Another Blow To USC: Trojans Held Out Of Coaches' Poll

This was sort of inevitable, but just to clear things up, the American Football Coaches Association has announced that USC won't be eligible for the coaches' poll this season. This is thanks to Association bylaws preventing coaches from voting for sanctioned programs, and presumably could extend to the 2011 season if the appeal doesn't go well:

"American Football Coaches Association policy dictates that AFCA members who serve on board of voters to determine national ranking shall not vote on any institution on major probation.

"Penalties imposed by the NCAA, or a representative conference, are classified as 'major' if the penalties include loss of post-season bowl participation and/or television appearances, and/or loss of 20 percent or more of grants in aid.

But Pac-10 BCS hopefuls, fear not: The Trojans' punishment won't affect your strength of schedule numbers -- opponents' rankings aren't taken into account.

For more on what this all means, check out SBN's BCS Evolution.