If you would have told me last week that the Pac-10 would win the bowl challenge for best winning percentage (in 2008-09 bowl games), I would have laughed in your face. Heck, anyone would have.
But the fact is that the unanimously weakest conference in the FBS has gone undefeated in bowl games this season. The truth is, I was under the impression that my son's eighth grade team could beat seven or eight of the teams in this conference. And I watched quite a few Pac-10 games this year.
To say this conference was weak would have seemed like a compliment rather than a putdown. They just looked bad, with the exception of the perennial powerhouse USC Trojans, which is the main reason why the men of Troy were playing for the roses instead of the coveted crystal ball in the BCS championship game (instead of No. 2 Florida).
The insanity started on Dec. 20 in the Las Vegas Bowl. The Arizona Wildcats upset the 16th-ranked BYU Cougars, 31-21. Despite compiling fewer yards and first downs and committing three turnovers, the Wildcats pulled the upset over the highly touted Cougars of Brigham Young.
Then, on the 27th, the Cal Bears beat a young and talented Miami team in the Emerald Bowl. The Bears outgained the Hurricanes by just 25 yards and had only 11 first downs on their way to a 24-17 victory. The less-than-stellar Pac-10 was 2-for-2.
The Holiday Bowl on Dec. 30 between the 17th-ranked Oregon Ducks and high scoring offense of 13th-ranked Oklahoma State started as most people thought, with OSU jumping out to an early 10-point lead. But an injury to potential first-round NFL draft pick Dez Bryant led directly (in my opinion) to the eventual demise of the Big 12's Cowboys from Stillwater.
Constant and relentless pressure and numerous punishing hits on quarterback Zack Robinson took its toll and despite records set by Bryant for receptions (13) and receiving yards (168), the Quacks pulled the mild upset, 42-31.
On New Year's Eve in El Paso, Texas at the Sun Bowl, the Oregon State Beavers took the field against the 20th-ranked Pitt Panthers. Surely this match up would put an end to the unlikely undefeated bowl run of what seemed to be an overachieving conference, right?
Well, it wasn't pretty and damn near painful to watch (especially if you're a fan of offense) but, sure enough, the Beavers pulled yet another Pac-10 upset, defeating Pitt by a 3-0 score. That made the Pac-10 4-for-4.
Finally, we came to the "Granddaddy of Them All." The Rose Bowl. This year's contest pitted the No. 5 USC Trojans against the impressive No. 8 Nittany Lions of Penn State and their seemingly ageless coach, Joe Paterno.
Another home-field drubbing by USC. The final score was 38-24, but it was not as close as the score might indicate. The pummeling of yet another Big Ten victim in the fight for the roses leaves USC fans wondering "What if?"
So, as the great Austin Powers once said, "What does it all mean, Bazil?"
Basically, that's why they play the games and why college bowl season is so intriguing. That is why we will all keep watching and hoping and praying that our team (whoever they are) can pull that unlikely upset, as well.
God bless you all, and Happy New Year!
4 comments Last one added 6 months ago — Leave a Comment
Jonny Solovy 6 months ago
nice article and i sure hope ppl realize the pac ten is better than people think. The conference is young too... wait for 2 years, it will be darn good too.
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Richard Lane 6 months ago
Yeah i think they opened some eyes here. And yes in a couple of years this conference will be one to be reckoned with other than just USC. Thanks for the read and comments Jonny. ;)
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Greg Huntoon 6 months ago
Interesting read, though I'm not exactly sure what to think. Partly because I never thought the Pac-10 was as weak as what other people were saying...
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Billy Ray 6 months ago
Going 5 for 5 opened my eyes. I think most people outside of the Pac-10 region pretty much dismissed them with the early season OOC losses. Going 0-4 against the MWC on one weekend closed a lot of minds about the strength of the conference. Then you had Oregon go down at home to Boise, OSU get blown out by Penn State and Cal get shocked by Maryland. Plus ASU stunk it up this year, got manhandled at home by Georgia. The only things they had going for them were the victories over Ohio State by USC and UCLA beating Tenn.
They ended up the year much better than they started. Things are looking good for next year. If WSU and Wash. get it together it may be a pretty tough conf. top to bottom.
Very good article Richard.
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