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Ranked in the top five in all AP polls of recent memory, the question was how long could they hold up the bar for the Pac 10 and college football?

The answer came in 2009 as legendary coach Pete Carroll - widely considered one of the best modern day college football coaches - stepped down after a losing season that finally saw USC end its seven-year streak of Pac-10 championships.

Although they came on strong at the beginning of the season, after huge losses to Oregon 47-20 and Stanford 55-21 it was 'game over' - as Pete Carroll packed his bags to accept a head coaching position with the Seattle Seahawks.

2010 saw another so-so 8-5 season under new head coach Lane Kiffin, and going into 2011 it wasn't looking any better. This, following revelations that Heisman Trophy winner, Reggie Bush, was found to have received "improper benefits" while attending USC. As punishment, that means USC will not participate in any postseason games in 2011.

Do Kiffin and the Trojans have their work cut out for them much?

Still, with a stronger defensive line - and one of the best quarterbacks in college football in Matt Barkley - the Trojans have a good shot at rebuilding right through the 2011 season.

More about USC Trojans football around the Web:

University Southern California Official Athletic Site - Football - News headlines, schedule & scores, stats, team history, photos, related resources.

SI.com University of Southern California - Sports Illustrated team page for The USC Trojans featuring comprehensive information on the USC Trojans schedule, roster, standings, stats, rankings, game-by-game, conference page and conference scores.

Yahoo! Sports College Football - USC Trojans - Visit this site to get scores, schedule rankings, standings, stats, team photos and live broadcasts..

We Are SC Forum - Scout.com - Message boards, intense trash talk and up-to-the-minute questions, answers, and rumors on the USC Trojans. Discuss last years highs and lows or just gloat about the team's unrivaled success.

USC Trojans Football News - All Trojan news, all the time, with links to breaking stories, player profiles and magazine articles around the Web, from Topix.com.

Also see -> College Bowl | BCS Championship

Orange Bowl | Rose Bowl | Super Bowl