The USC Trojans ended their season on a high note, beating the rival UCLA Bruins 28-14 on Saturday night to cap their season with a win. However, the 8-5 Trojans, who began the year ranked 14th, remained unranked in this week's Associated Press poll, as they have been for three straight weeks. USC will end their season unranked in the AP poll for the first time since 2001.
| Year | Final AP Poll |
| 2002 | 4 |
| 2003 | 1 |
| 2004 | 1 |
| 2005 | 2 |
| 2006 | 4 |
| 2007 | 3 |
| 2008 | 3 |
| 2009 | 22 |
The Trojans didn't receive a single vote in this week's poll, and don't figure to gain any after bowl season, especially not enough to rejoin the top 25. The Trojans began the year ranked 14th in the AP poll, the only poll for which they were eligible this season, while facing NCAA sanctions in the wake of the Reggie Bush scandal. However, they never got higher than 14th in the AP poll, and were ranked in just seven of 15 polls this season:
| Week | USC Rank |
| Preseason | 14 |
| 2 | 16 |
| 3 | 18 |
| 4 | 20 |
| 5 | 18 |
| 6 | 28 |
| 7 | unranked |
| 8 | 26 |
| 9 | 24 |
| 10 | 30 |
| 11 | 26 |
| 12 | 20 |
| 13 | 30 |
| 14 | unranked |
| 15 | unranked |
USC opens its 2011 season on September 3 at home against Minnesota, one of three straight home games to begin the campaign.
For more USC football news and analysis, be sure to read the SB Nation blog Conquest Chronicles.