Thank You Oregon... From a USC Fan

Call 'em the Mighty Ducks and send 'em to the Rose Bowl.

I'm fine with it.

In fact, everyone who wears Cardinal and Gold on Saturdays should be sending a "thank you" note to Oregon today.

Finally, after all the years of running the Pac-10 to hear the critics mumble, "The West is weak aside from USC," my Trojans have proof that we play a real schedule.

The sacrifice?

Another year of railing a Big-10 opponent in an irrelevant game.

You see for the past couple of years when the season has come to an end, I have felt completely confident that we would have been able to destroy the National Champion if only given the chance by the "B-S system."  But we didn't get that chance, because no one respected the Pac-10.

Now that someone else is finally stepping up, in a season when we wouldn't have won the title anyway, we've paved the way for a return to dominance.

How?

Oregon just peeled the bulls-eye off our backs.  Sorry Ducks fans, but you'll find wearing the crown going into next year to be a particularly massive hinderance to your success.  And I'm more than happy to let you do it.

I'm fine with it because right now USC looks like a more talented version of Oklahoma from '07 (You remember Oklahoma, right Eugene?  That team you fake beat in '06?).  We're loaded with players, but we need to develop.

But with USC finally passing the crown and gaining something to fight for, I expect to see a fire in Troy that hasn't been noticed for a long time.

Next year we'll have less pressure, older talent, and the best quarterback in college football.  We'll also have the same back depth and learned players.  Did I mention our coach is still Pete Carroll?

Ya, that's the stuff.

I've already been reading the "USC IS FINALLY DONE!!! WOOT!!!" posts all over the internet, and all I can do is grin.

The most prestigious school with an outstanding football program in the country located in the city of celebrities with America's best weather?  Oh gee, that loss to Oregon will kill our recruiting.

Thankfully now people will know the Pac-10 is a real conference--inarguably top two in college football--and I know that carries over into the next season.  After all, Texas is getting by on Big-12 reputation alone when they're conference has suddenly become inexplicably weak.

I embrace the challenge, and I am happy to see the beginning of what I hope will be a long-lived solid rivalry that regains the "West" the title of the "Best."

That way we can fight for the title rather than play teams every week who view us as their biggest game of the season.  And given the roster we have, with a little bit of age, I'd take us in any fight we go into next year.

Book it now, because the Rose Bowl was getting boring anyway.