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One month away from the start of the season, the USA Today Coaches Poll was released and USC landed 15th overall. The Trojans were the fourth-best Pac-12 squad behind Oregon (4th), UCLA (7th), and Stanford (11th).
Rival Notre Dame (17th), Pac-12 South foe Arizona State (18th) and Steve Sarkisian's former squad Washington (25th) all stand among the nation's top-25 programs heading into the upcoming season. The Pac-12 earned six bids overall, second to the SEC (7), but both conferences are looking up at the defending national champions Florida State.
Last year USC ranked 24th overall in the preseason poll, landing just one spot ahead of Oregon State. Battling in the nations second-toughest conference, Steve Sarkisian's squad will have plenty of tough games this season which makes the next few weeks of preparation crucial for the squads overall success and resultant national ranking.
| Rank | Team | Points | First-place votes |
| 1 | Florida State | 1543 | 56 |
| 2 | Alabama | 1455 | 0 |
| 3 | Oklahoma | 1382 | 3 |
| 4 | Oregon | 1314 | 1 |
| 5 | Auburn | 1271 | 0 |
| 6 | Ohio State | 1267 | 1 |
| 7 | UCLA | 1085 | 0 |
| 8 | Michigan State | 1050 | 0 |
| 9 | South Carolina | 1009 | 1 |
| 10 | Baylor | 965 | 0 |
| 11 | Stanford | 955 | 0 |
| 12 | Georgia | 905 | 0 |
| 13 | LSU | 833 | 0 |
| 14 | Wisconsin | 654 | 0 |
| 15 | USC | 627 | 0 |
| 16 | Clemson | 535 | 0 |
| 17 | Notre Dame | 509 | 0 |
| 18 | Arizona State | 358 | 0 |
| 19 | Ole Miss | 346 | 0 |
| 20 | Texas A&M | 266 | 0 |
| 21 | Kansas State | 257 | 0 |
| 22 | Nebraska | 228 | 0 |
| 23 | North Carolina | 175 | 0 |
| 24 | Texas | 143 | 0 |
| 25 | Washington | 142 |
0 |
Also receiving votes: Missouri 126; Florida 122; Central Florida 102; Mississippi State 74; Oklahoma State 56; TCU 54; Michigan 53; Iowa 49; Miami (Fla.) 45; Duke 41; Louisville 32; Marshall 27; Brigham Young 18; Boise State 13; Louisiana-Lafayette 12; Virginia Tech 12; Texas Tech 8; Minnesota 6; Cincinnati 6; Northwestern 5; Oregon State 4; Fresno State 4; GeorgiaTech 2; Houston 2; Arkansas 1; Arizona 1; Northern Illinois 1.
While the Coaches Poll does not bear as much weight post BCS, the Playoff selection committee could still take these rankings into account when choosing the top four teams in all of college football beginning with their mid-October weekly rankings. But as always, win games on your schedule and the rankings will eventually work themselves out.