Great game! Thanks for beating the wolverines and earning your number one ranking. I see the Trojans as the Champs because the BCS is BS!

I know we will officially have "split National Champions" but there's no doubt in my mind who the true championship team is and that is USC!....big kudos to Pete Carroll for turning that program around so dramatically in three short years....I've always considered him to be a highly underrated coach (even when he was in the NFL coaching the Niners and Pats, where he got a LOT of unfair criticism IMHO), although I will admit that his style and personality is better suited to college than the pros.

The only shame is that we didn't get to see USC face Oklahoma or LSU in the Sugar Bowl, which I believe they would have won no matter which team they faced -- but, thanks to the awful BCS we'll never know for certain....in either event, CONGRATS TO THE TROJANS for a GREAT season!

[ January 01, 2004, 06:21 PM: Message edited by: gamecock ]

USC really took it to the Wolverines. Very deserving champs. In another thread, I thought Michigan would win. OK...I'm a believer now.

nice win for USC, but I'd still vote LSU (watch this go kiss of death) if they won

Congrats to USC for the big win!! I too think that they would beat either LSU or OU in a matchup. Michigan gave up a total of 15 sacks all season long, but tonight USC sacked them an astounding 9 times! Wow!! Don't be surprised if Pete Carroll's and Norm Chow's names come ups for some of the NFL head coaching or offensive coordinator positions. These guys can flat out coach!

BTW, during the postgame award presentation, Coach Carroll gave Matt Leinart the Rose Bowl Trophy and he held it up and said something. I didn't realize how handsome he really was until that moment. I hadnt watched a single USC game this past season. He is helluva quarterback and a total hottie!

[ January 01, 2004, 06:57 PM: Message edited by: SmoothRon ]

Anyone know if this game will be shown again on cable FOR WEST COAST?

And Pete Carroll is one of the hotter coaches too!

And savvy, check ESPN Classic's website. They sometimes label things "Instant Classics" and reair them shortly after they originally air.

Matt Leinart is a hell of a lot hotter in person by the way.

USC is the people's champ. Do you smell what Pete Carroll is cookin?

The debate about USC being number one involves the BCS rankings vs. AP poll rankings. It has nothing to do with beating number FOUR Michigan.

Congrats to USC for the win and they did claim a share of the national championship but I dont understand people annointing them "the one and only national champion". Last I checked they have one loss. Last I checked LSU and Oklahoma have one loss. If LSU wins that game why should they have any less right to the national championship than USC. The national championship deserve to be shared this year and there is no way you can leave the winner of LSU-Oklahoma out of it.

This game was won on Michigan's first possession. They marched down the field, then misfired. It really looked like the Wolverines were sure to score. The Trojans defenders were a bit hyped up, and were getting burned by overpursuing on numerous passing plays. Several missed tackles were a clear sign that they were a little overcharged.

Had Michigan scored on that possession, we would've seen a much closer first half. The Big Mo would've been in Michigan's favor. The fact that they didn't score took some wind out of the balloon, and the rest was history. This type of thing happens all the time in college football. That first possession is always key in setting the tone, and their failure to put some points on the board was critical to the outcome of the first half.

I'm not saying Michigan would've won, but this game would have been a hell of alot closer.

As for whether USC should be crowned as the REAL national champ, well, history will always reflect a split national title. USC will own half of it, and there's not anything anyone can do about it.

It would've been nice to see how LSU would have fared. Playing in the Superdome would have been an alien experience for the Trojans, and the crowd there will be largely LSU-friendly. LSU has a better defense than any USC has faced all year. All we can do is play "what if."

[ January 02, 2004, 09:26 AM: Message edited by: AU Tiger in LA ]

Forgot to include this - split titles are nothing new to USC.
2003 Southern Cal / ???
1997 Michigan/Nebraska
1991 Miami (Fla.)/Washington
1990 Colorado/Georgia Tech
1978 Alabama/Southern Cal
1974 Oklahoma/Southern Cal
1973 Notre Dame/Alabama
1970 Nebraska/Texas
1965 Alabama/Michigan State
1957 Auburn/Ohio State
1954 Ohio State/UCLA

That makes this the 3rd split for SC, tying them with Bama for the distinction.

Hey Guys:

Well, anyone who read my article at the end of the season knows that I think USC was dumped on by the BCS. And boy have I been taking heat for that one. Someone from our fellow outsport readers posted the link to the article on the LSU fan website, and I have been under attack ever since!!! LOL Part of me loves it, but another part of me just sits back and is amazed at just how ignorant, and hateful some fans can be. I do beleive that no one has been as hated in Louisiana as I have been since the days of General Phillip Sheridan in those terrible days of "yankee aggression" in the bayous of Louisiana.

With that said, the basis for alot of the comments I received from LSU fans, was that USC was overrated, and would be smashed by Michigan. Well, we all saw that happen didn't we? LOL As I had maintained throughout the entire post-season, USC should be the national champions, and will in effect claim more than 50% of the national title when the polls are released. So Congratulations to USC players, and USC Head Coach Pete Carroll, who continued to show tremendous class in the face of all the national attention.

One more comment then I am done. I have to say that LSU Head Coach Nick Saban has repeatedly risen above the raucious and hateful behavior of the LSU fans. I received a very nice email from his a week ago. Apparently, someone pointed him toward my article as well, as he wrote a 1 1/2-page email to me, in which he himself expressed support of a playoff tournament to replace the BCS, and he apologized to me in advance, as he said " . . . I am sure some of our more avid fans were not so kind in the things they had to say to you." That took some class in itself, and my opinion of Coach Saban jumped after that email. Not many coaches would have taken the time to do that.

Ok, my rambling is done.

David
Exfballplayer

You know how routs are often described as "a lot closer than the score indicates?" Well, the Rose Bowl--not a rout--wasn't nearly as close as the score indicated. USC was dominant on all phases of the game. My only quibble: much as I admire Matt Leinart, my vote for MVP would have been the defensive line (I know, the MVP has to be an individual, not a line, but still...) Though the Trojan is on the small-ish side, their speed addled Michigan. Nine sacks on a team that had only 15 sacks all season--impressive.

~Adam

I agree with your comments about Pete Carroll 100%, David, and despite my longstanding hatred for LSU I gotta give big kudos to Nick Saban for his classy gesture in e-mailing you....as I've said before, I wouldn't mind seeing Saban named the head coach of an NFL (or another major college) team that has fans who rabidly support their team yet conduct themselves and treat their opponents in a MUCH more sportsmanlike manner....I'm sure Nick will get PLENTY of attention again this "offseason" (including interview requests from at least one of the seven NFL job openings) but if the comments made by his wife this week are to be believed, the Sabans have no intention of leaving Baton Rouge -- at least not yet anyway.

Having said all that about Coach Saban, I still think Bob Stoops (who is definitely one of the classiest, down-to-earth, family-oriented coaches in all of college sports) and his Oklahoma Sooners will defeat the Bayou Bengals on Sunday night, despite LSU's obvious home field advantage in New Orleans.

David, I have a question regarding the final AP (and coaches' poll too). I assume you voted USC #1, but I'm curious where you placed OU. It's hard to understand how they can lose their last two games without them dropping at all in the final poll. I understand the argument that they dominated early, but don't the two losses in the final two games tell more than early blowouts? I'm no fan of Ohio State, but they (and my Canes) won their BCS game and finished with 2 losses as well, but still behind OU.

Just curious how an actual AP voter saw this issue. Thanks for giving us an inside view on the polls.

GO CANES! (5 on the Noles; 5 on the Gay-tors)

Ohio State should def be rated higher than Oklahoma: both two losses, plus common opponent of Kansas State; who crushed Oklahoma and Ohio State had no problem with.

Remember, how most of this season Oklahoma was considered UNBeatable and the greatest team ever ?
I never believe hype.

USC doesn't deserve the outright title - they need to beef up their easy SOS.

[ January 05, 2004, 09:08 AM: Message edited by: osufan ]

The real national champ is none other than BOISE STATE After all, they lost just one game all season & then won their bowl game. Boise just can't get any love!!! wink

~Adam

Here is a question or two: Why is it that the complicated BCS formula is used to decide who plays for the championship, but a simple human poll is used afterwards? And are those mysterious computer polls ever run after the bowl games? Or would the results be too embarassing, especially this year?

I think it would be interesting to see what the BCS standings would be right now, even with LSU guaranteed the number 1 ranking in the coaches poll.

The NCAA schools AGREED to the BCS and accepted the fact that the one and only National Champion would be selected from the BCS...not the AP or the Coaches' Polls, but the BCS and that was all. Why do we have this controversy when there is no real controversy. LSU is the one and only National Champion, they have the rings and the BCS title. Enough said. Congrats LSU and the SEC for bringing home yet another National Title!

You did not read my post. The champion is NOT decided by the BCS, but by the coaches poll. Why are the computer rankings dropped after the bowl games? I know what was agreed to.

The Trojans deserve to be sole national champions not because of
how they played against Michigan (total domination) but because
both LSU and OU were pathetic in their game; neither of those two
deserve it.

Bring in a playoff: the champions from the six top conferences,
and fill it out to sixteen teams from the top 25, mirroring what
the NCAA does in basketball.

Too many games, do I hear some say? Then shorten the regular
season to a standard ten games for all teams. It's easy, simple,
and fair, and won't leave any arguments.

Deciding who is best by a poll makes as much sense as choosing a
president by who the judges like instead of who got the move votes.


Bob Dog

The championship game is to be decided by the BCS...and shouldn't the winner of that game be declared National Champion? What is the point of having a NC game if there is a possibility of the NC being decided by another means? This is totally stupid. LSU wins, end of story.

LSU is the real National Champion, but the media decided to go against it just because they don't agree with a computer deciding who plays in the title game. At least I got to see more of Matt Leinart!