the Trojans trailed by three points in the third quarter before rallying for a hard-fought 24-13 victory.
USC had 44 of the 61 first-place votes and 1,500 points in the preseason poll. But that total slipped to 43 first-place votes and 1,495 points in latest poll.
No. 3 Louisiana State, which shared the national championship with USC last season, picked up the first-place vote, raising its total to 12 first-place votes and 1,396 points.
Oklahoma remains second with 12 first-place votes and 1,434 points.
Many believed that USC should have ended the 2003 campaign atop the coaches poll. The Trojans went 12-1 and routed Michigan in the Rose Bowl but earned just a split of the national championship. All but three of the 63 coaches - obligated to vote for the winner of the BCS title game - cast their first-place ballots for LSU, which defeated Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl.
USC was voted No. 1 in the Associated Press poll, resulting in the split national championship.
Georgia remains fourth in the latest coaches poll, followed by Miami, which is joining the Atlantic Coast Conference this season.
Florida State is sixth, followed by Michigan, Texas, Ohio State and Florida.
West Virginia, which is expected to highlight a depleted Big East Conference, is 11th, followed by Iowa, California, Tennessee, Clemson, Missouri, Auburn, Utah and Virginia.
Maryland, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Oregon and Purdue complete the poll.
Nebraska, which is under first-year coach Bill Callahan, leads the group of others receiving votes.
Source: AP