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Chop Chat College Football 2017 Preseason Rankings: No. 5-1

By Jason Parker

ORLANDO, FL - SEPTEMBER 05: Head coach Jimbo Fisher of the Florida State Seminoles talks with Deondre Francois
ORLANDO, FL - SEPTEMBER 05: Head coach Jimbo Fisher of the Florida State Seminoles talks with Deondre Francois /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – NOVEMBER 26: Sam Darnold #14 of the USC Trojans looks to pass the ball in the first quarter against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on November 26, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – NOVEMBER 26: Sam Darnold #14 of the USC Trojans looks to pass the ball in the first quarter against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on November 26, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images) /

No. 4 – USC Trojans

After being sidelined for the early part of the decade, the men from Los Angeles are back – proved last year by a Rose Bowl win over Penn State. Now, the hopes are more than just winning the Pac-12…this is a team under head coach Clay Helton who wants to make it into the College Football Playoff and win the whole darn thing.

For the Trojans, the season will likely start and end with the play of quarterback Sam Donald. Just a sophomore, he’s being labeled by some as a Heisman favorite after just one season. He will get some help in the run game from Ronald Jones and on defense from names like Cameron Smith at linebacker. Donald can’t do it all, but USC is hoping that he can do even better than his debut season.

Most Important Game – September 9th vs. Stanford: It’s weird to say that the second game of the season is the most important, but consider the fact that USC plays 12 straight games this season for an insane reason. The toughest games are all in the Coliseum, but an early loss to the Cardinal would but a monkey wrench in a lot of early plans.

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