USC Is the Biggest BCS Hard Luck Case of 2008

The conventional wisdom this year is that Texas is the most deserving "left out" of 2008. I beg to differ.

I understand that Texas has entered a Bizarro world where they have to watch a team they beat play for the National Championship. Still, I think USC and their fans have a longer winter ahead of them wondering what might have been.

Remember, they were ranked third in the AP preseason and took over the top spot in week one by trouncing Virginia 52-7.

Two weeks later they annihilated number three Ohio State on Saturday night national television, taking an unshakable grasp on number one.

Texas, meanwhile, was only ranked 10th preseason and weren't expected to seriously contend for a national title, especially with "18 interceptions Colt" at the helm.

By contrast, in week three USC was in the proverbial BCS catbird's seat. They had proved their strength of schedule beyond argument and had no highly ranked opponents left on their schedule.

The very next week came the brainfart at Oregon State. For the second year in a row the Trojans were humiliated by a three-touchdown underdog, but this time on national TV on Thursday night.

Suddenly, the BCS tables were turned. One-loss teams need quality opponents on their schedule to climb back into one of the top two spots. What had looked like a very promising schedule suddenly became a nightmare of cakewalk game after cakewalk game.

Unlike last year, when all the top teams besides Ohio State ended up with two losses, allowing the first two-loss team ever, LSU, into the final, all the top teams limited the damage in their seasons to one loss. This left USC as the ugly duckling in the one-loss team beauty contest.

USC's a hard luck case because it's not their fault that no Pac-10 teams were highly ranked enough to give them the opportunity to regain their prestige.

It's not like they didn't do all the right things. They had scheduled a credible ACC team on the road the first week of the season. They had scheduled proverbial powerhouse Ohio State as well.

USC never schedules I-AA teams and plays Notre Dame every year, a team that is supposed to be good, but every year is viewed more and more like a I-AA team.

I have two things to suggest to USC and their fans.

1) Get the Pac-10 to create a Pac-10 Championship Game. In the BCS, it's not just who you beat, but when you beat them. For three years in a row now, a SEC team has capitalized on an end of season quality win in the SEC Championship Game to propel them into the National Championship Game.

2) Stop scheduling Notre Dame every year until they get their act together.