USC No. 1 in Coaches’ Football Rankings

USC, which split last season’s college football championship with Louisiana State, is ranked No. 1 in the ESPN/USA Today coaches’ preseason poll.

The Trojans received 44 first-place votes and 1,500 points in voting by 61 Division I-A coaches.

Oklahoma is ranked second with 12 first-place votes and 1,426 points, Louisiana State is third with five first- place votes and 1,387 points and Georgia is next, followed by Miami, Florida State, Michigan, Texas, Ohio State and Florida.

LSU won the coaches’ version of the national championship last season after beating Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl. USC finished first in the Associated Press media poll after defeating Michigan in the Rose Bowl.

The Associated Press preseason poll hasn’t been released yet.

Last year was the first split championship since the bowl championship series was created in 1998.

The BCS system, which includes both major polls and several computer rankings, was designed to set up a clear-cut title game. Last year, the BCS formula prevented USC from playing LSU for a consensus title even though the Trojans were ranked No. 1 in both final regular-season polls.