shiner
Lifer
- Jul 18, 2000
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From this morning's Dallas Morning News...I happen to think the guy is right...
USC? Enough already!
Talk of top-ranked Trojans takes attention away from OU, Auburn
09:26 PM CST on Sunday, November 14, 2004
ESPN?s cast of characters spent most of Saturday night bickering over whether Auburn should leapfrog Oklahoma in the media and coaches? polls.
They missed another issue.
Should Oklahoma and Auburn leap over Southern California?
USC has been ranked No. 1 all season. The Trojans were installed as the preseason No. 1 team, and they?ve won 10 out of 10 games.
Yet nobody talks about how California almost came away victorious or how Oregon State gave USC a good scare in the foggy Pacific Northwest.
?Voters have been putting USC at No. 1 for so long, they?ve forgotten to look at them,? said Jerry Palm, who runs CollegeBCS.com.
If television commentators can sway public opinion so easily, then they need to come clean with all the facts. At a minimum, they should stop giving the Men of Troy a free pass just because they are ranked No. 1.
USC has struggled at times, as have Oklahoma and Auburn. OU has better offensive numbers than USC, and the Tigers play better defense than the other two. And to top it off, both OU and Auburn play tougher competition in their respective leagues and they must win a conference championship game to boot.
Add it all up, and maybe Oklahoma and Auburn both deserve to be in the Fed Ex Orange Bowl.
All the statistical information can be found on the NCAA?s Web site, assuming TV producers know how to check.
The NCAA compiles the win-loss records of each team?s opponents. Any victory or loss against a Division I-AA team is thrown out. Going into this week?s regular-season finale at Baylor, OU?s previous 10 opponents have a combined record of 54-33. It?s the 14th-toughest schedule. The BCS computers certainly it. The Sooners were first in four of the six computer rankings last week and second in the other two.
Texas A&M has the toughest schedule, which should make Aggies fans puff out their chests. A&M?s opponents are 55-30.
USC?s previous opponents are 45-40 and Auburn?s are 41-32.
Now, the Trojans will see that number go up after the final two games. Notre Dame and UCLA are 12-8 combined. So USC doesn?t exactly have an easy road to the finish line.
But let?s look at the path USC has traveled. As of today, the Pac-10 has just four teams that are bowl eligible. To become bowl eligible, a team must post a winning record during the regular season?that means 6-5. USC, California, Arizona State and UCLA are the only ones who have at least six victories.
Over in the Big 12, six teams are bowl eligible. Seven teams are eligible in the SEC.
It?s no wonder why USC has won six games by 30 points or more. The league isn?t that good.
The Big 12 North isn?t that hot, either. But Oklahoma plays in the Big 12 South. That division may fill every top-level bowl game the league is affiliated with.
OU coach Bob Stoops seemed resigned to the fact that Auburn is the flavor of the month.
?All you can do is do your best to win and so ... you know, what are you gonna do?? Stoops said Sunday after The Associated Press Top 25 was released. OU and Auburn are tied for second.
Palm projects OU to remain second and Auburn will be third in this week?s BCS standings, which will be released at 11 a.m. today. But USC will still be No. 1.
Do the Trojans deserve to be there? It?s unknown.
Just don?t expect the ?talking heads,? as Stoops calls them, to tell fans any different.
USC? Enough already!
Talk of top-ranked Trojans takes attention away from OU, Auburn
09:26 PM CST on Sunday, November 14, 2004
ESPN?s cast of characters spent most of Saturday night bickering over whether Auburn should leapfrog Oklahoma in the media and coaches? polls.
They missed another issue.
Should Oklahoma and Auburn leap over Southern California?
USC has been ranked No. 1 all season. The Trojans were installed as the preseason No. 1 team, and they?ve won 10 out of 10 games.
Yet nobody talks about how California almost came away victorious or how Oregon State gave USC a good scare in the foggy Pacific Northwest.
?Voters have been putting USC at No. 1 for so long, they?ve forgotten to look at them,? said Jerry Palm, who runs CollegeBCS.com.
If television commentators can sway public opinion so easily, then they need to come clean with all the facts. At a minimum, they should stop giving the Men of Troy a free pass just because they are ranked No. 1.
USC has struggled at times, as have Oklahoma and Auburn. OU has better offensive numbers than USC, and the Tigers play better defense than the other two. And to top it off, both OU and Auburn play tougher competition in their respective leagues and they must win a conference championship game to boot.
Add it all up, and maybe Oklahoma and Auburn both deserve to be in the Fed Ex Orange Bowl.
All the statistical information can be found on the NCAA?s Web site, assuming TV producers know how to check.
The NCAA compiles the win-loss records of each team?s opponents. Any victory or loss against a Division I-AA team is thrown out. Going into this week?s regular-season finale at Baylor, OU?s previous 10 opponents have a combined record of 54-33. It?s the 14th-toughest schedule. The BCS computers certainly it. The Sooners were first in four of the six computer rankings last week and second in the other two.
Texas A&M has the toughest schedule, which should make Aggies fans puff out their chests. A&M?s opponents are 55-30.
USC?s previous opponents are 45-40 and Auburn?s are 41-32.
Now, the Trojans will see that number go up after the final two games. Notre Dame and UCLA are 12-8 combined. So USC doesn?t exactly have an easy road to the finish line.
But let?s look at the path USC has traveled. As of today, the Pac-10 has just four teams that are bowl eligible. To become bowl eligible, a team must post a winning record during the regular season?that means 6-5. USC, California, Arizona State and UCLA are the only ones who have at least six victories.
Over in the Big 12, six teams are bowl eligible. Seven teams are eligible in the SEC.
It?s no wonder why USC has won six games by 30 points or more. The league isn?t that good.
The Big 12 North isn?t that hot, either. But Oklahoma plays in the Big 12 South. That division may fill every top-level bowl game the league is affiliated with.
OU coach Bob Stoops seemed resigned to the fact that Auburn is the flavor of the month.
?All you can do is do your best to win and so ... you know, what are you gonna do?? Stoops said Sunday after The Associated Press Top 25 was released. OU and Auburn are tied for second.
Palm projects OU to remain second and Auburn will be third in this week?s BCS standings, which will be released at 11 a.m. today. But USC will still be No. 1.
Do the Trojans deserve to be there? It?s unknown.
Just don?t expect the ?talking heads,? as Stoops calls them, to tell fans any different.
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