Updated: November 25, 2005, 9:38 PM ET
Just For Argument's Sake ...
From what happens if USC and/or Texas lose to which team suffered the most significant injury this year to promotional gimmicks, Ivan Maisel tackles all the hot topics.
From nagging questions to soapbox moments to Heisman hype, Ivan Maisel tackles the hottest topics in college football.
3 Nagging Questions |
Soapbox Moment |
Whatever Happened To ... |
Introducing
Just A Thought | Hidden Stat | Heisman Hype | Top 10 | 3 Games Worth TiVo-ing
Just A Thought | Hidden Stat | Heisman Hype | Top 10 | 3 Games Worth TiVo-ing
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We've all but ordered the USC-Texas Rose Bowl T-shirts. It's all I can do to keep Editor Duff from assigning me "Mack Brown: The Grammar School Years." Yes, we all remember what my driver's education teacher illustrated on the chalkboard: "When you assume, you make an ASS of U and ME." I've never forgotten that, because I had never heard a teacher use the word "ass." So let's consider the alternatives. We will be prepared if the unbelievable occurs: • Texas A&M upsets Texas. (I know, I know: sounds impossible. Work with me). The BCS victim? Ohio State.  Ronald Martinez/Getty Images A loss to the Aggies would upset more than Mack Brown. USC plays Penn State or LSU in the Rose Bowl. The latter would be manna for all the Tigers who hold a grudge about the split national championship two years ago. In that case, the Nokia Sugar Bowl would get first pick out of the at-large pool, in order to replace LSU. Notre Dame would go to Atlanta. The FedEx Orange, picking next, would take Penn State to play Virginia Tech. No change there. The Tostitos Fiesta, with Big 12 champion Texas on one side of the game, could pick Ohio State. But that would be a rematch, and one without the cachet of a rivalry rematch such as USC-Notre Dame. In addition, the Buckeyes have been to Tempe in two of the last three seasons. Although the Fiesta is willing to bring them back to play Notre Dame, the idea of bringing them back to stage a rematch might not appeal to either school or the bowl. That leaves 10-1 Oregon or 9-2 Auburn. Given that the Ducks are three spots ahead of the Tigers in the BCS Standings, and given the bowl's relationship with the Pac-10, the politically expedient, football-smart choice would be Oregon. I think Texas-Auburn would be a better game, but what does the quality of the game have to do with it? • UCLA upsets USC. The BCS victim? UCLA.  Steve Levin/WireImage.com A loss to the UCLA could have Pete Carroll and the Bruins scratching their heads. At 7:22 p.m. PT Saturday, USC received the opening kickoff against Fresno State. At 7:23, the Trojans clinched a berth in the BCS. That's when Oregon concluded its 56-14 Civil War rout of Oregon State. Even if UCLA beats USC and the two teams share the Pacific-10 Conference championship with Oregon, the Trojans win the tiebreaker for the BCS berth. Moral of the story: If you lose one conference game, don't lose to Arizona. So the Trojans get the BCS bid. Let's say there are no other upsets. The Rose Bowl matches Texas and LSU. In years when the Rose Bowl holds the national championship game, the Pac-10 champion goes to the Fiesta. The Trojans go to the Fiesta Bowl. Now the question is: Would the Bruins rise from 12th in the BCS rating to 4th? If so, they would receive an automatic at-large bid, as would Notre Dame, and Ohio State would be out of luck. That said, a 38-point loss to Arizona makes it hard for me to imagine the Bruins would rise that high. So, on we go. The Fiesta still would pick first from the at-large pool because it lost Texas to the BCS Championship Game. If the Fiesta picked Notre Dame first, that would mean a USC-Notre Dame rematch. If the Fiesta didn't want a rematch, then it would pick Penn State, providing a rematch of the bowl's first New Year's Day game 24 years ago. My guess? They'd look hard at Trojans-Irish II. • USC and Texas both lose on Dec. 3. The BCS victim? Ohio State. No. 1 and No. 2 have not both lost on the final Saturday in the seven years of the BCS. In that first season, 1998, UCLA and Kansas State -- ranked second and third -- both lost and Florida State got its first of three consecutive BCS Championship Game berths. LSU and Penn State would play for the national championship. USC still would go to the Fiesta Bowl, to play Colorado or Iowa State, whichever team upsets the Longhorns. The Sugar, picking first, would pick Notre Dame. The Orange would have to decide between 9-2 Ohio State and 11-1 Texas. Would the Longhorns fall behind the Buckeyes in the BCS Standings? Given that Texas is No. 1 in five of the six computer polls and the Buckeyes are seventh in the latest polls, the Longhorns likely would stay ahead. The guess here is that the Orange would take Texas to play Virginia Tech. That would leave the Big East champion to play Notre Dame in the Sugar. |
The candidates, in alphabetical order: Michigan tailback Mike Hart, Oklahoma tailback Adrian Peterson, Alabama wide receiver Tyrone Prothro and Georgia quarterback D.J. Shockley.
If Hart had not had to deal with hamstring and ankle problems, and had rushed for more than 588 yards and four touchdowns, then Michigan would have finished with a better record than 7-4, the Wolverines would have won the Big Ten championship, and fans wouldn't roll their eyes at the mention of defensive coordinator Jim Herrmann's name.Check out Hart's numbers in the Wolverines' losses: Notre Dame: three carries, 4 yards. Wisconsin: did not play. Minnesota: 28 carries, 109 yards, one touchdown; one reception, 4 yards. Ohio State: nine carries, 15 yards; two receptions, 11 yards. 
If Peterson -- like Hart a sophomore -- had not been hobbled by a sprained ankle for most of the season, then Oklahoma's offense would not have been similarly hobbled. The Sooners had more offensive problems than anyone suspected -- a thin, green line protecting an equally inexperienced quarterback. A healthy Peterson would have provided some cover. Without him, Oklahoma quickly became exposed.Peterson would have made a difference, and it's easily conceivable that Oklahoma might have finished second in the Big 12 South instead of third. But Peterson had a lesser effect than Hart. 
Prothro's gruesome broken leg transformed Alabama into a shell of its offensive self. Without him, the Tide had to depend more on their running game. Defenses pressured the Alabama offensive line. With a couple of injuries to accelerate the process, the Tide line crumbled. The loss of Prothro began the slide, but it worsened because of other reasons, not merely his loss.That leaves Shockley, who suffered a sprained left knee against Arkansas that kept him out of the Florida game. Without him, the Bulldogs became an offensive cipher against the Gators, gaining 286 yards of total offense in a 14-10 loss. In Shockley's eight full games this season, Georgia averaged 445.6 yards and 33.5 points per game. 
With a healthy Shockley, Georgia would have beaten Florida. As well as he played against Auburn (20-36-0, 304 yards, two TDs; seven carries, 40 yards), two fully operational wheels would have made the difference in such a tight game.In other words, with a healthy Shockley, Georgia would have earned its second BCS berth in four years. That, to me, illustrates why his injury caused the greatest damage to any I-A team. |
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Part of college football's charm is that it is decentralized. The NCAA decides the rules on the field (with the notable exception of instant replay). The NCAA decides the rules for bowl games. But each league decides its own champion. That's probably as it should be, but sometimes you have to wonder how so many college-educated people can come up with so many ideas of how to decide which team is the best. This comes to mind because of the Mid-American Conference divisional races. Northern Illinois and Western Michigan, two teams that began the week tied for the MAC West lead, will determine the champion in the West and the East. If the Huskies beat the Broncos, and Akron beats Kent State on Thursday, the Zips will win a three-way tie in the East with Bowling Green and Miami. If Western Michigan beats NIU, then Bowling Green will win the East because the teams it played in the West would have the best record. Part of the problem is that some leagues have divisions and some don't. Some leagues play complete round robins. Most don't. The Big Ten's tiebreaker includes a provision for nonconference record, without regard to the quality of the nonconference opponent. Iowa's loss to Iowa State in 2002 cost the Hawkeyes the league's official BCS berth. They got an at-large bid, but the Hawkeyes were penalized for playing a good team. That's no knock against Ohio State, which played and beat Rose Bowl-bound Washington State, 25-7, on its way to the 2002 national championship. If UCLA beats USC, it will force a three-way tie among the Bruins, the Trojans and Oregon. However, UCLA and Oregon did not play. The league then moves to common opponents. UCLA lost to Arizona; USC and Oregon did not. Goodbye, UCLA. USC beat Oregon, so the Trojans get the bid. That makes sense, but next season, it will be moot. When schedules expand to 12 games, the Pac-10 will take that extra game and play a complete round robin, the only conference of 10 or more teams to do so. That might be the best tiebreaker of all. |
They're perpetuating a stereotype at USC, and not the one where the Trojans dominate the Pac-10 and play for national championships. That was a stereotype in the '60s and '70s, and again now, but that two-decade gap in the middle indicates it ain't as easy as the Trojans make it look.
For at least the last couple of seasons, USC has emerged from the tunnel at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to the blaring of "Lose Yourself," the Oscar-winning anthem from Eminem depicting an up-and-comer goading himself not to fail when he gets his big chance:
This game will have all the trappings of a rivalry that goes back to 1894. Unfortunately for the Aggies, it will play out like the games since 1994. Texas has won eight of the last 10, including the last five by an average margin of 23 points. The Aggies managed a 13-6 halftime lead last season when 
It's Thanksgiving week, so thank someone for dropping a game like this into our lap Saturday. This always has been a rivalry with a lot of heat, but it also has been largely one-sided since Bobby Dodd pulled the Yellow Jackets out of the Southeastern Conference some four decades ago.
Gather 'round, little ones, and I'll tell you a story of a time not so long ago, when the Seminoles and the Gators entered this game with long-term leases signed for the top 10, a time when the entire nation watched Steve Spurrier match wits and fast players with Bobby Bowden.
- Rumors: Kelly, Meyer odds leaders for Irish job
- Feldman: A Week 12 wrap-up
- Tools: Game Predictor | PickCenter
- Draft: Mel's Big Board (11/18) | NFL draft blog
