In the next four months all the various sports blogs and media outlets will be releasing their pre-season NCCA football picks. These educated guesses take into consideration a team’s past-season, the coach’s record, spring practice reports, injuries, transfers, recruits and transfers…a generally some writer-bias and some dumb luck. And in the end it all amounts to…nothing. One big nothing at all.

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Yes, there’s the bragging rights of saying…”My team is better than yours.” Even though we haven’t played any games yet. And so far, we’ve only been playing our own guys. But hey, in the hypothetical pre-season realm, WE’RE NUMBER ONE! The hype is beyond overbearing, and despite all the deep talented teams out there (and I’ll say it…look at the SEC), it somehow always ends up the Trojans Championship to lose…And Pete and the players all claim…”Yeah we don’t look at the polls. Our focus is on each game at hand.” But they do. Somewhere, on some conscious or unconscious level, they go through the season thinking, “This is our Championship to lose.”

Sports commentators love the post-loss excuse, “They were playing not to lose…” But imagine playing not to lose for an entire season. It’s not the mindset you want to go in with. For example: In the last five years the Trojans have gone in AP pre-season #1 a total of three times. Only once, in 2004, did they come out with a National Championship. In 2005 they started off #1, but lost to Texas in the National Championship giving them a #2 finish. In 2007 they were the #1-can’t lose team…until…it sickens me to say…Stanford.

But if you start off lower down, say #8 or so, then suddenly instead of playing not to lose, you’re playing because you have something to prove. Look at 2003, when USC started off #8 and climbed to the top. That’s why playing from beneath is so dangerous, that’s why the underdog has such fight…because he’s got to prove to the world that he’s a contender.

So when the pre-season polls start churning out, don’t be bummed if USC isn’t at the very top. Let it go. Relax. It will take a load of pressure off you as a fan, and the Trojans as a team. Remember: It’s always better to have something to fight for, than everything to lose.

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