Based on the two teams’ recent play, UCLA’s quarterback uncertainty, the revenge factor and the spread — a whopping 18.5 points! — USC should win handily in the annual Trojans-Bruins showdown Saturday afternoon.
Afterward, USC will celebrate its berth in the Rose Bowl, which, back in the day, was the ultimate goal for every Pac-10 and Big Ten team.
But some Trojans and USC fans will lament not having a shot at the national championship, which has become the annual goal in the Pete Carroll era.
And they’re absolutely right: USC should have a chance to compete for the national title.
This season of upsets more than any other illustrates why college football needs a playoff.
USC lost two games when injuries decimated its roster. Can anyone argue the now-healthy Trojans aren’t the most talented, most dangerous team in the land?
College football forever will be flawed as long as it remains the only major sport not to decide its championship on the field of play.
I’m aware of all the traditionalists’ arguments against a playoff, and I’m about to shoot them all down:
Point: A playoff would take away the every-game-counts urgency of the regular season.
Counterpoint: It’s football; every game has meaning. There are only 12-15 of them for each team every year. Would the presence of a playoff system have any impact on Harvard-Yale? Auburn-Alabama? Florida-Florida State?
Point: A playoff would force teams to play too many games.
Counterpoint: This is the sort of hypocritical hogwash we hear all the time from university presidents. Teams such as Virginia Tech and Boston College, who meet in the ACC title game Saturday, will play 14 games this season, including their bowls. If you limited all teams to 11 regular-season games, the most any team would play in an eight-team playoff would be 14 games, adding the quarterfinal, semifinal and final. If you keep it at 12 regular-season games, two teams would play 15 — just one more than they already do.
Point: A playoff would rob hundreds of kids on dozens of teams the joy and lifelong memories of playing in a bowl game.
Counterpoint: The presence of a playoff wouldn’t necessarily mean the elimination of bowl games. There’s no reason they couldn’t co-exist — with the bowl games serving as the NIT to the playoff’s NCAA Tournament. All the above.-500 teams outside the top eight would be eligible for bowl games, just as they are now.
Point: Altering the current bowl system or taking away some bowls would cost the NCAA and the universities a lot of money.
Counterpoint: As if a playoff wouldn’t make a ton of dough? Please. The networks would line up to televise it. It’s the proverbial cash cow waiting to happen.
The question is how long we’ll have to wait.
– Michael Lev, The Orange County Register
I say they don’t deserve it. They lost to Oregon fair and square. Oregon was missing more starters already for that game then USC was. Against Stanford, I would agree, although USC’s backups should be Stanfords starters. Can USC beat anyone in the country; absolutely yes. The same can probably be said for Okyhoma and LSU, but you guys all lost games.
Overall, there should be a playoff, and I would put USC as the favorite. But that isn’t the situation, so you made your own bed
USC deserves a title shot?? Gimme a break! There are any number of teams that can say injuries cost them a game or 2. USC has stock-piled the best players in the country from top to bottom, so there is NO EXCUSE for them to lose a game…NEVER!! Suck it up and we’ll see you next year (maybe)!!!
The spread last year was 14 points and UCLA knocked ‘SC’ off. They can do it again. The complete silence from the ‘SC’ crowd as they were dominated last year was worth supporting the Bruins all the way through the losing streak. UCLA would love to be the spoiler again and this time they have an extra incentive - the possibility to play in the Rose Bowl themselves. Never underestimate a Bruin.
I love USC football; it’s great entertainment. However, the old coulda, woulda & shoulda excuses cannot hold here. USC was certainly not the only team with injuries. You play with what you have. And do we not hear constantly how Pete’s teams have soooo much depth? One goes down, another supposedly just steps right up? Sorry, you deserve a bowl, just not THE bowl game.
Before some of you get bent out of shape because of your personal dislke of USC, I suggest you look at the farce that the BCS is and always has been. This is a system that encourages the scheduling by 1-A schools with much smaller schools that in 9 out of 10 instances cannot compete with them. Thus, Mich. scheules No. Mich. and Ohio State schedules Akron. Gee, as bad as the Big 10 conference is, Ohio State could schedule ALL of its games with Akron and they would be assured that they would be in the BCS Title Game? Doesn’t it bother you a bit, that depending on the results in games this coming weekend, Ohio State could slip into the Title Game by not playing? How about Hawaii who will play anyone, anytime, anyplace? MOst 1-A schools are afraid to play them. They are 11-0 and may qualify to be in a BCS if they finish in 12th place?
Anyone remember what Boise State (similar situation last year)
did to Oklahoma? The bottom line is, since we don’t have a playoff system, it doesn’t matter what we think. Since we don’t, I would love to see USC (assuming they beat UCLA) playing Ohio St. in the Rose Bowl. I think it would give USC the opportunity to soundly defeat them (as Fla. did last year) and perhaps support the possiblity of a playoff system.
USC does not deserve a shot. The BCS is totally hosed. The playoff system should be more fairly leveled.
USC has had a great football team for many years, but they have lost to teams they should not lost to. I think they should (are) in the top 10, but they SHOULD NOT play in the top 3 bowl games! Send them to the Humanitarian Bowl or the Motor City Bowl.
BTW… Go Bruins!!
Whether SC “deserves” a shot at the BCS title or not is debatable. We know that slip ups cost you in CFB and there is NO true Trojan that would dispute that and make excuses. We lost 2 games this season we should not have if we had wanted to retain control of our own destiny. But that is college football.
What is funny is reading some of the comments of some of these bRUINS. Bitter, envious, weak, predictable and hilarious are all words that come to mind.
What is NOT debatable is that SC will crush the gutty little cubs this weekend!
SC will LEAVE NO DOUBT.
Fight On for ol’ SC!
USC is gonna get slaughtered by Ohio State in the Rose bowl. Go bucks!