BCS Defender: USC's loss to Oregon State

How does the upset of USC by Oregon State impact the BCS vs Playoff debate?  Well for all of those who want a playoff you are disregarding this game.

I base this argument on a few assumptions, correct me if I am mistaken.

1) Any playoff format I've seen proposed will either allow for every BCS conference champ, every conference champ, or the top 4, 6, or 8 ranked teams.

2A) USC will win the Pac-10 anyway.  I am assuming that one conference loss will not be enough to take the Pac-10 title from USC.  Because they lost to a team that will lose more than one conference game and because USC will either have a better conference record or a better overall record than any other team in the Pac-10.  If they lose again, like in '06, then we'll talk about the impact of this game differently.  But that won't change what the game meant when it was played, nor what it means right now.

2B) USC will finish in the top 4, 6, or 8 in the polls if they end the season with just this one loss.  They beat Ohio St, and if Ohio St wins out and USC wins out there is no way you can drop USC low enough to be out of almost any playoff format.  USC has a cupcake schedule and should win out.  We said that at 7pm last night too, but that does not change anything.  People are also confident that Ohio St will win out and take the Big Ten.  From USC's point of view Ohio St winning the Big Ten is all they need, even if the Buckeyes drop a conference game.

I do not think these 2-3 things are much of a stretch, and if they aren't then what does this game mean if we eliminate the BCS and go to a playoff format?  It removes the meaning from this upset.  I can even safely say that USC could lose a 2nd conference game and still have a 50/50 shot at winning their conference.  That would really only eliminate them from a 4 team playoff format and possibly a 6 team, but it would still keep them in any format of 8 or more teams.

So I ask you to really look at the effect's that a playoff would have in the regular season.  Understand the emphasis that would be placed upon winning the conference and not just having the best season you can.   With the way things are currently set up USC is just looking at the Rose Bowl now, and hoping somebody else loses in an upset bigger than they did.  As of right now the Big 12 and SEC undefeateds are in control of their own destiny.  Even with one loss the winner of either conference can claim a tougher schedule than either USC.

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Let's discuss Oregon St for a moment.  This game will be the highlight of their season, even if they make and win a bowl game.  They knocked off USC, and as of right now, ruined their national championship hopes.  How many times will you be able to say to a USC fan, "You got run over by a midget"?  The celebration that occurred on campus last night was one of the things we love about college football.  For those students and those athletes they will always be able to talk about this game with pride.  Under a playoff, what is their joy about?  Sure they beat the bully on their block, but they did not alter that bully's destiny.  That bully gets a black eye, but not a broken leg.  Sure it looks bad, but that bully can still fight tomorrow.  However a broken leg means that the bully needs to have someone else's bully break a leg in order to have a chance.  Big difference.  Huge difference.  It completely alters the meaning and value of last night's upset.

Taking that argument one step further.  Both teams knew what they were playing for last night.  Both knew that USC had little to gain and much to lose, while Oregon St had much to gain and nothing to lose.  Insert the game into a playoff formatted world and that game does not have the impact that it does now.  So we must ask the question, "Does Oregon St step up and play as hard as they did if this game does not ruin USC's season?"  That is a fair question.  The Beavers played their hearts out last night, does that happen if losing this game cost's USC nothing?

One month in, and in their first conference game USC has seriously hurt their chances at playing for the National Championship.  In a playoff based college football world, this would not be case.  Say what you will about the BCS, the "regular season's value" argument cannot be ignored.

CmdrporterWaterboy

408 days ago

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The last few years the USC teams have lost to inferior teams, UCLA a couple of years ago, Oregon, Oregon State and this year again to Oregon State. What that does to Ohio St is make them look ever worst. Even if they win out it does not look good for SoCal. The Pac-10 is a big joke with the exception of SoCal and they are losing most of their games as we have seen the past couple of weeks. East coast bias is going to have a real impact this year. Florida, Alabama, Auburn and a few others are going to be slotted into higher BCS than SoCal and even then they maybe be dropped lower than 10th place. Before OS then looked like the best team in the country. But the "On any day" always sticks its ugly head up during the NCAA season and once again SoCal has fallen down. It wasn't even close except on the scoreboard. Oregon State beat the living crap out of SoCal from start to finish and phyically punished a lot of the players. If I were a betting man I wouldn't put any money on them except if I got odds and a few points to make it to the BS game(Bullshit there still is no NCAA championship). The players looked like they had been reading there press clippings and from the kickoff didn't seem to be in the game. Is that a coaching error or player conditioning. Big Pete has fallen from title games to meaningless games in January. I certainly hope for the Pac-10's image that they bring back their championship style of play. The BCS is still and always will be the biggest joke on the planet. You will never be able to have a NCAA Championship game until the AD's decide to give up the big money they get from all the bowls and have something like the basketball and baseball teams have. My brother says I am bias against SoCalfds because I am a UCLA grad and maybe I am a little but as the programs go in the Pac-10 so goes all the programs. Without a strong football program it makes the Pac-10 weak in the eyes of the East and Mid-West writers and voters. It will be very interesting to see how far SoCal falls in the polls this coming Sunday evening and if there are not many upsets it maybe further than you think.

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Anonymous Fanatic #1

408 days ago

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I am a BIG USC fan and I will not dare make any excuses for whatever the reason O-State just handed us our hats, and I believe that if USC does not stay focus from the first to the fourth quater this will not be there last upset lost of the season. Now I also must say that they did show true mettle as well because I thought it was over after the first half and they showed the heart of champions to crawl back in it and to make it as close as it was. I do believe that Pete will have the right words and game plan for future games to keep them playing at a high level, in fact this lost may be a blessing for the rest of the season because now they know how it feels to lose and as the say that is a bitter pill to swallow, and last night they were not even afforded water to wash that pill down. But I do believe this will make them better but I also believed that we would route O-State. Hats off to Rodgers

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Anonymous Fanatic #2

408 days ago

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Anonymous Fanatic #1 you are a classy sports fan. I'm a Bucks fan and your team handed the other OSU their backsides. No excuses just flat out better, by far, teamed. The whole thing ultimately just goes to show that the talent coming out of these high schools now days is first rate and what it does is make NCAA (old school terminonology I know)football the most exciting sports there is to watch. Parity is the day in the college ranks. No big pay checks,just desire and ambition!! Somebody just has to step up and beat those monsters out of the SEC - they really are the best, as much as it pains me to say.

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The PipDiv-I Stud

408 days ago

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Reading comprehension: You're doing it wrong!

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