Hey Football Fiends!
You know the drill. 16 games. 32 teams. 16 winners and 16 losers.
USC over Oregon State
Georgia over Alabama
Miami (FL) over UNC
Michigan State over Indiana
Florida over Ole Miss
LSU over Mississippi State
Purdue over Notre Dame
Nebraska over Virginia Tech
Stanford over Washington
Cal over Colorado State
Auburn over Tennessee
Wisconsin over Michigan
Fresno State over UCLA
Oklahoma over TCU
Oregon over Washington State
Penn State over Illinois
-Your Gridiron Goddess
by Amy Lamare of www.gridirongoddess.net
I can make this real quick football fiends: USC will win its 7th straight Pac 10 championship and head to a BCS bowl game.
And that concludes your 2008 Pac-10 Preview. UCLA, Stanford, Cal, Washington, Washington State, Oregon, Oregon State, Arizona and Arizona State – all y’all might as well stay home. Rey Maualuga, Mark Sanchez, Joe McKnight and the boys have got this one sewn up.
In all seriousness though, the Pac-10 does not back down from a challenge when scheduling its non-conference games. This year teams in the Pac-10 face: Ohio State, Georgia, Tennessee, BYU, Boise State, Oklahoma, Penn State and Purdue, just to name a handful. No 1-AA cupcake rivals here!
It’s do or die time for Coach Mike Stoops. He’s going to have to get his Wildcats to win 6 games to at least have a shot at keeping his job. If he can do this, Arizona will get to Bear Down for their first bowl game since 1998. I’m betting in Stoops’ favor since his non-conference lineup is fairly easy with games against Idaho and Toledo and at New Mexico.
Senior QB Willie Tuitama is going to have to step it up and generate some scoring this season for the Wildcats to be competitive in the Pac-10. The defense returns only 3 starters, and that’s not the only bad news for the Wildcat D. Their most experienced defensive lineman, Jonathan Turner, was suspended from the team’s summer practices after being charged with sexual assault last spring. He is awaiting his trial.
Junior college transfer Nick Booth hopes to boost the Arizona running game. This 225 pound running back joins Nic Grisby, Xavier Smith and true freshman Keola Antolin on the Wildcat depth chart.
Arizona‘s Non Conference Schedule: Idaho, Toledo, New Mexico
Arizona reports to pre-season camp on August 4th
ASU was picked to finish 2nd behind USC in the pre-season Pac-10 poll. The Sun Devils are prepping for their second season under Coach Dennis Erickson and they have one MAJOR issue: The Offensive Line. They don’t have one. Seriously, last season QB Rudy Carpenter spent so much time on his back that I started to wonder if those were not linemen lined up in front of him, but rather, Fatheads.
Dennis Erickson is incorporating a quick release spread offense this season to help Carpenter’s protection. A good portion of his 55 sacks last season were due to him holding onto the ball too long. Five players have left the team since the conclusion of spring practices, including tight end Dane Guthrie. (Academic reasons for former defensive end Guthrie.)
ASU plays a doozy of a non conference game when it faces Georgia on September 20th. If the Sun Devils do not solve their offensive line woes before then, they will not get out of that game alive. Ditto for their conference games against USC and Oregon.
If Carpenter gets the protection he needs either from his O-Line or the new offense, look out Tempe, your Sun Devils could crack the AP/USA Today top 10 with potentially their only losses coming at the hands of Georgia and USC. A Holiday Bowl berth, or should USC play for the BCS title, a Rose Bowl berth is yours for the taking.
ASU’s Non Conference Schedule: Northern Arizona, UNLV, Georgia
Arizona State reports to pre-season camp on August 4th
Last season Cal went from #2 in the country to losing six of its eight final games to end up 7-6. A QB controversy rages in Berkeley, and it’s looking at the moment like we have a Sam Keller/Rudy Carpenter ASU flip flop of QBs brewing.
At the Pac-10 Media Day, Coach Jeff Tedford said:
“We’ll pick a starter probably the week of the first game… It may take both of them to help us reach our goals…They are both going to get some game time.”
Really Tedford? Look I know Longshore flailed around a lot in the second half of last season while he battled his ankle injury. And Kevin Riley lit it up in your Bowl Game. Against Air Force. Air Force. Is Riley really the guy you want facing USC and Oregon, or is seasoned senior Longshore your guy? Just remember Arizona 2006, Coach Koetter, Sam Keller and Rudy Carpenter and what a mess that whole situation was.
It seems from all I’ve heard and read that Tedford is leaning towards Riley. And sure, he knows things we do not know. Whoever gets the nod as QB has a whole new group of WRs to throw to. Juco transfer RB Javid Best comes with hype, but he’s also undersized.
Tedford and Co have a lot to address offensively. That said, they should finish in the top ½ of the Pac-10s final standings.
Cal‘s Non Conference Schedule: Michigan State, Maryland, Colorado State
Cal reports to pre-season camp on August 4th
Oregon lost their star QB Dennis Dixon to the NFL, but expect to reload quickly with new QB Nate Costa.
Oregon has a powerful defense with one of the best secondaries in the nation. Last year, Oregon ended up 9-4, largely due to Dixon’s season ending injury against Arizona, sending the Ducks into a 3 game losing streak.
Three Ducks are recovering from off season knee surgeries and are expected to be good to go by the first game. (QB Costa, TB Jeremiah Johnson, LB John Bacon) Tight End Na’Derris Ward, a UGA transfer joins juco transfers Jeremiah Masoli (QB) and Ellis Krout (WR) as new Ducks this season.
Oregon’s secondary is scary. Three Ducks are on the Thorpe Award Watch list: Patrick Chung, Walter Thurmond III, and Jarius Boyd.
Oregon was voted #3 in the Pac-10 pre-season poll. Look for them to challenge ASU for #2 behind USC.
Oregon‘s Non Conference Schedule: Utah State, Purdue, Boise State
Oregon reports to pre-season camp on August 4th
Oregon State’s program has put up an impressive 19 wins in the past 2 seasons, including a 2006 upset of USC. Their strong defense has been the key to their success of late. The Beavers face a challenge going into this season as they have to completely rebuild the front seven on their D, including S Brian Payton. Payton left the program this summer with no explanation. Beavs and Trojans alike may remember him as the player who had the key interception in the Beavers 2006 upset of Troy. So, good news for Trojans! (Like we need more good news, eh?)
Big things are expected of true freshman WR Jordan Bishop from West Salem (OR) H.S. Ditto to DE and juco transfer Simi Kuli, he is being touted as the key to making the new D-Line gel.
Good news for the OSU Squad: Guard Jeremy Perry is expected to be ready to play by the start of the season. He is one of, if not the best guards in the Pac-10. Perry missed most of 2007 with a broken leg and is recovering from knee surgery this spring.
The Beavers have a tough schedule, not only do they face conference rivals USC, ASU and Oregon; they have a rough non-conference schedule this year as well. I expect the Beavers to finish near the middle of the Pac. (Pun intended)
OSU’s Non Conference Schedule: Penn State, Hawaii, Utah
Oregon State reports to pre-season camp on August 1st.
Yes I know. We were 41 point favorites. Yes I know, biggest upset in college football. (but? Really? Michigan-Appalachian State comes to mind as being a bigger upset.) But I point out that John David Booty should have sat out when he broke his finger, not thrown 4 interceptions.
Bygones.
The Cardinal has some questions in this second season under showboating Coach Jim Harbaugh. Sure they return a conference high sixteen starters from last year’s squad, with seven of those on offense, but who is their QB? And let’s not forget that despite their (fluke) upset of Southern California, this is the offense ranked last in its conference in yards and points per game. So yeah, the Cardinal, he has some questions to be answered. Such as will injured starters Allen Smith (OT, kneecap) and Jim Dray (TE, knee) be ready to play at some point this season. Cardinal blogs report that we may not see either of these players in 2008.
Notre Dame transfer Konrad Reuland is expected to take on the Tight End duties this year; Oct 4 should be interesting for him. (Stanford faces the Fighting Irish on this day.)
The QB slot is a three man battle between Tavita Prichard, Jason Forcier and Alex Loukas, but highly touted freshman recruit Andrew Luck could be the man the Cardinal needs at QB.
This program faces an uphill battle with the high academic standards required just to achieve admission to Leland Stanford Junior University. Can Harbaugh bring wins to Palo Alto? Sure he can-but he’ll need several years of recruiting to do it. After all, he’s not just looking for explosive athletes, he’s also looking for exceptional academics as well.
Look for Stanford to finish 7th or lower in the Pac-10.
Stanford’s Non Conference Schedule: TCU, San Jose State, Notre Dame
Stanford reports to pre-season camp on August 1st.
High up in the hills of Westwood, offensive to the lumberjack’s eyes, Lies the Cal extension campus known as Westwood High. Fight! Fight! Fight! Home of all the Bruin bear cubs, UGLY is its name. The student body’s vile, The campus is a pile, and the football team’s a shame! Fight! Fight! Fight! U. G. L. Y, UGLY Eat my shorts!
At least that’s the way we sing it at USC. In all seriousness though, this is not looking like a good year for those Bruins who wear the powder blue jerseys. It could be considered a successful season if UCLA is bowl eligible at season’s end.
I mean, what are you going to do without a QB or an Offensive Line? Or, more accurately, a just coming off his umpteenth injury QB and no O-Line? Norm Chow may be the guru that helped Coach Carroll resurrect the storied tradition of Trojan football, but you’ve got to have PLAYERS to build a football team.
I am biased, that is not a secret. There is not a lot of love for the Bruins from this Trojan. So let’s just look at some of the facts.
Do I need to go on? Neuheisel, Chow and co. walk into a bit of a mess over there in Westwood. Do they have the chops to turn it around and return UCLA to glory? Yes, they do. It’s just not going to happen THIS year.
UCLA’s Non Conference Schedule: Tennessee, BYU, Fresno State
UCLA reports to pre-season camp on August 5th.
Look for USC to meet Georgia for the BCS Title. We were anointed the pre-season #1 at the Pac-10 media day today and we are a favorite to win the Nat’l Championship. Not only do we face formidable conference rivals Oregon and ASU but we’ve got a September 20th date with the Buckeyes of Ohio State at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum too.
Do it better than it’s ever been done before and never stop competing. Win Forever. Always Compete.
These are but a few of our team mottoes.
Consider these facts. Under Pete Carroll, USC has:
The question is not: Will USC be good? The question is: Can USC be beat? And if so, how?
Mark Sanchez, the 6’3″, 223lb junior takes over as QB this year. Coming out of high school in 2004 he was everybody’s All American. One Pac-10 coach said Sanchez was the best QB he’d ever seen on film.
Now he gets a chance to show the Nation how good he is.
Folks, not much needs to be said about my Trojans. We will dominate if we stay focused. And focus is not something Pete Carroll’s teams lack.
In Pete We Trust.
Fight on!
USC’s Non Conference Schedule: Virginia, Ohio State, Notre Dame
USC reports to pre-season camp on August 6th.
Tyrone Willingham is another Pac-10 coach on the hot seat. He meets his former team, the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame on October 25th at Husky Stadium but the discomfort of that is nothing compared to the November 15th date the Huskies have with the Bruins. See, Rick Neuheisel is the Anti-Christ to Husky Nation. His very existence reminds U Dub fans of how elite their program once was and what his role was in dismantling it.
Washington has been slow in improving under Willingham’s tutelage. And slow is not what Husky fans want. They want a return to the days of glory. To winning the Pac-10-which they haven’t done since Rick Neuheisel’s second season in 2000. To winning the National Championship-their last was in 1991. Not to another 4-9 season and bottom of the Pac-10 finish.
This is the program Neuheisel destroyed in the eyes of Husky Nation. I hope he has bodyguards for the November 15th game in Seattle.
Look at it like this: Willingham is going into his third season and is 9-16 overall. When Pete Carroll ended his second full season at USC, he was 17-8 overall and coming off an 11-2 season and top 4 AP finish. In his 3rd season USC won a share of the National Championship with a 12-1 record.
This is the sort of thing Husky fans expect from their Coach. Miracles.
For Willingham to be successful at retaining his job-which we’ll define by a 6 win season and bowl berth-he will have to instill confidence in his squad. He will have to imbue them with the will to win. That’s going to be hard to do if he starts off 0-3 which is very likely considering the first three teams the Huskies face are Oregon, BYU and Oklahoma.
Ouch.
On the one hand, you’ve gotta respect a guy with a program trying to battle it’s way up from the doldrums of the conference who goes out and schedules BYU and Oklahoma as two of his team’s three non-conference games. (The third being his date with Notre Dame.)
On the other hand, you’ve got to wonder if he’s drinking some spiked Kool-Aid that makes him think his 2-7 in the Pac-10 last year team can post a winning season with these kinds of odds stacked against them.
It’s going to be interesting to sit back and see how it unfolds this season. Husky fans, you have my sympathy-after all, USC Football in the 1990’s was very painful, I know how it feels.
Washington‘s Non Conference Schedule: BYU, Oklahoma, Notre Dame
Washington reports to pre-season camp on August 4th.
41 year old Paul Wulff is new to the Wazzou coaching job. He’s inheriting a team with issues up the Wazzou. (pun intended.) What Cougar fans will like is that Wulff is a former Cougar player himself. He played offensive line for the Washington State Cougars from 1986 to 1989.
The Cougar’s have a stellar receiver in First Team All Pac-10 senior Brandon Gibson. They have a new QB in 6’7″, 233lb Gary Rogers. And Coach Wulff is bringing a new offense to Pullman. Will Gibson and Rogers be up to Wulff’s no-huddle attack? We’ll know soon enough.
Wulff also has inherited a team with a bunch of off-field issues. They lost eight scholarships when they failed to meet the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate Standards. 25 Cougar players have been arrested in the past 18 months. Safety Xavier Hicks is spending 45 days in jail, and missing the first 3 games of the season after pleading guilty to 2 gross misdemeanors. Defensive lineman Andy Roof’s troubled past has left his fate as a Cougar player up in the air.
But signs of change are already apparent. Coach Wulff cut QB recruit Calvin Schmidtke from the team because of a number of controlled-substance violations.
With the kind of problems this team faces, a former Cougar may just be the man to clean up the face of the program while steadily improving the team. The Cougars were 5-7 last year. I don’t expect much of an improvement this year, though it could be said that maintaining a 5-7 record would be an improvement with all the changes that need to be made and questions that need to be answered in Pullman.
Wazzou’s Non Conference Schedule: Oklahoma State, Baylor, Portland State
Washington State reports to pre-season camp on August 5th.
And that concludes Your 2008 Pac-10 Preview my football fiends. Next up is the Big 10. Give me a couple of days, this one took 2 days to do. (I’m betting because it is MY conference. I’m HOPING because it is MY conference. And because it is over 3,000 words maybe?)
-Your Gridiron Goddess
Hello Football Fiends-
Stephen Lamare is hard at work on the Running Back edition of Your Fantasy Football Reality Check. I expect to have it posted late tonight.
Pac-10 Preview is going up in a few hours, am wondering right now if CAL’s Coach Tedford remembers ASU’s Coach Dirk Koetter and the Sam Keller/Rudy Carpenter debacle of 2006. Remember how it rotted the team from the inside out Tedford? You might want to think about that a bit.
Pac 10 Media Day is today and Jeff Tedford had this to say:
“We’ll pick a starter probably the week of the first game… It may take both of them to help us reach our goals…They are both going to get some game time.”
Now are you SURE you want to use 2 QBs this season? Are you SURE you want to bench the seasoned senior for the sophomore who lit up the game against AIR FORCE? Is Kevin Riley really who you want at the helm of your offense when you face USC and Oregon? Because that statement above, it makes it sound like you’re leaning towards Riley. Otherwise why not just anoint Longshore and say the two are still competing, like Coach Carroll does with Sanchez/Mustain?
-Your Gridiron Goddess
You are about to be Maualugaed.
Urban Dictionary has just added this term to it’s growing lexicon. And how flipping appropriate it is.
Rey Maualuga, USC’s ubiquitous middle linebacker, is known for his hard hitting, punishing ways. And he doesn’t limit it to opponents either. He even does it to his own teammates in practices. (Dear Patrick Turner, how’s that shoulder stinger Rey inflicted in practice?)
Maualuga has 194 tackles to date. He is a senior standing 6’2 and weighing in at 260lbs. He is on the “watch list” for the 2008 Lombardi Award and Bronko Nagurski Award.
UVA, Ohio State, Notre Dame, UCLA, UW, Wash State, Oregon, Oregon State, Arizona, ASU, Cal, Stanford: You’ve been warned.
-Your Gridiron Goddess
hi Football Fiends!!!
I can’t believe this is the last Saturday of the regular CFB season. I am already feeling the withdrawals that will hit next Saturday when I wake up and Corso and Herbstreit aren’t on my T.V. Sigh.
That said- here are my picks for today, and my instinct is telling me there is at least one upset that will happen. Will the Wildcats of Arizona stun the still-beat-up-from-USC Sun Devils of ASU? Will the Vols beat the Tigers? fUCLA will NOT beat USC, I can say that with all the authority of a devout Trojan fan.
so–
USC over UCLA of course.
Oklahoma and Mizzou – guys, I am so not sure about this one. So not sure I am tempted not to pick a winner at all but I will-
Mizzou over Oklahoma
LSU over Tennessee
ASU over Arizona
Oregon State over Oregon
Cal over Stanford
VaTech over BC
Hawaii over Washington
WVU over Pitt
-Your Gridiron Goddess
Hi Football Fiends!
I am still in Las Vegas and planning to be here until Thursday night or Friday morning.
(Family, it sucks you in doesn’t it? HA HA HA)
But did you see? Did you hear? I WAS 11-3 in my NFL picks this weekend. WOO HOO!
In other news, the nausea builds as USC prepares to face Cal in the Bay Area. Sure, the nausea isn’t as overwhelming and vomit inducing as if Cal had, you know beaten UCLA and ASU. (Yes I know, USC lost to UCLA last year, shut up now m’kay? LOL). But it will be a tough game nonetheless. I am leaning towards a USC victory at this point, but still have to do some research on it.
Tank Johnson has been reactivated after his 8 game suspension. Good Luck Dallas is all I have to say to that one.
I will post more later, football fiends!
-Your Gridiron Goddess
Hello Football Fiends!
Well I said I was either going to be a football genius or crash and burn spectacularly with my CFB picks, did I not? I went 10-8. Sigh.
Yes, my Trojans lost again. I didn’t expect them to lose but I didn’t expect them not to lose either. I tried firmly to just not think about it. HEH And my way of dealing with it is to run away from the internet and this site for 24 hours. But I’m back. And oddly, I thought SC looked good yesterday, despite the loss. They hung 
in there. Were it not for a few mistakes, perhaps the outcome would be different. Oh well, there’s always next year, right?
Florida bit it in the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party matchup against Georgia. I think Florida fans and SC fans are in similar boats this year. There’s always next year Gators! Tebow is only a sophomore after all. Solid. Tim Tebow was playing with a sore shoulder yesterday, that is the Gator’s excuse and I can live with that.
South Florida lost to UConn cementing the thoughts of OVERRATED in the minds of many.
I correctly predicted both here and on KROQ’s Kevin and Bean show the demise of UCLA against Washington State.
ASU came from behind to beat Cal and remain unbeaten. Cal drops to a 5-3 record overall, 2-3 in the Pac-1o
And of course Ohio State beat the Nittany Lions. I just wish they hadn’t.
In the new BCS standings Ohio State and BC are still 1 and 2. LSU and ASU are 3 & 4. Oregon is #5. South Florida, USC and Florida come in at 18, 19 and 20 respectively. For all the flack that the Pac-10 gets, we’re the conference with 2 teams in the top 5.
-Your Gridiron Goddess
ESPN.com ran an interesting article today. In it, they reveal the results of a poll about sports superstitions. One in five fans do something to avoid jinxing their team.
No? Really? lol
It will come as a surprise to no one that I am a superstitious sports fan. The only times I’ve missed watching a USC game in past 4 years was the 2003 triple overtime loss to Cal at Cal and this year’s loss to Stanford–which I was not watching in real time, having TIVO’d it.
Yes. I am the Trojans good luck charm. lol
I ALWAYS watch the game wearing a USC jersey/tshirt/sweatshirt. I’ve been known to layer a USC sweatshirt over a USC jersey over a USC t or tank–each layer giving more luck to my Trojans.
A certain friend of mine swears by her braless watching of USC-UCLA game method.
I swear by not watching that game with that friend ever again since when I do, USC loses.
I’ve been known to only eat Cardinal and Gold food on important game days — like this coming weekend when we play Oregon. Chips and Salsa, Chicken fingers and BBQ sauce, you get the picture. Red and White wine. 😉
An ex boyfriend of mine is a HUGE Phoenix Suns fan. When he was in grad school in Phoenix, I visited him during the NBA playoffs/finals. Suns v Bulls. He would not watch games with me, convinced I was jinxing his Suns. So one of us watched in living room, one in the bedroom.
When the opposing team is getting ready to kick, or throw or whatever when it means my team loses– I have this voo doo mojo thing I do at the screen–hand movement and vocal thing to jinx them. LOL It almost ALWAYS works.
Superstition and sports go hand in hand IMO. It’s fun, thinking some choice you make over what to wear, or what to eat, or who you watch the game with has an impact on the game.
It makes it interactive.
-Your Gridiron Goddess
HA! You’re all expecting a rant from your die hard Trojan Gridiron Goddess aren’t you football fiends? You expect me to be pissed off that USC is ranked 14th in the first Bullshit College Standings that came out today don’t you?
Well, I’m not.
Shocked?
The BCS rankings for week 1 are:
1. Ohio State
2. South Florida
3. Boston College
4. LSU
5. Oklahoma
6. South Carolina
7. Kentucky
8. ASU
9. West Virginia
10. Oregon
11. Virginia Tech
12. California
13. Kansas
14. USC
15. Florida
16. Missouri
17. Auburn
18. Hawaii
19. Virginia
20. Georgia
21. Tennessee
22. Texas
23. Cincinnati
23. Texas Tech
25. Michigan
And while I have issue with some of this list, overall, well… I have pledged not to take it all so damn seriously this year.
But I think my ability to do that is directly related to my frank analysis of this year’s, this moment in time’s Trojan team. We’re new. We’re raw. We’re talented. We’re injured. Or, you know, THEY are since I am not a football player. The Trojans are decimated by injuries and not performing as powerfully on either offense or defense as we are all used to seeing them perform.
And that’s OK. Really, it has to be OK because that is how it is, right?
(It’s called assimilation, fiends.)
Do I think Ohio State is the best team in the country? I don’t know. They are good. Have they played anyone good enough to truly test them? Not yet. Same could be said of BC. Of USC even.
All we can do is let the season unfold, right? Because otherwise, well, Your Gridiron Goddess will need blood pressure meds to prevent stress induced heart attacks from my fits of righteous indignation. lol
-Your Gridiron Goddess
Hey there football fiends-since my BRONCHITIS (lovely, right?) is keeping me up I figured why not write the CFB wrap up now? A win-win…at least until I start coughing up internal organs with this painful bronchial cough thing I have. Ah…fun times here on the couch of your Gridiron Goddess. Fevered dreams of Matt Leinart being madly in love with me aren’t bad, though….
But I digress. I blame the Ny-Quil and diet Coke combo.
College Basketball season kicked off last night around the country with Midnight Madness. Now, had your Gridiron Goddess not been coughing up a lung, I would have trucked my butt down to Southern California’s Galen Center to report on all the O.J. Mayo goodness. But there is plenty of time for that once CFB season is over.
Two weeks ago we had the Wacky Weekend of Upsets. Then #3 Oklahoma lost to an unranked Colorado. Then #7 Texas fell to an unranked Kansas State. Then #10 Rutgers took a dive against unranked Maryland. Then #21 Penn State got beat by unranked Illinois. #22 Alabama got beat by unranked Florida State. Then #4 ranked Florida fell to unranked Auburn. #11 Oregon got beat by then #6 Cal. And my then #1 ranked USC Trojans squeaked past UDub.
At the end of the weekend the top 25, but the top 10 especially, were in disarray and heading into the 5th weekend of the CFB season the top 10 were:
1. LSU
2. USC
3. California
4. Ohio State
5. Wisconsin
6. South Florida
7. Boston College
8. Kentucky
9. Florida
10. Oklahoma
Then LAST WEEKEND, tragedy struck in the heart of Your Gridiron Goddess and her fellow Trojan fans. And I am sure other things went on too, like Florida losing to the hated LSU, but all was eclipsed by my melodramatic heartbreak.
Heading into this weekend, the top 10 was:
1. LSU
2. California
3. Ohio State
4. Boston College
5. South Florida
6. Oklahoma
7. South Carolina
8. West Virginia
9. Oregon
10. USC
Today, more insanity occurred. LSU lost to Kentucky. Cal lost to 3-3 Oregon State. Oklahoma handed Missouri their first loss today in Norman. Penn State drilled Wisconsin. Ohio State and BC won–but Ohio State’s quality win comes against one of the teams at bottom of the Pac-10 ladder: UDub. And who has BC played to convince us they are as strong as they look? No one yet. South Florida beat Auburn at Jordan Hare and beat WVU, so IMO have a more legitimate claim on the #1 position this week.
Now, concerning USC, interestingly enough we’re in about the same position as 2003. 1 loss, ranked 10th. That was the year we ended up winning the AP Nat’l Championship while fellow 1 loss teams LSU and Oklahoma played in the BCS Title game.
Um, deja-vu anyone?
This Trojan team we have now is not as strong as 2003’s squad but only for one reason: INJURIES. Our vaunted O-Line is now made up of back ups and in many cases the back ups back up. Our D is decimated, and today we lost the lynchpin of
our defense in Rey Maualuga after primo O-Line go to guy Sam Baker went down for duration of the game.
BUT, while our loss last week to Stanford shows the world we ARE beatable, doesn’t this week’s loss by Cal to Oregon State show the same thing and shouldn’t they fall to 10 or below in the rankings while we move up to 9 or higher? I don’t know. LSU, I’d keep them in the top 6 or 7 at the lowest, since their sole loss comes from a strong Kentucky team.
Consider this–every single AP pre-season top 10 team now has at least one loss and it is only October. This is the craziest college football season ever, people.
The first BCS rankings come out in the morning.
It’s not going to be pretty for many of our teams. I have a feeling traditional power houses like LSU and Oklahoma will fare better than South Florida and BC, even though those two teams remain unbeaten.
Is it fair? Nope. But when did I ever proclaim the BCS fair? LSU and Auburn fans would agree with the USC crowd, though for their own reasons, on that statement.
Oh, but I did go 11-5 today, which considering the #1 and #2 ranked teams losing, is pretty flipping good IMO. And now, I must sleep.
-Your Gridiron Goddess, signing off with a picture representative of how I feel right now with this bronchitis thing
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