It wasn't so long ago that a No. 5 ranking for the USC Trojans in any poll would just draw a a collective yawn from their spoiled fanbase.

After all, anything less than a national championship had been considered a colossal disappointment, which is why inexplicable losses during the Pete Carroll years confounded those who followed the men of Troy in the last decade.

Nonetheless, Top 10 finishes were the norm for USC, and along with that success came a level of expectation that often resulted in the smug assertion by their fanbase that was more of a birthright than an earned reward.

Then came 2009 and the slide toward mortality.

After finishing 9-4 two years ago and a pedestrian 8-5 last year, the Trojans became a mere afterthought on the national landscape of college football.

Couple that with the unfair sanctions (related to the Reggie Bush scandal) imposed by the NCAA on USC—which included a two-year bowl ban and a reduction of 30 scholarships over three years—and it was easy to see why the Trojans were diminished in the eyes of all who don't follow the cardinal and gold.

And so it was when the 2011 season opened and found the Trojans ranked a mere 25th in the initial AP rankings.

This despite the fact that USC returned a solid, albeit young, team led by one of the best quarterbacks in the nation in Matt Barkley.

Respect? None to be found there, baby.

Reputation? Sorry, but that had to be earned.

For the first few games, the Trojans did nothing to show that they were anything but an "also-ran" in college football.

Nice team, better than some, not as good as others.

Then the Trojans caught fire, reeled off several impressive wins (and one tough loss to Stanford) and suddenly USC was back in the Top 10 of the only poll that had enough guts to rank it, that being the AP.

Now the latest AP poll has USC ranked fifth in the nation, and the Trojans are back in familiar territory.

With this ranking, head coach Lane Kiffin and his staff can now be assured that along with their team, the rest of the country has acknowledged that USC is back.

For fans of the program, the return of USC to the nation's collective memory is a reward for their—and the team's—patience and two-plus years of long suffering.

Now this season will act as a springboard to what is hoped to be an even better year in 2012.

Of course, things aren't perfect yet.

How else does one explain quarterback Barkley's ridiculous omission as a Heisman finalist for the prestigious award other than to chalk it up as a bit of residual "sanction hangover"?

Still, it appears that the Trojans are indeed back.

Which gives rise to the new mantra being sung by the USC faithful.

"Do you like us now? Just wait until next year..."