E-SPIN

  USC has done “it” again.  The obvious “it” is going into a PAC-10 game against a vastly inferior opponent and, against all odds, walked out the loser.  In fact, this is 3 years in a row that USC has lost to a 3 touchdown underdog.  The most infuriating aspect of what must now be considered a “trend,” is that the national pundits will again give USC a hall pass based on the number of 5-star recruits on the roster and the “eye test” which confirms that the Trojans are stocked with future professional rasslers’.

The primary difference between last night’s horrible defeat and those in seasons past, is that the Beavers manhandled USC for the entire first half.  There were no turnovers of “swing plays” outside of McKnight’s fumble, which was brought about by a furious up-field rush from the Beaver’s front 7, and USC was simply outmuscled.  In addition, USC’s “pro style” offense was unimaginative and predictable, as evidenced by the Beaver defenders, who were positioned for success throughout the game.  Non-believers you can check the stats:

Team Stat Comparison
1st Downs	16	22
3rd down efficiency	2-10	7-16
4th down efficiency	1-1	0-0
Total Yards	313	343
Passing	227	167
Comp-Att	18-29	18-28
Yards per pass	7.8	6.0
Rushing	86	176
Rushing Attempts	22	45
Yards per rush	3.9	3.9
Penalties	7-84	5-27
Turnovers	2	0
Fumbles lost	1	0
Interceptions thrown	1	0
Possession	25:10	34:50

For the PAC-10 apologist, who can be expected to ramp up the cries of  “how come when the SEC loses in conference, its fratricide, when USC loses to another PAC-10 club, its considered an upset?”  SNL could spend hours enumerating the reasons for this canon, but in the end, the loosely woven litany of reasons leads to one conclusion:  The PAC-10 is not very good from top to bottom, and this year, its downright horrible. 

In fact, for the USC apologist looking to blame something for last night’s humbling defeat, the PAC-10’s lack of competition for the muscle-bound Trojans is as good a culprit as any. In other words, the ferocity of the SEC makes each game so important because W’s against even the middle of the pack teams, such as Ole Miss, South Carolina, Kentucky, and Vandy take on added importance because the heavyweights know that looming on the horizon is a group of contenders with bad intentions, which include Florida, Georgia, LSU, Auburn, and Alabama (and in year’s past, Tennessee).

By analogy, USC is the super handsome guy next to you wo doesn’t try that hard to impress girls that are 5 on a 10 scale-he doesn’t have to.  One look and they are his for the taking.  In the context of the PAC-10, USC is the only guy with any charisma at all.  He gets gets all the girls, wins all the awards and does it all without trying.   So how prepared can one reasonably expect USC to be when it goes on the road to play a team that lost to Stanford and was blown out by Joe Pa’s band of hardened criminals?  Let SNL help-not very.

SNL has been preaching without fanfare the folly of placing USC in the title game after the blowout wins against Virginia (who is a 7-point underdog at Duke this weekend) and Ohio St., who SNL expects to lose at least 2 more games.  Today, these assertions seem more relevant than ever.  The greater issue, however, is whether the CFB collective will accept that USC’s veneer of invincibility has thinned to the point that it is no longer entitled to the “benefit of the doubt” when it comes time to go bowling.  So, let’s not call last night’s loss an aberration, becasue it isn’t-the Trojans are and have been overrated for several years now. 

For the rest of today, we can all enjoy the CFB world falling all over itself to explain the Trojans’ latest inexcusable defeat.  As the season wears on and it becomes evident that USC will again carry the PAC-10, the mouths at E-SPIN will reconstitute in unison their now annual chants of “USC is playing better than anyone in the country right now” (see Dr. Saturday’s post for more on this) which, at the end of the day, doesn’t and shouldn’t matter because unlike the Buckeyes, who have trouble in primetime, USC can’t handle being the matinee, which is a must for those who aspire to be champions. 

-So Sayeth the Shepherd

Picture via Dr. Saturday via Ghetty Images