USC watches Oregon ascend to No. 1 in US LBM Coaches Poll

This is what football misery looks like at USC: Not only are the Trojans 3-4 and in bad shape, but Dan Lanning and Oregon are No. 1. It’s a worst-case scenario.

The USC Trojans will not appear in the US LBM Coaches Poll, presented by USA TODAY Sports, for the rest of the season. That’s what happens when a team is 3-4 through seven games. Meanwhile, USC’s Western competitor, the Oregon football machine, is now No. 1 in the poll. It’s a worst-case scenario for USC football under Lincoln Riley.

The Trojans need to recruit more of the players Oregon winds up getting. Oregon has clearly been better than USC at player acquisition, and that is feeding into what we are seeing on the field this year. It’s true that USC isn’t coaching its players as well as it can, but especially on defense, it’s less about the coaching itself and more about lacking both quality and depth. As soon as Eric Gentry, Anthony Lucas, and Bear Alexander ceased to be available to play (for various reasons), the USC defense lost some of its quality. USC simply has to stockpile elite depth to become more of a factor in national college football.

Here is the full US LBM Coaches Poll after Week 8:

Rank Team Record Points
1 Oregon 7-0 1,323 (51)
2 Georgia 6-1 1,238 (2)
3 Penn State 6-0 1,197
4 Ohio State 5-1 1,107
5 Miami (FL) 7-0 1,087
6 Texas 6-1 1,082
7 LSU 6-1 946
8 Tennessee 6-1 916
9 Clemson 6-1 907
10 Iowa State 7-0 829
11 Notre Dame 6-1 809
12 BYU 7-0 740
13 Indiana 7-0 651
14 Texas A&M 6-1 641
15 Alabama 5-2 554
16 Kansas State 6-1 488
17 Missouri 6-1 486
18 Ole Miss 5-2 444
19 Boise State 5-1 379
20 Pittsburgh 6-0 359
21 Illinois 6-1 347
22 SMU 6-1 249
23 Army 7-0 185
24 Navy 6-0 115
25 Vanderbilt 5-2 37