Sports Illustrated released its preseason Top 25 college football rankings on Wednesday with USC landing at No. 8 on the list. The Trojans, who the media picked to win the Pac-12, are the highest-ranked team from the conference, but are joined by five other Pac-12 schools in the magazine's Top 25 (No. 10 Oregon, No. 14 UCLA, No. 15 Arizona, No. 17 Arizona State and No. 18 Stanford).
In the magazine's preview, the editors named C Max Tuerk the Trojans' "X-factor" as he anchors the line in charge of protecting potential Heisman Trophy candidate QB Cody Kessler. The preview also highlights the vast number of options at the wide receiver position as JuJu Smith takes the reigns at the No. 1 spot previously occupied by recent Philadelphia Eagles first round pick Nelson Agholor.
USC has previously been ranked No. 10 by the USA Today's Coaches' poll behind Oregon at No. 5 with four other Pac-12 teams also earning spots in the Top 25.
