Are USC fans across the country going to be rooting for Oregon or Oregon State this weekend in the Civil War? You have to ask the question, because it is probably the single biggest thing happening in the Pac-10 on Saturday.
If Oregon State wins, then they clinch the Pac-10 title outright by way of the "haha-we-beat-you-USC" tiebreaker (assuming that USC beats UCLA next weekend in Pasadena), and will smell roses come New Year's Day for the first time in 44 years.
But, should Oregon win, all is still up in the air and Oregon State's, USC's, and even Ohio State's fate gets tossed up in the air.
Now, let's play that first scenario out a little further before judging here.
If Oregon State wins out, they come to the Rose Bowl to face Penn State who has already won the Big 10. I've gotta tell you, this Oregon State team is a completely different team than the one that was pummelled early in the season in Happy Valley.
And I, for one, would really like to see the Beavers get another crack at Penn State. In fact, I think there's a pretty good shot that Oregon State could take them down.
USC will also likely get a BCS at-large bid (or more, depending on the circumstances) which would allow another one of these big shit-talking programs to take a crack at the Trojans, who have just mopped up all non-conference foes in the past seven years, except for Vince Young and the Longhorns in the BCS Title game in 2006.
That would mean USC's opponent could be Texas, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Florida or Alabama (there are a couple of different scenarios as well; I'm just going with the numbers).
Any one of those games sounds just about as exciting as they come.
If the Ducks pull out a victory, no Trojan fan will be upset, because we'll get a chance to increase an already formidable streak of punishing victories against the Big-10, our traditional rival-conference.
But it'll probably be boring. Oh yeah, and OSU will probably get that at-large bid, and get killed by whichever Big-12 or SEC team they get slotted against.
As a USC fan from birth, it pains me to say it, I think I want the bigger game, and will forgo the longest conference title streak in the FBS for the sake of a better game with greater risk and rewards. Again, there will be no sadness either way, but I for one, jump at the chance to play against the other superpowers in college football.
5 comments Last one added 7 months ago — Leave a Comment
Brett Field 7 months ago
Actually, even if OSU wins USC would still win the conference title, as they would share it with OSU
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Greg Huntoon 7 months ago
Yes, my point isn't about who wins it, but that Oregon State would clinch a Rose Bowl berth with a win...perhaps that wasn't totally clear.
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Jeff Contizano 7 months ago
Many of USC's players (seniors) have openly stated they don't want to be in the Rose Bowl again. I totally agree with them. I'd rather not see USC pummel another Big Ten team (Michigan, Illinois), and let Oregon State in there.
Go beavers!
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Larry Sybrandt 7 months ago
No doubt Oregon State is a better team now. As a Lion fan though, we have (understanbly) no interested in a rematch. Not that we take OSU lightly, as a Lion fan you want to play as many (different) opponents as possible.
That being said, something to consider. Penn State is a much better team now as well. We have shutdown Beanie Wells and Ringer and seriously know how to stop the run. Our DE's put to much pressure on the QB in those cases for him to be effective. That's just the D. The offense will be prepared and the senior wideouts will look to go out big. Give JoePa a month to prepare? His bowl record overall, let alone against the SEC and Big 12 over the past two years, speaks volumes.
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Greg Huntoon 7 months ago
Looks like it's gonna be roses again for SC, assuming they make it through UCLA next weekend...
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