College Football Rankings: How High Will USC Trojans Rise in AP Poll After Beating LSU?

The No. 23 USC Trojans are coming off one of the most impressive wins of the weekend after defeating the No.13 LSU Tigers 27-20 in Las Vegas on Sunday night. The AP Top-25 Poll will be unveiled on Tuesday, September 3rd. Where in the poll should we expect to see the Trojans?

Sep 1, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Southern California Trojans quarterback Miller Moss (7) reacts after the game against the LSU Tigers at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The No.23 USC Trojans pulled off the upset over the No.13 LSU Tigers in a 27-20 win. USC’s defense was the game's story, holding the LSU offense to 20 points. Quarterback Miller Moss showed he could be an elite quarterback, throwing for 378 yards and a touchdown. 

First-year USC defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn had the Trojans defense playing much better than the last few years. Additionally, the USC offense was able to move the ball down the field and had no turnovers. The voters will surely value this highly when ranking teams. The Trojans are poised to move up in the poll, the only question is how many spots.

Sep 1, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Southern California Trojans quarterback Miller Moss (7) throws a pass against the LSU Tigers during the fourth quarter at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports / Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

Ranked Teams Take Care of Business

Unfortunately for the USC Trojans, nearly every ranked team ahead of them also won their opening matchups. Aside from No.10 Florida State, No. 13 LSU, No. 14 Clemson, and No. 20 Texas A&M, everyone else came out on top.

The good news is that USC was only one of three teams that picked up a ranked win. The other two being No.1 Georgia and No. 7 Notre Dame. Most of these ranked teams were beating up on some weak opponents. It will be interesting to see how those wins are valued compared to USC’s win over LSU.

How High Can the USC Trojans Move Up?

Sep 1, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Southern California Trojans wide receiver Ja'Kobi Lane (8) and wide receiver Makai Lemon (6 celebrate after a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the LSU Tigers at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

For the USC Trojans, they will likely be moving up to the top 20. The four teams ranked ahead of them that fell, Florida State, Clemson, LSU, and Texas A&M, have no business being ahead of USC in this week’s poll. Then there is a grey area. Every other ranked team not named Georgia or Notre Dame won, but they didn’t beat the quality of the team that USC did. 

Furthermore, a team that won and is a candidate to get jumped by USC is No. 18 Kansas State. The Wildcats were in a fairly close game against UT Martin until late in the third quarter. They ended up winning 41-6, but UT Martin shouldn't have kept that game within two scores for as long as they did. They are close enough in the current rankings to get jumped due to their average showing against a lower-tier team.

Another team that has the potential to get leapfrogged by the Trojans is the No. 21 Arizona Wildcats. Arizona won a shootout against New Mexico 61-39. The Wildcats defense was atrocious and they should be moving behind USC in the poll.

After just one game, the rankings are still weighted more on the perception of the team coming into the season over the reality. With LSU being No. 13, the USC Trojans will likely be in the 13 to 17 range of Tuesday’s AP Top-25 Poll.  

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