USC football vaults into AP Top 25 after big Stanford win

USC football’s impressive win over Stanford on Saturday night, 45-29 boosted the Trojans into the Top 25 for the first time in 2019.

It’s not often in the past couple decades that USC football has had to wait until Week 2 to make their way into the AP Top 25, but the Trojans had more than a few questions to answer after the disappointment of 2018.

Enough of them were answered on Saturday in an emphatic comeback win over Stanford, 45-20, to convince voters the Trojans have life.

CHECK OUT: Trojans roll in Kedon Slovis’ debut

As a result, the Week 2 AP poll features USC at No. 24, recognizing the Trojans’ 2-0 record and bright offensive performance.

It really is the nature of that outing that warrants the Trojans a place in the Top 25. They always had the talent to be ranked highly, but they needed to prove they could put it all together. They did that on Stanford thanks in part to a break out performance from freshman quarterback Kedon Slovis.

Slovis was a vision in cardinal and gold, making his first start. He completed 28-of-33 passes for 377 yards and three touchdowns. Those are USC records for a true freshman quarterback.

Nothing seems to move the needle more for poll voters than positive vibes over a team’s quarterback situation and Slovis’ debut was nothing short of fantastic. The feeling that USC “has their quarterback” reigns supreme.

But it wasn’t just Slovis. He facilitated a game which saw the Trojans distribute the ball to each of their playmakers in turn, getting the most out of their immense talent in a variety of ways. Running backs Vavae Malepeai and Stephen Carr scored touchdowns, wide receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Tyler Vaughns scored as well, while Michael Pittman was just as involved and just as critical.

Defensively, questions linger, but results are all that matter in the end. The Trojans didn’t allow a single point in the second half. At worst, they might have conceded six points on field goals missed by Stanford’s Jet Toner.

Put all that together and you get a performance that doesn’t guarantee anything for USC going forward, but does suggest the Trojans are capable of living up to their talent. That being the case, a ranking in the Top 25 is a no brainer.