Associated Press Will Not Strip USC of 2004 Title

Despite reports that the BCS will strip USC of its 2004 BCS National Championship, it doesn't appear as if the Associated Press will be following similar protocol. From Chris Dufrense of the LA Times:

"The 2004 poll stands," AP sports editor Terry Taylor confirmed in an e-mail to the Times. "The poll is intended to measure on-field performance. If teams are allowed to play, they're allowed to be ranked and USC certainly played in 2004."

There was speculation the AP might reconsider USC's title because it recently called for a re-vote for NFL defensive rookie of the year Brian Cushing, a former USC linebacker, who tested positive for a banned substance. Cushing, who plays for the Houston Texans, kept his award after a second vote.

Taylor said USC's 2004 national title is different.

"It would be impractical to revote," Taylor said. "It's been six years. Memories have faded and the poll board from that year is no longer intact."

Finally, somebody gets it. 2004 happened. 55-19 happened. A national championship happened. There is really little use in going back in time and attempting to erase events from the history books. We've said this on here before, but can you possibly remove the memories from those games from Trojan fans' minds? Hardly. There's little use in trying.

Furthemore, the AP's decision's to allow USC to keep the 2004 title preserves the Trojan Dynasty of the 2000s by recognizing their back-to-back Associated Press national championships. Because as we all know, the NCAA does not give out championships for football.

The NCAA does not recognize a champion in major college football. For years,champions were crowned independently by the AP, which began its poll in 1936, and the coaches' poll.

There are some things the NCAA can't touch and this is one of them.

Fight On!