The Week 3 AP Poll dropped on Sunday after an eventful weekend of games, resulting in a shuffle of the Top 25 thanks to AP voters. Losses for two top ten teams, Michigan and Notre Dame, saw them replaced with two new teams in the top ten.
Despite that, one was not USC, much to the annoyance of FOX Sports analyst Joel Klatt. During a Monday’s recent episode of the ‘Joel Klatt Show,’ Klatt criticized how AP voters rank teams, asking why USC was not a top ten team after Week 2.
Joel Klatt Questions AP Voters’ Decision Not to Have USC in Top Ten
The AP voting system has been called flawed for some time now, with Joel Klatt calling AP voters terrible for their decision not to have USC higher than the No.11 they are currently ranked. With the recent losses for previously ranked No. 10 Michigan and No. 4 Notre Dame, most fans expected the Trojans to leap into the top ten.
Sitting at 2-0 after a straightforward 48-0 win over Utah State this past weekend, their big Week 1 win over LSU, who was ranked No. 13 at the time, should have had them ahead of several teams with two wins over average opponents. Only two other teams hold wins over those currently ranked in the AP Poll: Georgia and Texas, both of which are top-five teams. Looking at it from that angle, you understand Joel Klatt’s frustration.
Another ball knower Joel Klatt spitting facts.🔥
“A USC team that looks like they are for real.” – Joel Klatt.
“USC…is clearly one of the best top 10 teams.” Klatt says that the AP votes are garbage that they just moved teams up and down. @JoelKlattShow says USC deserves to… pic.twitter.com/wxtqGEBecz
— Trojan Football ✌️fan (@TrojanFBx) September 10, 2024
Klatt had USC in his top ten, saying the Trojans look like the real deal through two games and deserve to be a top-ten team. Klatt said during his rant that he loves the passion the AP voters show for the sport, but it’s terrible that USC is ranked No. 11. He said Tennessee and USC should be recognized as two of the best teams in college football right now.
It wasn’t just the AP voters who had Lincoln Riley’s team at No.11, the USA Today Coaches Poll had USC at the same rank, with Joel Klatt not touching on that.
Is USC football really back?
Joel Klatt said that USC has looked the real deal in their first two games, and it’s hard not to disagree with his AP voters rant. However, we must take those two games with a pinch of salt. The Week 1 27-20 win over LSU was a step in the right direction, but looking at the Tigers through two games, their defense could be as bad as last season. So we can jump to early conclusions, but things can change quickly once the Trojans get into the meat of the schedule.
Looking at the small sample size, there are positives around the program. The defense looks much more well-rounded, limiting an explosive LSU offense to just 20 points. Utah State didn’t manage any points, a step up from the 42 points they allowed against Mountain West teams in the opening two games last season. New defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn is a major part of the uptick, moving over from UCLA this off-season. Lynn took a Bruins defense from below 80 ranked in 2022 to No. 11 in 2023.
Watch this and tell me USC is not serious about defense.
Thats the defensive coordinator D’anton Lynn lighting up his guys after stopping Utah State from scoring late in the 4th quarter -up by 48 mind you✌️pic.twitter.com/PPuj9Wrso1
— Trojan Football ✌️fan (@TrojanFBx) September 9, 2024
Quarterback Miller Moss may have different abilities than No.1 2024 NFL Draft pick Caleb Williams, who was the signal caller the last two seasons. However, he has started 2024 strong, throwing for over 600 passing yards and two touchdowns. Moss is not the type of quarterback who will rush around and make clutch plays, but he looks efficient enough to put the offense in positions to win games.
In just two games, it’s hard to say that “USC is back'” but the team seems much more well-rounded compared to the past two seasons, where the attitude was that we would just score 40+ points and hope it was enough. That makes the 2024 season much more exciting for Trojan fans. We will see where this USC team is when we get to the Big Ten Conference schedule.
