Eugene, Ore. | It’s too bad college football is decided by polls and geeky computer programmers. Because if the two best teams are truly supposed to play for the national title on Jan. 7, Oregon should be there.
If you watched even a little bit of the Ducks’ 47-20 walloping of USC on Saturday, you know what I mean.
Seriously. Florida/Alabama vs. Texas is on everyone’s short list for BCS title game. But wouldn’t you rather see a team try to shut down Oregon’s offense for all the marbles?
So curse the BCS this morning. Because it’s a long shot that a very deserving BCS Championship game team will not play in Pasadena on Jan. 7.
Although who knows, there is time to build momentum. It is performances like Oregon’s 47-point, 613-yard beat down of the Trojans that has a way of moving the immovable like the BCS boys.
Surely, they were talking about Oregon’s breathtaking performance on all of the national college football shows Saturday night. The talking won’t stop until next Saturday, because it was one of those unforgettable performances.
Opposing offenses just don’t do that to a Pete Carroll-USC defense. The Trojans have never given up 47 points or 613 yards under Carroll. (Only once in USC’s storied history have the Trojans given up more than 613 yards.) During the first three quarters, when the game was still in doubt, Oregon averaged 10.5 yards per play on first down.
Those are numbers offenses put up against South Dakota State, not mighty Southern California, and certainly not with Carroll coaching.
“This was a real mess for us … a terrible night,” Carroll said.
With each passing week, it could become a real mess for the BCS, too.
Oregon came into the week No. 10 in the BCS standings. The Ducks will leap frog at least USC, and maybe Louisiana State. But what happens when Oregon hangs 50 on Stanford and Arizona State, beats Arizona in Tucson, and does 65-38 The Sequel on Oregon State on Dec. 3?
Yeah, what college football really needs is Oregon vs. Iowa in Rose Bowl Junior. If the Ducks keep this up, they deserve only one destination, and that’s Pasadena on Jan. 7 for the BCS title.
What about Boise State, you ask? So long ago. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate first games of the season? They’re so not a barometer of a team. The Ducks would beat the Broncos by four touchdowns today. And TCU and Cincinnati? Use the eye ball test. Really think either of those teams would have much more success slowing down Jeremiah Masoli and his offense?
Me neither.
How much fun would it be to watch Oregon run its spread offense against one of those high-falutin’ SEC defenses? Or the Ducks get in a shootout with Mack Brown and Texas with first prize on the line?
One thing you wouldn’t hear: that’s bad for college football. Because it would be great theater for college football.
Even USC's Taylor Mays seemed to encourage it. After the game, the Trojans' All-America safety embraced Masoli and said "Take it. Take it. Take it." We're presuming Mays didn't mean his pride. Or just the Pac-10 title.
Oregon coach Chip Kelly is one of these narrowly-focused coaches who usually looks only at the event at hand. It would be way out of character for Kelly to stump for a national title bid two months out. In fact, he even went as far as to minimize the USC win.
“You can’t look at this win any more than UCLA or Cal,” Kelly said he told his team.
Which is coach speak, and I’m sure he believes it. But you hope the country won’t see it that way. Because momentum for an Oregon BCS title game bid must start now.
Nick Daschel covers the Pacific-10 Conference for Buster Sports, and can be reached at ndaschel@bustersports.com
You can also follow Nick on Twitter
Comments
The woodshed beatdown--which I attended--was as good of wooping I have ever seen. But, BCS title game talk is way too early to speak of considering the Ducks have yet to play 3 of the best 5 in the Pac 10 still.
I agree that it should be the 2 teams playing the best football at the end of the season to play in the Championship game. And, it is unfortunate that the Ducks could be held out because of a Boise State team that may run the table on a very creampuff-laden schedule.
But, if there is an undefeated team like BSU that beat that 1-loss team head to head--whenever it was in the season--it is a no brainer. The Ducks knew before the season that their schedule line up could take them to new heights....if only they could win at Boise State. Which, outside of the Blount debacle, was why that loss was so painful for Oregon to endure.
At this point, we will see how the final games end up. And who knows, Arizona has crushed dreams in the past and it could happen again against Oregon. But until the gun sounds in what could be a great game at the end of the season (Civil War), you shouldn't be so punch-drunk (no pun intended) on the Ducks yet...even after that impressive showing.
But, as Dennis Green would say, "if you want to crown them, then crown their ass!" But if you do, be prepared to eat crow later if the team that BSU or Purdue played returns.....
and here
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/fbc09.htm
Boise St. is a good team that came ready to play, because they have all year to plan for one game, but these are not the same Ducks as in week one. If Troy had all year to plan for just Florida, well maybe not, but still. Boise St knows they only had one game this year. Sure if Oregon played it safe and had some cream-puff preseason schedule and play troy, louisian-monroe and wyoming, they would be number one or two as well right now. If you want to talk about at WEAK conference, why don't you look at the SEC east and Florida and how they haven't played a ranked team.......
Also, speaking of ranked teams; currently the Pac-10 has 4 team in the top 25, altogether 6 pac-10 teams have been in the top 25, and all 6 are still receiving votes. What other conference has that?
Nick, if that is championship caliber defense, then the Cougars deserve a national title shot too!
Still love ya man! Just had to rib you a little.....