Come to Think of It...USC Proves it's the Best Team in College Football

Some say the times they are a-changin'. I say "Plus ça change, et plus c'est la même chose." For Southern Cal's football program, the more that things change, the more they stay the same.

Pete Carroll showed a national audience on Saturday night why his Trojans are 72-8 in his last six-plus years as head coach, and why they have won 39 of their last 40 at the Coliseum. That's consistency, brother.

In the souls of the people, the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage. The rest of the college world must feel like the small farmers unable to compete with the magnates in Steinbeck's world.

During Pete Carroll's seven years as head coach, USC has lost only one game by more than seven points, that being a 27-16 loss at Notre Dame in his first season. One game. Though the Trojans failed to get into the national championship game last year, they did win their sixth conference championship and beat Illinois to win the Rose Bowl.

Only the Crimson Tide have won more bowl games than the Trojans.

This year, however, even greater results are expected. National championship, anyone?

As they showed in their 35-3 victory over the fifth-ranked Buckeyes, the top-ranked Trojans are stellar. They scored on each of their first two offensive possessions, and then added a defensive touchdown on an interception return in the second quarter as they built a 21-3 halftime lead.

Some will point to the loss of Ohio State running back Chris "Beanie" Wells. Still others will look to the referees, as penalties hurt the Buckeyes. But there's no doubting the talent of USC. These Trojans don't horse around.

Despite losing 10 players to the NFL last year, USC came into this collegiate season ranked first in the nation. Their defense is fast, dominating and great at taking the ball, a trademark of Carroll. In fact, Carroll's teams have a plus-104 turnover margin since he became the head coach.

Combined with USC's impressive 52-7 trouncing at Virginia in its opening game, the question must be asked: Will anyone beat this team this year?

While not quite a "perfect day," as Notre Dame won, the combination of Saturday night's victory over Ohio State and the embarrassing UCLA pummeling by BYU made for a pretty nice weekend for Southern Cal fans.

While Notre Dame coach Charlie Weiss rubs his injured knee, Carroll rubs his chin as he examines the remainder of the schedule. Next up is Oregon State on Sept. 25. 

Some say there are no NFL teams in California. I beg to differ, come to think of it.