USC Football rises in coaches Top 25, but stands still in AP poll

Inactive because of their late bye week, USC Football moved up in the coaches Top 25, but stayed in the Week 14 AP poll.

It was a quiet week for USC Football, both on the field and in the polls as the Trojans remained static in the AP poll while climbing one rung up the ladder in the coaches Top 25.

After beating UCLA last week, USC rose to No. 11 in the AP and that’s where they stand again entering conference championship week.

Notre Dame’s loss to Stanford opened the door for a move into the Top 10, but Penn State swooped ahead of USC and TCU to grab the No. 9 spot on the heels of blasting Maryland, 66-3.

The Irish tumbled from No. 9 to No. 15, just behind USC’s next opponent in the Pac-12 Championship Game, No. 14 Stanford.

There could certainly be ire over the Nittany Lions’ leap, but the Trojans continue to suffer from a lack of strong victories on their resume. Meanwhile, the quality of USC’s two losses continues to suffer. Notre Dame’s slip out of the Top 10 didn’t help the Trojans while now-No. 21 Washington State’s drubbing at the hands of No. 13 Washington in the Apple Cup took the sheen off of that close loss for USC as well.

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It’s a different story in the coaches poll however. The Trojans rank No. 9, up one place from last week thanks to Notre Dame’s fall to No. 17. They outrank Penn State by a slim margin in the voting, sitting well behind split No. 7’s Miami and Ohio State.

With Washington placed No. 13 in the new poll and Washington State at No. 22, No. 15 Stanford is the third-highest ranked team in the coaches Top 25 but the highest-ranked three-loss team in the nation.

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The Cardinal and the Trojans will face off at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara on Friday night in a Top 15 battle for the Pac-12 crown.