No. 4 USC Trojans

Editor’s Note: We're counting the days until the Athlon Sports 2009 College Football Annuals hit newsstands by releasing one spot in our Top 25 every weekday. Keep checking AthlonSports.com to see who’s next in the countdown.

Bad news, Troy: Oregon State is on the schedule again. So are Stanford, San Jose State, Washington, Wazzu and a couple other teams against whom USC will be solidly favored. That means a bunch of opportunities to get lazy and complacent and ruin what would otherwise be a perfect season.

Since the Trojans are breaking in a new quarterback, trying to find replacements for a quartet of linebackers and recasting the front four, it’s unlikely they’ll be heading into games like rock stars. For the first time in a while, USC has something to prove. You may sneer at that assessment, given the annual parade of talent through the gates, but the backlash that followed last year’s loss to the Beavers, which pollsters treated as if it were a 50-point defeat at the hands of Columbia, was enough to prove to the Trojans that mistakes can’t be tolerated. It’s either perfection or nothing at USC.

Unfortunately, with so many new faces in key positions, errors will be unavoidable. Take quarterback, where Mark Sanchez earned little love from coach Pete Carroll by leaving for the NFL with a year of eligibility remaining on the meter. Aaron Corp will have to hold off hard-charging freshman Matt Barkley for the starting assignment. And don’t forget about Mitch Mustain, the former Arkansas Razorback. At least the survivor will have a productive ground attack, a pair of solid targets (Damian Williams, Ronald Johnson) and a strong line, anchored by center Kristofer O’Dowd.

Senior All-America safety Taylor Mays leads a defense that has a long way to go to match last year’s model, which held 10 teams to 10 or fewer points. For now, it just needs to keep the Trojans one point ahead of everybody else, especially Oregon State.

This and That

Perfection The best evidence of how Pete Carroll’s teams grow stronger late in the season is his 27–0 record in November in his eight years at USC.

Trophy Hogs In eight years, Pete Carroll has produced three Heisman Trophy winners, 33 first-team All-Americans and winners of the Walter Camp, Chuck Bednarik, Johnny Unitas, Doak Walker and John Mackey awards.

He's No. 1 Carroll is the leader among active FBS coaches by winning percentage. At 88–15, with an .854 percentage, he leads Florida’s Urban Meyer (.830) and Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops (.820).

USC Superlatives

C Kristofer O’Dowd and S Taylor Mays (pictured) are named First-Team All-America and First-Team All-Pac-10.

WR Damian Williams is named Second-Team All-America and First-Team All-Pac-10.

OL Jeff Byers and Charles Brown are named First-Team All-Pac-10.

RB Joe McKnight, WR Ronald Johnson, OL Alex Parsons, DL Everson Griffen, LB Chris Galippo and CB Shareece Wright are named Second-Team All-Pac-10.

RB Stafon Johnson, TE Anthony McCoy, OL Tyron Smith and S Josh Pinkard join the All-Pac-10 Third Team.

Your Turn

Tell us what you think! Agree or disagree with our rankings? Rank your Top 25 to be a part of Athlon's readers' consensus Top 25 poll.

Order your magazine! You can read the entire USC preview in Athlon Sports' 2009 Pac-10 magazine, available for purchase now at the Athlon Sports store.

Come back often! Be sure to return to AthlonSports.com every day for complete preseason coverage, including the rest of the top 25, unit rankings, previews for all 120 teams, regional features and more!