Southern Cal in BCS

Southern Cal in National Championships?

I was watching some of my favorite shows (“Around the Horn” and “PTI”) and there was talk about USC and Head Coach Pete Carroll. It appears he thinks the BCS “stinks”.

I wonder why?

Is it because his team isn’t IN it at this moment? Gosh, why is it that people whine so much about stuff when they are outside, looking in. It’s sour grapes and you’d think USC could bridle their tongue and let things play out.

Right now, in the current BCS Standings, Southern Cal is ranked #7 and out of the BCS Championship…so naturally there is a lot of whining going on. What’s next, will Notre Dame cry about how they ought to get an automatic BCS bowl if they have a winning record?

Come on guys, let things play out before you start saying what “stinks”.

But let’s examine the pros and cons of USC getting to the National Championship, shall we? The BCS has them at #7, what then are the credible wins and losses (albeit one loss) for this team, and how strong is the Pac-10 to support this record?

That first win over Virginia looked decent, then we saw the Cavaliers slump and then questioned the strength of this win for USC. But recently Virginia has turned it on, and with some help they just might get in a bowl.

The second win over then #5 Ohio State was huge and seemed to show that this was THE team to beat…but the Buckeyes have fallen a little too, though still quite tough. Don’t take anything away from USC on this one, but the Big 10 is slowly developing a bad rep of “losing the big ones”.

Then there’s the Oregon State loss, which dropped USC like a hot rock. All that talk about them being unbeatable came crashing down, and brought the Trojans back to earth. It seemed that the chance for a National Title was over.

Then came the rebirth and the stomping of then #23 ranked Oregon 44-10. This was the beginning of an insane run to get back in the top spots for the Trojans. Shutting out Arizona State and Washington State before allowing Arizona only 10 points got USC back in the top 10 but there were just too many other good teams ranked above them. Last week’s win over poor Washington has USC right where it is now.

This is a pretty decent conference, the Pac-10, but USC’s wins over Washington, Washington State and Arizona State are not impressive. Those three teams are 3-22, so who are you impressing by beating them by 498 points a game? Yet we can counter with the Oregon State and Oregon games, and we cannot ignore Ohio State and surging Virginia. At the very least, this is a good team.

And consider, they play #21 California next, and it is likely they believe they need to crush them by at least 50 to sway some votes…style points as they like to say. Games against Stanford and UCLA won’t mean much, and the Notre Dame game might be about style points too.

So what can USC do to get to the BCS. The simplest answer is simply to win, but there is more to it. We know the team that has the best shot right now is Penn State because like USC there is no conference championship and their remaining schedule isn’t as tough as the SEC or Big 12.

We also know that between Texas Tech, Texas and Oklahoma, there is going to be a few more losses to pass around. Nobody sees Texas Tech going undefeated, so their reign as #2 is limited, and some even think Oklahoma can beat Texas Tech. But it might appear that Texas might actually still have the inside track to the BCS Championship. USC needs each of these teams to lose one more game.

And between Alabama and Florida, well nobody believes Alabama going undefeated either. At the beginning of the year, I would have given LSU a 90% chance of winning against Alabama, but I am not that confident in that…maybe a 55% chance. But even if Alabama gets by that, Florida will likely take them down. But if so, does this mean Florida takes the spot USC has their eyes on?

There may be lots left to play in the season, but even more would have to happen for USC, even with one loss, to get in the National Championship. That’s why Pete is singing the blues. But here’s a thought that maybe Pete Carroll, USC and the Pac-10 ought to do…

Change the conference to 12 teams.

Peel off a team from the WAC and MWC and make the Pac-10 into the Pac-12. That way you get the benefit of a conference championship, which can further make your record legitimate (not to mention the money on sponsors). I would also suggest the WAC and MWC consider joining up again but that is another story.

So does Pete Carroll have a point? Does the BCS stink because his Trojans are on the outside looking in? Maybe, but before you cry about the spilt milk, first wait until the milk has been spilt. There are still games to play, and by both computers and human polls, USC is NOT the best team in the NCAA…nor second…

Or third….

Or fourth….