Oregon State 27, USC 21...WTF

We all should have seen this coming: Since Ohio State traveled west two weeks ago and got dismembered by the Trojans, do you know what the biggest USC story being force-fed to the public has been? How USC could finish undefeated and not play for the National title because the Pac-10 is rotten enough to make the computers hold their nose.

Which is part of the beauty of college football. Ladies & Gentlemen...Meet Jacquizz Rodgers. He’s a diminutive freshman who was probably at his senior prom four months ago. Last night, he carved up a defense that will probably send five players into the NFL. It was the kind of electrifying performance (36 carries, 187 yards; depending on where you do your research, he’s either 5-foot-6 or 5-7, and between 185-200 lbs) to send you googling his name: He’s the all-time touchdown leader in Texas football history, USC didn’t recruit him, he had a tough family life (father in prison?), and Erin Andrews’ horse-collared him last night to secure an interview before bedlam engulfed the field. Rodgers’ brother, sophomore WR James, caught two TD passes as well from the streaky Samoan QB Lyle Moevao. Oregon State's 27-21 victory of the Trojans was remarkable because USC had the same two weeks to prepare for Ohio State that it did for Oregon State. Eggs were laid. This game might be the first of many games that throw college football into a tailspin. Which leads me to Oklahoma...

Sigh...First of all, Oklahoma is going to be penciled in at #1...and this scares the bejesus out of me. We've got #24 TCU and the ghosts of LaDainian Tomlinson, they beat us back in '05 and are capable of doing it agian. STOOPS, DID YOU SEE WHAT HAPPENED IN CORVALLIS? GET YOU AND YOUR TEAMS HEAD ON STRAIGHT!!

Ok...Now that I got that out of the way...National title big picture? Georgia’s still got at least four ranked opponents on the schedule, ditto for Oklahoma. Florida has three more against Top 25 teams, and if Penn State gets by Illinois in Happy Valley this weekend, the Nittany Lions’ name will surely surface as a contender (even though they travel to Wisconsin and Ohio State). But the door certainly isn’t shut on the Trojans, who play no more ranked opponents. It’s only September, but if Ohio State and USC run the table, and the SEC teams beat up on each other and Oklahoma chokes once or twice and BYU loses … ugh, we don’t even want to think about it.

-Ed.
(add'l credit from The Big Lead)