Chris Dufresne’s top 25 countdown: No. 20 USC

The Times’ Chris Dufresne unveils his preseason college football top 25, one day (and team) at a time.

No. 20 USC

If you think this ranking is harsh, check back in Year 4 of probation (pending appeal/pleading/begging with NCAA).

How does one handle the Tommy Trojans?

Meted-out punishment prevents USC from being ranked in the Bowl Championship Series polls — USA Today coaches and Harris Interactive. The Trojans will be ranked in their all-time favorite poll, the Associated Press, which dared to crown USC champion twice when others balked, but that poll is days from its first release.

Troy hasn’t yet been reduced to rubble by scholarship losses, so the talent is still top-10. It’s the uncertainty that landed the Trojans at 20.

ESPN could run a 24/7 crawl just on USC updates. In a matter of months, the basketball, football and baseball coaches, plus the athletic director and president, have left the arena the old AD raised so much money to erect.

Some banana republic governments don’t turn over this fast.

What price glory for the Pete Carroll years . . . is what we’re about to find out.

Twenty is where you stick a team that can still unofficially win the Pacific 10 Conference . . . or end up tied for fifth again.

It was a mistake starting quarterback Matt Barkley as a true freshman if winning it all was the goal. But it’s not a mistake now. Too bad — because of the sanctions, the best bowl the kid will ever pocket is the 2009 Emerald, which has since dropped its sponsorship. Unless you think Barkley is sticking around for his sanctions-free senior year.

Can the remaining talent overcome the lingering questions?

Will a team put out full effort knowing there is no championship to win or freebie bowl gift bag at the end of the arc?

Will Trojans be happy playing the spoiler role and trying to exact revenge against Stanford, Oregon, Washington and Arizona?

Is Lane Kiffin a head coach? No one knows. He was Mike Garrett’s knee-jerk, save-the-recruiting class hire after Carroll left on a book tour that ended in Seattle.

Will the off-season problems seep into USC’s real season? Kiffin hadn’t trouble-proofed his office blinds before he was sued by the Tennessee Titans and chased by NCAA issues dating back to Tennessee, which, collectively, considers him a giant varmint.

Some guys are Teflon; Kiffin is Velcro.

His first two head coaching experiences — with the Raiders and at the University of Tennessee — were trying for different reasons.

Internal combustion continues to spew out of Trojans tailpipes. A training camp fight ended up with the loser needing cheek repair. The star freshman tailback — the guy pegged to be the next (name expunged from USC annals) — has already been suspended for the Hawaii opener.

If USC were a supermarket, the manager would be ordering cleanups on aisles 4, 5 and 6.

Yet, USC has talented players and assistant coaches. “Mad Man” Ed Orgeron is still out there recruiting. Lane’s dad, Monte, is still a defensive innovator.

UCLA’s Norm Chow vs. Monte Kiffin on Dec. 4 is our early pick for “guru coordinator” matchup of the year.

The nonconference schedule looks like 4-0 — thanks to Minnesota’s replacing Ohio State as the Big Ten opponent —- and that should put the Trojans in the nine-, 10- or 11-win category.

For now, No. 20 seems about right for the Trojans, because that’s about how many questions they have.

The countdown so far: 25. Washington; 24. Navy; 23. Utah; 22. Houston; 21. Pittsburgh; 20. USC.

chris.dufresne@latimes.com