5 teams wrongly ranked in 2016 Preseason Amway Coaches Poll
By John Buhler
Should USC be a top 25 team in the initial Amway Coaches Poll? Absolutely. USC recruits like few programs do and the players seem to have a great players’ coach in the recently appointed Clay Helton. After sputtering with bad hire after bad hire following the Pete Carroll era in Los Angeles, Helton might be the voice of consistency to bring USC back to national prominence.
USC enters the 2016 Preseason Amway Coaches Poll at No. 17, an understandable position, but frankly a bit too high. The Trojans have a ceiling of maybe nine or 10 wins this year, assuming they aren’t devoured by their brutal schedule.
The Trojans play the Alabama Crimson Tide on a neutral site in Week 1, on the road against the Stanford Cardinal in Week 3, and on the road against the Utah Utes in Week 4. One could argue USC might be 1-3 through the first three weeks of the 2016 NCAA season.
Given that Helton was a safe hire by former athletic director Pat Haden, new USC athletic director Lynn Swann might pull the rug out from under Helton if the Trojans don’t perform well out of the gate.
The middle of USC’s 2016 slate gets easier, but their final three games are brutal: at the best Washington Huskies team in a decade, probably in the rain on November 12th, at crosstown rival UCLA on November 19th, and at home versus College Football Playoff hopeful in the independent Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
USC has the talent to be ranked in the initial 2016 Amway Coaches Poll, but the Trojans won’t have the longevity to sustain its spot in the top 25 throughout the season. This is an 8-4 football team, possibly 7-5, and therefore no room to be in the top 25 at season’s end. They should be swapped with Utah at present time.
Next: 3. Clemson Tigers.