One Regret
USC coach Pete Carroll said Sunday night the only game he regretted not putting more pressure on the quarterback was, not surprisingly, Oregon State.
``It might have been different in a game that came down to the final seconds,'' he said.
Carroll said USC is bringing more pressure in recent games, but didn't think it was a mistake earlier.
``The rest of the time we did all right,'' he said.
Both SC and ND have 10 players in Canton. Tim Brown will be the next domer to go in. Who will be the next Trojan? Junior? McGinest? Boselli? I know this question has nothing to do with this thread but I doubt Wulfie has any interest in this because it honors both teams and isn't too divisive...Who will be the next domer?
Doesn't matter. We still have to win out to get to the big game. Even if we were undefeated at this point, we still must win all.
With USC at #3 in the BCS today, that ranking system continues to be a farce. Michigan may very well be the second best team in the country, but when was that ever the standard for pollsters? And if those sportswriters are the new guardians of justice, why is Louisville ranked below West Virginia? Why is Rutgers ranked below Lousiville?
For the AP to make a special exception for the Wolverines speaks volumes about what many have long suspected is an inherent regional bias. If that late 4th-and-long pass interference penalty had not been called, Michigan loses by 11 points. In that case, does anyone believe they would still be ranked #2?
JRW,
You don't understand how the BCS rankings work. First of all, the AP poll is irrelevant. It is not a component of the BCS rankings. Second, USC is actually ranked #2-- ahead of Michigan-- in both human polls that are components of the BCS rankings, the USA Today (coaches) and Harris (former players/coaches/ADs/others) polls.
The reason USC ranks third overall in the BCS rankings is because the Trojans are 3rd in the computer rankings, and Michigan's advantage in the computers is greater than USC's advantage in the human polls. (To be more specific, Michigan's computer edge is greater than TWICE USC's poll edge, which is necessary for the computers to offset the polls since the polls count for two-thirds and the computers one-third of the overall BCS ranking.)
Fear not. If USC wins against 10-1 Notre Dame, it will almost assuredly surpass Michigan in the computer rankings. As long as the human voters keep USC at #2-- or even if they are a close #3-- USC will likely end up at #2 in the overall BCS rankings.
Scott Wolf to respectthegame: Get your own blog, dude!
Brian -- comments about the BCS and the AP were meant to be viewed as one criticism. I know the AP is unattached from the BCS (how else could 'SC have been rightfully crowned the 2004 national champ?) but honest fans who respect the game need to be more critical of this jumbled system.
Am I the only one who thinks scoreboard-watching ACC and Big 12 games in early October is weird? What we have now is a system that makes the Rose Bowl an afterthought and delegitimizes every bowl save for some ersatz college version of the Super Bowl.
The first AP poll was in 1936, and the first BCS in 1998. In those 60+ years of the admittedly imperfect old system, they were perhaps 6-8 serious ranking controversies. The BCS will surpass that number is about one-third the time.
Ultimately, the system may even backfire this year. On January 8th, Ohio State will be playing its first game in 51 days. Is that the longest break in any season for any team?
respectthegame,
Bruce Mathews and Junior Seau deserve to get inducted into Canton. Bosselli and Keyshawn Johnson can make a strong argument. Other than Tim Brown, I don't believe the Domers have another HOF candidate.
JRW,
Actually, the AP was still a part of the BCS rankings in the 2003 season (the year USC won the AP and LSU won the BCS). The coaches were contractually required to name the Sugar Bowl winner #1; the AP writers weren't.
Don't get me wrong. I don't think the system is perfect. But a playoff is not going to happen any time soon, and the BCS is an improvement over what we had before. For example, without the BCS, USC and Texas wouldn't have played for the title last year-- USC would have been in the Rose Bowl against the Big Ten winner.
People have every right to complain about the system. The point of my posts is simply that, since this is the system we have, let's all try to understand it so that our criticisms will be properly directed.