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Sunday, Nov 8, 2009
USC fly-swats Oklahoma for the national championship. Gee, maybe the Pac-10's pretty good. Ashlee Simpson, on the other hand ...
Jan 5, 2005 | USC's 55-19 shellacking of Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl Tuesday night was one of those games in which the final score didn't represent how lopsided it was. And not just because the Sooners scored nine points in garbage time. USC's 55-3 run after falling behind 7-0 didn't represent how lopsided the game was. Words can scarcely do it justice.
Southern Cal did everything but steal Oklahoma's lunch money and hold the Sooners upside down over a toilet in the boys bathroom. And the only reason they didn't take the lunch money was that football uniforms don't have pockets.
I have some free time today. Would anyone like to talk about how the Pac-10 is a weak conference?
Anyone?
It's kind of a national religion east of the Rockies to say that the Pac-10 is soft, whichever team wins it -- in any sport -- is overrated and everybody else is merely second-rate. That won't change with this National Championship Game butt-kicking any more than any of the other bowl-season butt-kickings administered by Pac-10 teams over the years have changed it. But it's as silly an idea as ever.
Oklahoma won the Big 12 the way you would win a first-grade spelling bee, their only challenge coming from Texas, which just seems to be hexed when it comes to beating Oklahoma. The Sooners wouldn't have won the Pac-10. They might have finished second, but it's not a stretch to picture them finishing fourth.
If you want a weak conference, look no further than the Big 12. Is it some kind of accident that for two years in a row Oklahoma has looked dominant all year long and then been exposed as paper Sooners when they left the conference and faced a top-notch defense in the title game? Running back Adrian Peterson, who looked like Eric Dickerson reborn during a stellar freshman year, looked like nothing special Tuesday night.
He is special, don't get me wrong, but USC bottled him up the way no Big 12 team could. And it's not as though USC habitually bottled up Pac-10 running backs this year. J.R. Lemon, J.J. Arrington and Dwight Wright all had good games against the Trojans. What's going on here? These are the questions I'd be happy to discuss.
Anyone?
This game turned on a series of Oklahoma blunders. With the score tied 7-7, Oklahoma's Mark Bradley thought it would be a good idea to try to pick up a rolling punt inside his own 5, surrounded by Trojans. He immediately had it knocked out of his hands. USC recovered, quick touchdown, 14-7.
