The Fall of Troy?

My how it seems the mighty have fallen. One year after cruising to the national title game, playing close games only with highly rank teams, every game this season seems to be a little too close for Carroll and Co. Part of it can be blamed on injuries, but part of it is that the team just isn’t hitting on all cylinders yet. A week after escaping from Pullman with a W, the Trojans needed a little help from the Pac-10’s stellar officials to make sure they would prevail over the visiting Huskies. But even as disappointing as the wins over Arizona, Washington State and UW have been, the victory over Nebraska was a dominant performance by the new-look (offense plus defense) Trojans. And that Arkansas game now looks like one of the best wins of the season for any NCAA team. Not only did they go into a hostile SEC environment against a team seeking revenge and win, they completely dismantled them for all 60 minutes. That same Arkansas team went into Jordan-Hare and stomped #2 Auburn. Now barring a total collapse, the Razorbacks are probably in the SEC title game this December. Nebraska has one hurdle left to the Big 12 title game. And Notre Dame is…, well they’re Notre Dame and they’ll probably be in a BCS game if their only losses are to Michigan and USC.

So even if USC hasn’t won their last few games decisively, people need to remember that they arguably have the nation’s most difficult schedule. There aren’t any 1-AA teams here, unlike most of the SEC teams. So remember, while Ohio State plays Northern Illinois and Bowling Green, Florida plays Western Carolina and Central Florida, Michigan plays Ball State and Central Michigan, and West Virginia and Louisville play in the Big East, USC plays every one of their games against teams from BCS conferences. You want to guess how many other teams play every one of their games against BCS teams? I’ll give you a minute if you want to go look it up…………Yep, that’s right, zero. USC is the only team that plays all their games against BCS schools. So even though I and many other Trojans have been disappointed in the last couple of USC games, we all need to calm down and remember what a totally different USC team has already accomplished and still can accomplish this season. It’s a long season, and hell, we’re disappointed that we’re undefeated and ranked #3. That is no reason to panic. I guess that’s just what a couple national championships do to your expectations. So to Pete and the boys, I say 'Fight On!'