BCS National Championship
I have it on good authority the Southern California Trojans are dying to meet an SEC opponent in the BCS national championship this January at the Orange Bowl. My sources in the greater Los Angeles area tell me USC wants to prove the mighty SEC isn’t all that mighty.
As things stand at the moment, the Trojans may very well get that opportunity. With USC the clear No. 1 team in the nation and three SEC teams – Georgia, Florida and LSU – among the Top 5 in both polls, a potential showdown between the men from Troy and an SEC school seems likely.
There’s no question USC has the most talented team in the land and unless they fall to a lesser opponent like they did last season against Stanford, there isn’t much to keep the Trojans out of the national championship game.
USC Head Coach Pete Carroll
Southern Cal has one of the easier paths to Miami, with the most difficult games remaining on their schedule appearing to be No. 22 Oregon on October 4 and Arizona State the following week.
Oregon is the only opponent currently ranked in the Top 25 on USC’s remaining schedule. Considering No. 3 Georgia easily took care of business against the Sun Devils this past Saturday, it’s a good bet the Trojans can handle ASU at home.
Road dates against Arizona and Stanford shouldn’t give the Trojans any trouble, nor should home dates with California or Washington. The annual rivalry game against Notre Dame has become a one-sided affair, with USC dominating the series in the recent past.
Cross-town rival UCLA may put a fight but the Trojans should win that game with relative ease.
Meanwhile, it’s going to be interesting to see which SEC team could potentially end up in the championship game. Of course, it’s no guarantee any SEC school can make it out alive in the nation’s most challenging conference.
Georgia Head Coach Mark Richt
With No. 3 Georgia, No. 4 Florida, No. 5 LSU, No. 8 Alabama and No. 15 Auburn all having a realistic shot at winning the SEC championship, it doesn’t mean any of those teams will do so without suffering at least one or possibly two losses.
The Bulldogs, Gators and Bayou Bengals are all well-balanced and have more than enough talent to compete with any team in the nation. Georgia has a brutal remaining schedule including games against Alabama, Auburn, Florida and LSU.
If Georgia survives unscathed and wins the SEC championship, there’s no question they will have earned a shot at playing for the national championship.
Preseason predictions had LSU being the third or fourth best team in the SEC this year, but their 26-21 win over Auburn clearly made them the team to beat in the West Division of the SEC. But LSU’s schedule is filled with potential land mines, having to face Florida, Georgia and Alabama.
Florida Head Coach Urban Meyer
Florida has arguably the third most talented team in the nation and their remaining schedule includes Georgia and LSU, Vanderbilt, currently ranked No. 25 and the annual in-state hate fest against the Seminoles.
But even with one loss, the SEC champion has a good shot at making it to the BCS national championship game. And it’s a good bet the SEC champion will in fact have at least one loss because the overall level of competition is so much better than the Pac 10.
Suffice it to say, USC will have a much better chance at making it to the BCS championship game playing a slew of unranked, weaker opponents while any of the top SEC contenders will have to slug it out.
LSU Head Coach Les Miles
But that’s what USC wants – they want an SEC opponent, they need an SEC opponent to validate their potential national championship. I don’t blame them either because if you’re going to be the best, you have to beat the best.
As it stands now, the SEC will produce at minimum three legitimate national title contenders for USC to take a crack at.
The Trojans could easily end up playing a Big 12 team like Oklahoma or Missouri, perhaps even Texas or Texas Tech. But USC knows winning the BCS national championship would be even sweeter if they can knock off an SEC opponent.
The Trojans may very well get their wish, but that isn’t necessarily something they should wish for. Just ask Ohio State what it’s like getting a wish come true.
Besides, the Trojans might not get their wish – they do face Stanford after all.
USC is not the best team in the nation… they have not played any of the elite programs in the nation.. all the hype about beating a virginia team thats has one win a 16-0 win at HIGHLY touted RICHMOND.. Ohio State.. nuff said that win over TROY really boosted my confidence. Not saying that USC is not a good team.. but when you have to bring it day in and day out in a conference like the SEC or get humiliated it;s alot different than taking a day off and still losing by 6 points to the dynasty of oregon state. Hush USC schedule real non conference teams.. and take care of business in your conference before you come knocking on the sec’s door bragging about how good you are.
As Lee Corso would say, “not so fast my friend”. Your scenario was all well and good, assuming USC took care of business against ho-hum Pac-10 competition. They didn’t. Chuckle. Now they have to hope everybody else loses twice. From now to January they are doomed to hear a chorus of “yeah buts”, especially if Oregon State doesn’t exactly set the world on fire the rest of this season. The rest of their schedule is weak, to say the least. Ohio State? Hardly a lock to win the Big 10. Notre Dame? Hah!! Arizona State? Not good at all. Oregon? Not nearly as good now that Dennis Dixon suits up on Sundays. UCLA? Ask BYU about the boys in powder blue; 1-AA Northern Iowa gave them a tougher game. Now the Big 12 and the SEC are in the driver’s seat. The only complication will be if Penn State somehow runs the table; heaven only knows how the coaches will vote if that happens.