DEAD AND LOVING IT

‘Bye Anxiety:  The BCS’s Blazing Top 4 are each The Producers of wins, making sc’s Title hopes Freshly Dead, and Saddling the Rose Bowl with Penn State vs. State Pen.

Usc’s dreams of a Hollywood Movie ending have gone Silent.  They may get one of the 12 Chairs, but the Schwartz is not with them, and they will NOT be playing in the National Championship game.

Thanks to sc’s loss earlier in the season to Oregon State, a weak schedule, and this weekend’s superfecta of victories by Texas, Florida, Alabama, and Oklahoma, the trojans have finally been eliminated from contention for this season’s National Championship.

The possibility was always slim, but wherever there is still a Ref to bribe, the trojans still had a chance.  No, no, the Refs are beyond reproach — it’s the Voters that can’t be trusted.  But now, the Title game is going to be played by the Florida/Alabama winner, versus either Texas or Oklahoma.  Based on today’s BCS Rankings, either the Horns or Sooners will play Missouri, and if they win, they will go to the Title game, but if they lose, the team that didn’t get to play Missouri (either Texas or Oklahoma) will get the nod.

That leaves sc as one of many “odd-teams out.”  There are 3 undefeated teams from weak Conferences, plus one-loss Penn State and one-loss Texas Tech.  Penn State gets the Rose Bowl, for what would have been an uninspiring rematch against Oregon State, whom the Nittany Lions already creamed this season, but the wounded Beavers – playing without their star Tailback Jacquizz Rodgers – lost to the Ducks on Saturday.  So NOW, the City of Pasadena will be infested once again by swarms of ketchup and mustard-clad fans, as usc is stuck playing the Big Ten’s PSU.

Apparently, the trojans are furious about the Beaver meltdown.  The trojans didn’t want to go to Pasadena again — They wanted to travel to a different location, and maybe even play Texas or Oklahoma, and claim a share of an AP National Title!  But stuck in the Bruins’ Home Stadium, not even getting to travel at all, playing a team BENEATH them in the BCS Rankings, the trojans have nothing to gain.  And based on the way Big Ten teams tend to perform when they trek out here for this game, the trojans will win going away.  But not by quite as much as they will win by on this Saturday.

Speaking of which — It was noted that Rey-Rey Malaluga was talking like the trojans had already CLINCHED the Rose Bowl berth, even though a loss to UCLA would knock them out.  Typical of a trojan, and it’s THAT kind of complacency that led to 13-9, but THIS year it will take more than complacency to cause an upset — It would take an Act of God, or an Act of the NCAA, or at the very least, an unexpected Act of Chow.  But don’t hold your breath —  Rey-Rey could be right-right about this one.