Not too long after USA Today released its Coaches’ Poll, the AP released its preseason top-25 and, in a mild surprise, South Cal ranked first with 25 first-place votes.
The Coaches’ Poll saw South Cal ranked third, a fair ranking all things considered. I won’t discuss too much why South Cal isn’t exactly deserving of the top spot (because, y’know, I’ve already said it), but I’d like to make notes of other things, particularly where our Pac-12 foes rank.
First, Oregon is obviously included in the top-five at No. 5. UCLA doesn’t have them on their 2012 schedule, so we can breathe easy there.
Stanford is also ranked, at No. 21, on par with what FanSided had in their top-25.
Meanwhile, our week two opponents, the Nebraska Cornhuskers, ranked No. 17 in the poll.
Another glaring exclusion was Utah, which was snubbed from yet another top-25 poll, and they were given the 30th most votes in the poll. Not exactly “borderline top-25.”
UCLA obviously isn’t ranked, and if you had to hear it from me, something’s horribly wrong with you. The Bruins could get ranked, though, and early on if they beat Rice handily and can upset No. 17 Nebraska at home.
Either way, no one expected UCLA to be ranked but people do expect the Bruins to have a shot some point in the season.
For the entire top-25 poll — which includes naming “USC” correctly as Southern Cal — visit SB Nation.