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Saying things like "USC isn't that elite this year" is kind of silly. Granted that this was a terrible loss, but they still are the most "talented" team in the nation (by a fair amount).
Depending on who leaves early this year, there's a chance that USC could have 7 defensive players taken in the first round of the NFL draft. Think about that for a second. That's not even including the offensive side of the ball, which will add a few more first-round picks (Booty and OT Sam Baker). Source:
http://www.nfldraftscout.com/
We're clearly not the best team in the country right now. We have problems with our schemes and we turn the ball over too much and we get too many penalties.
That, however, is not the same as saying this isn't an "elite team." There's a very good probability that this USC team will produce over 1/3 of the players selected in the first round of next year's draft.
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This post is so unintentionally hilarious