You want to talk about rankings? Let me tell you something, son. We used to have to earn our respect on the field, not in some preseason magazine. I remember when rankings were based on what you did the previous season, not on which school has the fanciest NIL collective. USC has tradition, whether you like it or not. They’ve had down years, sure, but so did we back in the late 90s before Coach came in and built something. A true rivalry isn’t about who won the last few meetings in a specific stadium, it’s about the history. The fact they’re still considered a threat shows you the power of a brand, something built over decades, not something you can just transfer into via the portal. They’ll be back, and when they are, you’ll wish you hadn’t dismissed them so easily. This sport has always had its blue bloods, and dismissing one because of a recent skid is short-sighted. It reminds me of when folks wrote off certain SWAC powers, and they always came roaring back. Let’s see how your team handles the target when they’re the ones everybody is gunning for week in and week out. It’s a different kind of pressure.
