USC Trojans Drop to No. 13 in AP Top 25 Poll After Heartbreaking Loss to Michigan

After falling to Michigan, the USC Trojans are ranked No. 13 in the latest AP Poll, only moving down two spots.

Charlie Viehl | Sep 22, 2024

Sep 7, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojan cheerleaders dance in the game against the Utah State Aggies during the first quarter at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. / Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

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On Saturday, Sept. 21, the USC Trojans traveled to 18 Michigan to play the first Big Ten conference game in school history. The Wolverines scored in the final minutes to take a 27-24 lead over USC, and the Trojans' offense was unable to get into field goal range before time expired.

After the loss, the Trojans were dropped two spots by the AP voters, down from No. 11 to No. 13. The Wolverines moved up from No. 18 to No. 12, one position in front of USC.

As the Trojans pick up their first loss of the season, they should expect to move down in the AP Poll. Previously undefeated teams such as No. 13 Kansas State, No. 14 Oklahoma State, and No. 15 Oklahoma all picked up a loss over the weekend as well.

Out of the top 15 from week three, USC, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State lost to ranked teams. As a result, some shuffling will be in order among the teams ranked between No. 13 and No. 20. Kansas State lost 38-9 to unranked BYU, a loss that is sure to drop them significantly.

Sep 7, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojan cheerleaders dance in the game against the Utah State Aggies.

After beating USC, Michigan was expected to jump Trojans into the top 15. As for the Trojans, they could have expected a bigger drop, but they remain in the top 15.

After the game, USC coach Lincoln Riley shared his thoughts with the media.

"It was a heck of a college football game. We came up one play short," said Riley. "We were proud of the fight of our guys. We fought our tails off. Didn't play particularly good in the first half. Struggled to get much going offensively. Defensively, we had a couple of just big plays where we came out of gap. And that was really kind of the story of the first half when the guys rallied."

Because of the back-and-forth nature of the Trojans game with the Wolverines, USC's ranking did not plummet by any means. Coming into the game with momentum, the Trojans have continued to show growth. Although the team could not hang on for the win, the defensive improvements still showed up.

Michigan was unable to throw the ball effectively all afternoon, but they benefitted from three rushes of 40+ yards from running backs Kalel Mullings and Donovan Edwards.

Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore shakes hands with USC head coach Lincoln Riley after 27-24 win at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Trojans beat No. 16 LSU in the first week of the season, and the Tigers have not given many reasons to be moved ahead of USC despite the loss to Michigan. LSU beat UCLA 34-17 on Saturday, Sept. 21.

Despite the loss, the Trojans showed a level of resilience and physicality that few were expecting. A second half comeback by the offense gave USC the lead late in the fourth quarter, but there was too much time on the clock for Michigan's rushing attack.

Here is the entire AP top 25:

1 Texas

2 Georgia

3 Ohio State

4 Alabama

5 Tennessee

6 Ole Miss

7 Miami

8 Oregon

9 Penn State

10 Utah

11 Missouri