In boxing, a champion usually has to lose in order to give up his title. Sure, sometimes they retire, or give up their belt for some silly reason or another. But in general, they have to get beat to no longer be considered the best.
But apparently college football doesn’t play by those rules.
No, USC has won the past two national titles, has won 29 games in a row, is 7-0 this season with wins coming by an average margin of about four touchdowns. But this week, after the Trojans handily defeated Washington 51-24, they were rewarded by dropping to No. 2 in the Bowl Championship Series poll behind Texas. The Longhorns defeated an overrated Texas Tech last week, allowing them to vault over USC in the poll that determines who will play for the national championship.
Texas is a great team. Great quarterback, great skill guys, great defense. No question about it. Hey, it may even be better than USC, and hopefully we’ll find that out in the Rose Bowl. But it’s just nonsense to rank anyone ahead of the Trojans right now. They’ve done nothing to tarnish their well-deserved reputation. Last week, USC was No. 1 and Texas was No. 2, and both teams won on Saturday yet somehow Texas is now better than USC?
I’ve ranted about polls before and will continue to do so until a playoff system is implemented. But in general, and most coaches will agree, polls are meaningless. In the end, it comes down to who wins and who loses. But in this case, the poll is meaningful because of its postseason implications.
We’ve seen that the Harris Poll, now part of the BCS, has some problems, though for the most part it has been pretty reasonable when it comes to the top teams. The USA Today coaches poll also seems right. The biggest problem comes with the computer rankings, which don’t take into account simple common sense. Computers take into account strength of schedule, as it should, but they don’t take into account variables. When USC beat Arizona State, the Sun Devils were playing very well. But now that ASU has fallen apart, the win is less meaningful. There are too many things that go into a team’s success or failure to allow a computer to judge whether it is good or not.
There are six undefeated teams left in college football, and by the end of the season, there could be as many as four. Realistically, any BCS team that finishes undefeated has a legitimate claim to being the national champion, and only a playoff can truly tell us who the best is. But within the system we have, there can be just two teams that play for a national championship. And if USC goes undefeated again but is somehow left out of the Rose Bowl because of computer calculations, it would make a joke out of the BCS and once again call the whole system into question. Come to think of it, maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing.
Speaking of mistakes made last week, there were few bigger than Washington State coach Bill Doba’s decision to try a fake punt with six minutes left and his team ahead by 10 points against California. The play was stuffed and Cal went on to win 42-38.
I can understand Doba’s desire to get a spark going for his struggling team, to build some excitement and confidence. But wouldn’t simply beating California, a ranked team, do that? Why not punt the ball and make the Golden Bears move the ball down the field? Cal quarterback Joe Ayoob has been erratic this season, completing just 50 percent of his passes. I know WSU’s defense has struggled recently, so why not make things a little easier for it?
And at worst, if Doba wanted to keep his offense on the field, which would be understandable, why not just go for it? The Cougars needed just 2 yards for a first down. You’ve got the nation’s second-leading rusher who is averaging 6.3 yards a carry, and one of the nation’s top receivers, going against a defense that was having trouble stopping you.
Every week on the Pac-10 conference call, Doba sounds like he’s not sure exactly what to do to get his team to play better. Heck, he even says so. Doba was trying to be aggressive on the play, but there’s a time to be aggressive and a time to be smart. If your team is struggling, as a coach you put your players in the best position to succeed, and in the case of Saturday, that meant doing anything but faking a punt. It’s not the only reason WSU lost its fourth game in a row, but it played a big part in it.
Washington vs. Arizona St.
Kickoff: 3:30 p.m., Sun Devil Stadium.
TV: FSN (delayed to 7 p.m.)
Radio: KJR radio (950 AM).
Stars to watch: Washington – Quarterback Isaiah Stanback continues to move the ball, averaging 220 yards on 57.8 percent passing and has been intercepted just four times, but also has just seven touchdown passes. His running has been strong lately and he ranks second among Pac-10 quarterbacks with 176 rushing yards. No other player on offense has particularly stood out, though Craig Chambers is averaging 21.2 yards a catch and has three touchdowns. James Sims could get his first start at tailback. Defensive tackle Manase Hopoi needs four more tackles for loss to set the UW career record, and four more sacks to tie the school record. Joe Lobendahn is fourth in the league in tackles (9.1 a game). C.J. Wallace and Evan Benjamin each average eight tackles a game. Sean Douglas ranks 12th in the country with a 44.1 punting average.
Arizona State – Quarterback Sam Keller has been banged up but should play and has been wildly successful. Keller leads the Pac-10 in passing, averaging 309.3 yards a game with 20 touchdowns and a 58.7 percent completion rate. His top target is receiver Derek Hagan, who has 46 catches for 715 yards and six touchdowns. Hagan is fifth all-time in the Pac-10 in career receptions, fourth in yards and tied for eighth in touchdowns. Terry Richardson is a top return man, averaging 13.4 yards on punts and 28.5 yards on kickoffs. Freshman running back Keegan Herring averages 6.1 yards a carry. Linebacker Dale Robinson is second in the Pac-10 in tackles (9.9 a game) and has 91/2 tackles for loss and three forced fumbles. Safety Zach Catanese averages 9.4 tackles and has 38 in the past three games. Maurice London leads the league with three fumble recoveries.
Breaking down the game: The beleaguered Huskies’ secondary faces another daunting challenge in Keller, among the nation’s top passers. ASU has so many offensive weapons, with Hagan, Herring, Richardson, Rudy Burgess and tight end Zach Miller, it’s going to stretch the UW defense thin. But ASU has been struggling with pass protection, so Washington may have a chance to get to Keller, who has been battling injuries. The Washington offense continues to move the ball, but with questions in the running game, much could fall to Stanback and the receivers, who have been inconsistent. Arizona State’s special teams have been a problem, so the Huskies may be able to take advantage of that.
Bottom line: Any time Washington goes against a good passing team, it is going to be in trouble. The Huskies should be able to stay in the game because they should be able to move the ball, but in the end it will be as always, just not enough pass defense in a conference that passes like crazy.
Pick: Arizona State 33-22
Washington St. vs. USC
Kickoff: 12:30 p.m., Los Angeles Coliseum.
TV: ABC (Ch. 4)
Radio: KRKO (1380 AM).
Stars to watch: Washington State – Running back Jerome Harrison is on pace to break the school’s single-season rushing mark. He is second in the nation in yards (166.1 a game) and leads his closest Pac-10 competitor by 50 yards. He’s gained at least 100 yards in 10 straight games and has 11 touchdowns. Receiver Jason Hill is second in the country in yards (137.7 a game), averages 19.7 yards a catch and has 11 touchdowns. Alex Brink averages 282.4 yards passing and has thrown 18 touchdowns, but has 10 interceptions. Mkristo Bruce has eight sacks and 101/2 tackles for loss. Adam Braidwood has 51/2 tackles for loss. Michael Bumpus averages 12.6 yards on punt returns. Kicker Loren Langley is 10-for-11 on field goals.
USC – Reggie Bush leads the nation in all-purpose yards at 203.1 a game and has scored at least two touchdowns in six of seven games this season. He averages 116 yards rushing, 8.6 a carry, and 12.5 yards on punt returns. Matt Leinart became the Pac-10’s career leader in touchdown passes (87) last week and is completing 64.7 percent of his passes for 306.9 yards a game with 16 touchdowns. LenDale White has 11 rushing touchdowns and averages 6.5 yards a carry. Dwayne Jarrett leads the league with 12 touchdown catches. Oscar Lua leads the team, averaging 7.0 tackles a game. Frostee Rucker has 51/2 sacks and Lawrence Jackson has five sacks.
Breaking down the game: The Cougars are allowing 38.5 points a game over the past four games, not the best statistic considering they’re playing one of the nation’s top offenses. Washington State can move the ball, and the running game should help control USC for a while. But the Trojans have too many weapons for the struggling Cougar defense to handle.
Bottom line: USC will be excited about playing a game at home, and will have something to prove after losing the No. 1 BCS rating. Washington State is struggling and now isn’t the best time for it to be playing such a strong team. The Cougars should be able to put up points on the Trojans, and if Jerome Harrison can help control the clock, the Cougars could keep it respectable, but that’s probably the best they can hope for.
Pick: USC 37-22.
Other Pac-10 games
Arizona at Oregon State: The Beavers have a chance to finish the season strong and keep the Wildcats winless in the conference. Pick: Oregon State 30-22.
UCLA at Stanford: Two teams that are on a roll meet, but the Bruins’ offense is a little too much for the Cardinal and UCLA moves a step closer to USC. Pick: UCLA 30-28.
Mike Allende is The Herald’s college writer
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