'Blue blood' status of USC needs to be universally accepted by college football fans

With the college football season about to start again, an aspect that continues to be brought up and debated is that of which schools deserve to be known as 'blue bloods.' USC absolutely has to be on any list surrounding these types of discussions.

Maybe for younger fans or for those who are only choosing to remember the more recent seasons, it may seem odd to have the Trojans in any list that includes blue bloods.

What has to be the primary point of consideration is all-time national relevance. With that comes national titles, Heisman Trophy winners, and the way in which the program can move metrics when it comes to any and all discussions, even involving college football.

Take Oregon as a contrasting example. The Ducks have certainly done well as of late. There are, however, zero national championships, and they only have one Heisman Trophy winner in Marcus Mariota to speak of. Certainly in terms of national relevance, Oregon is limited to the Northwest and does not have the brand or logo of USC or Ohio State, though Phil Knight does his part to make the uniforms as flashy as possible.

Important aspect that is overlooked with USC

The main part that is not taken into consideration is the role of the NCAA sanctions that included a ban from the postseason as well as significant scholarship reductions. Add, too, that coach Pete Carroll was forced away to the NFL, and it is completely silly to compare the recent situation of the Trojans to some of the other teams.

Granted, only now has enough time passed to balance out the damage that has been done through the targeted sanctions. As can be seen as evidence of this, recruiting is starting to look like what it did in Troy when coach Carroll was in Los Angeles.

Other teams had a chance to take advantage of the USC down years. Now, the Trojans are ready to bounce back and achieve at a high level again.