USC Sports Media Poll: Week 4 College Football Top 25
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There's a reason people say preseason polls don't mean anything -- because they suck.
Preseason pretenders Virginia Tech, Georgia and Pittsburgh each have multiple losses after being ranked in the preseason polls.
Meanwhile, Stanford, South Carolina and Arizona didn't even crack the preseason Top 25 but have proved recently that they can hold their own against just about any team in the nation.
Each of the top three teams have made claims for supremecy with wins over highly touted opponents while the weak have been weighed, judged and found inferior.
After four weeks and nearly one third of the college football regular season, we have seen what teams can actually do on the field. So it is after four weeks that we give you the debut of the USC Sports Media College Football Top 25 poll.
Our poll represents five different USC campus media outlets and two successful USC-focused blogs.
The voters (in alphabetical order): Whitney Blaine from USC's television-multimedia news operation ATVN, Dave Dulberg representing USC's independent student radio station KXSC, Joey Kaufman of the SB Nation blog Conquest Chronicles, Kenny Legan from the student newspaper Daily Trojan, Alejandro Madrid of the Fansided blog Reign of Troy, Tommy Morris from the sports debate television show Platforum on Trojan Vision and Shotgun Spratling from Neon Tommy.
Note: The "high" and "low" columns represent the highest and lowest individual ranking each team received this week.
| Rank | Team | High | Low | W-L | Comment |
| 1 | Alabama Crimson Tide | 1 | 1 | 4-0 | The Tide showed resilience coming back from 17 down on the road. And quarterback Greg McElroy? He hasn't lost a game as a starter since the eighth grade. (Madrid) |
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| 2 | Ohio St. Buckeyes | 2 | 4 | 4-0 | When you schedule Eastern Michigan and make me watch the game on ESPN, you should be knocked out of the Top 25 all together. I'm writing an angry letter to the NCAA right now. (Morris) |
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| 3 | Boise St. Broncos | 2 | 5 | 3-0 | With 'Bama almost losing to Arkansas, the Broncos saw their spot in the Top 2 flash before their eyes. They had a few issues with Oregon State but, as all good teams do, they found a way to win. (Legan) |
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| 4 | Oregon Ducks | 2 | 6 | 4-0 | The Ducks had to force seven turnovers just to escape Tempe with a victory. Their high-powered rushing attack proved not so high powered (235 yards less than their season average) when facing a solid defense. (Spratling) |
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| 5 | TCU Horned Frogs | 4 | 10 | 4-0 | I'm a man of fate. Could it be possible that TCU and Boise St. meet in the national championship? They have met in the Holiday and Fiesta bowls the last two years. The most logical progression for the rubber match would be the BCS Championship game. (Legan) |
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| 6 | Stanford Cardinal | 5 | 8 | 4-0 | Led by Andrew Luck's 11 touchdowns and 912 yards passing, Stanford enters its Top 10 clash with Oregon with the No. 4-ranked offense in the land. The defense is equally as talented with junior linebacker Chase Thomas (19 tackles, 4 sacks) and two-way senior Owen Marecic (12 tackles, 1 sack, 1 INT). (Dulberg) |
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| 7 | Nebraska Huskers | 4 | 14 | 4-0 | Was that the softest non-conference schedule they could find? Let's see how good Taylor Martinez is when he has to play the Big 12. (Morris) |
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| 8 | Oklahoma Sooners | 7 | 10 | 4-0 | The Sooners gave up 17 fourth quarter points Saturday and have been outscored 41-10 in the final period this season. Oklahoma only escaped Cincinnati because D.J. Woods fumbled a late punt inside the 10 yard line. (Spratling) |
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| 9 | Auburn Tigers | 6 | 16 | 4-0 | The Tigers start 4-0 for the second straight year. Cam Newton, who has thrown for nine touchdowns and rushed for five, leads a Top 10 rushing attack that rolled over the stingy defensive units of Mississippi St. and South Carolina. (Dulberg) |
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| 10 | Wisconsin Badgers | 7 | 12 | 4-0 | Wisconsin was one kickoff return yard away from losing to Arizona State two weeks ago but the hustle of Shelton Johnson and a later blocked extra point kept the Badgers undefeated. (Spratling) |
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| 11 | Florida Gators | 7 | 13 | 4-0 | Trey Burton rushed the ball five times, scoring each time. He added a touchdown reception for good measure. Six touchdowns. Not a bad day. (Spratling) |
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| 12 | LSU Tigers | 10 | 14 | 4-0 | Patrick Peterson is the best defensive player in the nation. He may be the best player in the nation. He ran back a punt and is the backbone of a defense that held West Virginia's Noel Divine to just 37 yards rushing. (Spratling) |
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| 13 | Arkansas Razorbacks | 9 | 15 | 3-1 | Are the Razorbacks still a Top 10 team after blowing a 17-point lead to Alabama at home? I say yes. How many teams would have been leading by more than two touchdowns against the reigning champs? Not many. (Kaufman) |
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| 14 | Arizona Wildcats | 12 | 14 | 4-0 | The Wildcats put together an impressive drive to beat Cal and avoid a letdown coming off an emotional upset of Iowa. (Madrid) |
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| 15 | Utah Utes | 10 | 16 | 4-0 | After surviving their opening week OT matchup against then-ranked Pittsburgh, the Utes have flat out embarrassed opponents to the tune of 150-27. Kyle Whittingham's squad is one of the most balanced teams in the nation right now. (Dulberg) |
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| 16 | USC Trojans | 15 | 19 | 4-0 | The Trojans routed a Pac-10 opponent for the first time in a long time. Granted, it was just Washington State but 50 points isn’t a bad showing for a team that scored just two touchdowns against Virginia two weeks ago. (Kaufman) |
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| 17 | Miami Hurricanes | 15 | 18 | 2-1 | Jacory Harris shook off two first half interceptions and Miami took care of business at Pittsburgh thanks to a defense that leads the nation in tackles for loss. (Spratling) |
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| T18 | Iowa Hawkeyes | 15 | 22 | 3-1 | The Hawkeyes wore some hideous throwbacks Saturday, but Iowa bounced back from the disheartening loss to Arizona and is ready for a showcase game at home against Penn State this week. (Spratling) |
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| T18 | Michigan Wolverines | 15 | 21 | 4-0 | Shoelace may be the frontrunner in the Heisman race, but he can't finish a game without getting hurt. (Morris) |
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| 20 | South Carolina Gamecocks | 18 | 23 | 3-1 | Steve Spurrier put his faith in Connor Shaw in the fourth quarter but the SEC has never been friendly to freshmen quarterbacks. South Carolina turned the ball over four times in the final 15 minutes to let Auburn come from behind. (Spratling) |
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| 21 | Texas Longhorns | 21 | NR | 3-1 | Texas surrendered 34 points to a UCLA team that finished with just 27 passing yards as the Longhorns were handed their worst home loss in the Mack Brown era. Brown is just 4-4 against the Pac-10 since taking over at Texas. (Madrid & Kaufman) |
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| 22 | Michigan St. Spartans | 20 | NR | 4-0 | The Spartans barely got by Notre Dame two weeks ago. They'll need to play better and stop the run game of Wisconsin if they're going to knock off the Badgers this weekend. (Blaine) |
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| 23 | Penn St. Nittany Lions | 19 | NR | 3-1 | Collin Wagner made five field goals to help the Nittany Lions hold off Temple. Penn State won't be able to settle for field goals if it hopes to beat Iowa on the road this week. (Spratling) |
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| 24 | Nevada Wolfpack | 22 | NR | 4-0 | It's Colin Kaepernick's time to shine. Look out WAC. Yeah, I'm talking to you Boise. (Morris) |
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| 25 | North Carolina St. Wolfpack | 20 | NR | 4-0 | Jump on the Russell Wilson train now. He may be the nation's best kept secret, but he has the Wolfpack off to just their fifth 4-0 start in the last 20 years. (Spratling) |
Others receiving votes: Missouri, Air Force, West Virginia, Northwestern, Kansas State
To reach reporter Shotgun Spratling, click here, or follow him on Twitter @BlueWorkhorse.
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