Something happened on Thursday night in Corvallis. Yeah, yeah, Oregon State pulled the upset of #1 USC, I know. But something bigger happened. All those teams with their Mountain West losses and cross-country whoopings just got a new lease on life.
The national champion isn’t coming from the Pac-10 this season. The conference isn’t in the running for the stupid mythical title of best in the land. It’s pre-1998 all over again. 10 teams are playing for the Rose Bowl and it’s anyone’s to have. With the Trojans 0-1 in the conference, every single team not residing in the state of Washington – or being coached by someone famously associated with Washington – has a shot (ok, Stanford has no chance either, but they did beat mighty Oregon State). Oregon, ASU, Arizona and Cal all have one win against zero losses in conference play. USC is 0-1.
Nobody has to fear the Trojans. We can end the ridiculous notion that it’s the Pac-10 and the nine dwarfs. USC has been beaten five times now in their last 15 Pac-10 games. They have shared the last two conference titles. Perhaps you need an energetic crowd and the bright lights of national TV to beat the Trojans. Perhaps they will run the table from here. But who cares about what they might do? What matters is they are vulnerable and the conference title is up for grabs.
Go ahead and bemoan the fate of your favorite conference. We’re irrelevant this year. It happens. Losing to New Mexico, UNLV, Baylor, and Boise State ain’t pretty, but it means nothing if you just put the blinders on and point to Pasadena.
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