It took three losses for some people to finally realize that USC is not the best team in the Pac-10 Conference. The Stanford Cardinal ran all over the Trojans last Saturday to pick up a 55-21 victory and effectively knock USC out of the race for the conference championship. With the loss, USC fell to No. 22 in the Associated Press Poll, which is its lowest ranking since 2002.

Last week, the Trojans went into their game with Stanford ranked No. 11. It seemed like a fair ranking for a two-loss team in the tough Pac-10, but not after looking at their ranking compared with other teams.

Voters ranked USC ahead of Oregon, which fell in at the No. 14 spot. Both teams had a 7-2 record, but only one team had a 47-20 victory in the head-to-head matchup. The Ducks had steamrolled the Trojans just three weeks ago, but they were still ranked behind the Trojans in the AP Poll and the BCS standings.

But USC is not the only example of a team being ranked too high. After the Miami Hurricanes upset Oklahoma earlier this season, analysts were quick to assert that the Hurricanes were back and voters promptly inserted them into the top 10.

Just last week, Miami was ranked No. 12, right behind USC. Three spots back in the poll stood the Iowa Hawkeyes, who had been in the hunt for the National Championship one week earlier. Iowa was 9-1 and Miami was 7-2, but the voters still placed the Hurricanes ahead of the Hawkeyes by a considerable margin.

In the past few years, I have noticed what seems to be a distinct bias for schools on the coasts. Analysts and pollsters want certain teams such as USC and Miami to do well. In their minds, it’s good for college football if these teams remain in the hunt for the National Championship. These are the teams people want to see play, or at least the teams that people on the coasts want to see contend for a title.

In a lot of ways, it’s harder for teams in the Big 12 and Big 10 to break in and make it to the National Championship. The coasts are much more heavily populated than the Midwest, and it makes it hard for these conferences to get as much exposure. It sure doesn’t hurt USC that SportsCenter now airs a show from Los Angeles in addition to its regular show aired out of Bristol, Conn.

It has taken about three months for voters to realize that there is no chance of USC playing Miami for the national title. The Trojans rose to as high as No. 4 in the AP Poll after losing to unranked Washington, which put them ahead of Cincinnati, Boise State, Iowa and TCU, who were all undefeated at the time. It was almost like the loss didn’t really count for the Trojans.

Don’t get me wrong. The Trojans have had a remarkable run. In the past seven years, USC has won 82 games while losing just nine times. Coach Pete Carroll guided the Trojans to seven straight appearances in BCS bowl games.

But the expectations were far too high for this year’s young USC team. An early victory at Ohio State did nothing but convince voters that they were right about the Trojans. But none of them saw two huge midseason blowouts coming.

After seeing the treatment that USC and Miami have been given, I have realized that where a team starts is really important in college football. It’s tougher for teams to quickly gain respect than it is for traditional powerhouses to lose it.

Teams like Kansas have a tough time earning respect in college football. One loss for the Jayhawks or a team like Missouri counts a lot more than one loss for USC or Miami. Most of the big bowl games are played on the coasts, and the closer you start to the coasts, the easier it is to end up there.