USC Football rises in AP poll after impressive win over Stanford

Thanks to a 42-24 win over Stanford, USC Football returned to the Top 5 in the Week 3 AP poll and rose in the coaches poll.

USC Football is right back where they started, restored to No. 4 in the AP poll after an impressive victory, 42-24, against Stanford.

The Trojans took advantage of Ohio State’s loss to Oklahoma, who leaped to No. 2, on Saturday. They also leapfrogged No. 5 Penn State a week after the Nittany Lions did the same to them. Beating the Cardinal restored the order of things.

With the victory, USC extended their winning streak to 11 games, their longest streak since 2009 and the second-longest active win streak in the country. Stanford is the fourth ranked squad the Trojans have bested in that run.

Clay Helton also added to his undefeated mark at the Coliseum, where the Trojans have won 11 straight.

As expected, Alabama remained at No. 1 with Clemson at No. 3.

Stanford dropped from No. 14 to No. 19 thanks to their loss. Other Pac-12 schools included in the poll this week include No. 6 Washington, up one spot, No. 21 Washington State, down one, and UCLA who makes their first appearance in this year’s poll at No 25.

Utah, Colorado and Cal also received votes, while Notre Dame dropped from the ranking.

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The Amway USA Today Coaches Poll also corrected what might have been an overcorrection last week, flipping USC back to No. 4 after Penn State took that slot over the Trojans last week.

Washington also stands at No. 6 in the coaches’ estimation, with Stanford down to No. 19 and WSU down to No. 22.

Instead of UCLA, it’s Utah at the tail end of the rankings, checking in at No. 24. Colorado, Oregon and the Bruins received votes in the poll but did not make the Top 25.

TRENDING: 5 Takeaways from USC vs. Stanford

Next up, USC will face a Texas Longhorns team which started the season ranked, but dropped unceremoniously out of the Top 25 when they lost their opening game to unranked Maryland. The Longhorns bounced back with blowout win over San Jose State and will head to the Coliseum with an eye towards toppling the Trojans.