So yes, go ahead and complain about Alabama opponents Western Kentucky and Arkansas State. As both of those are I-A teams, there is no guarantee that UW or WSU would beat either of them, especially Arkansas State, who is actually bowl eligible.
That's right...USC fans who bash Alabama's weak schedule ignore that Alabama will have actually played the more bowl eligible teams: eight.
Florida also has quality in addition to quantity. One opponent in the BCS top five to ZERO (Alabama), three opponents in the BCS top 25 to two (Alabama, Georgia, Florida State to Oregon and Ohio State, and again we all know that the Ohio State team that USC faced would have struggled to finish 7 - 5).
The best part: USC's season-long line about how Oregon State was "a better loss" than Ole Miss is now gone. First off, neither team is in the BCS top 25. Second, Ole Miss is ranked above Oregon State in the AP and Harris Poll and is only one vote behind Oregon State in USA Today (they are 28 votes ahead in Harris).
It is more than just records, by the way. Where Oregon State suffered a 30-point loss, a 27-point loss, and worst of all an eight-point loss to a losing team, Ole Miss A) saw all their losses to bowl eligible teams and B) did not have a single loss by more than seven points.
Also, where USC represented Oregon State's only strong performance against a top team (unless you think that there is some merit to losing by only three to a mid-major!), Ole Miss also nearly beat Alabama.
So, Oregon State's performance against USC was a fluke that can only be held against USC, especially after OSU gave up 65 points to Oregon on the very same Corvallis field that USC fans have spent months claiming is oh so tough to play. By contrast, Ole Miss was literally three plays from being 11-1 and headed to the SEC title game for a rematch against Florida and a shot at the national title.
You can blame Ole Miss for being 2-4 in close games, but chalk that up to a team that did not have a single player that had ever so much as played a bowl game learning how to win.
So what's Oregon State's excuse? That they just aren't that good. That is why they are claiming that having a 5'6" 170lb. true freshman tailback would have somehow kept them from getting run off their own home field in the program's biggest game in nearly 50 years. Ole Miss is a very talented team that Ed Orgeron had no clue how to coach.
Penn State: That's right, Penn State. Penn State has the same record as USC. Penn State is a talented team with a great offense and strong defense. It is true that USC has played a tougher schedule. It is equally true, however, that in matchups against common opponents, USC is 1-1 where Penn State is 2-0.
And yes, Penn State actually played the Ohio State team that is worthy of their top 10 BCS ranking...the one with Chris Wells and Terrelle Pryor in the starting lineup. USC played the Ohio State team that would have lost to Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan State and may have even had trouble with Northwestern and Illinois.
So the actual common opponents record is 1-0 against 0-1, with Penn State blowing out by 30 the only team to beat USC. And they say that there is a bias against western teams? Well, apparently Penn State must be based in Hawai'i, because there is no justification for USC to be ranked over PSU.
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