Are the polls complete BS? Cincinnati vs. USC?

Do the people who get a vote in the USA today and Harris Polls actually watch football, or know anything about football for that matter? Someone please explain to me the current rankings. In the USA today poll Cincinnati dropped a place despite winning big. I understand they are rewarding TCU for winning, but I don't understand why USC is ranked so high. Do the voters get high themselves on a regular basis? Cincinnati went on the road and beat Oregon State by a larger margin than did USC at home. LSU is ranked 9th in the USA today and BCS polls, while they beat the team that beat USC. And the team that LSU did lose to is ranked #1. LSU gets penalized for losing to the #1 ranked team in the nation, but USC losing to a team with a losing record is no big deal. Does it seam that the voters will just look the other way no matter what USC does and will ignore there flaws? The fact is the defense for USC looks bad and they are giving up tons of points. Who thinks that LSU, TCU, and Cincinnati are all better teams and would beat USC in a game.