USC coach Pete Carroll preached this week that the Trojans can clinch a Rose Bowl bid with a victory tonight over Arizona at the Coliseum.
Hopefully, the Trojans bought the argument better than the Rose Bowl, which won't have an official representative at the game. Even they are resigned, perhaps, to the idea the No. 1-ranked Trojans will play in the Orange Bowl for the national championship.
Carroll loathes looking ahead, so this week's talking points included constant references to the Rose Bowl.
"A Rose Bowl bid, that's an incredible accomplishment for us," Carroll said. "We love that chance. The team is excited about it."
Yes and no. It's nice to seal a Rose Bowl bid, especially with two regular-season games left on the schedule, but that's hardly why USC's playing football this season.
"The Rose Bowl, that's our bowl, but if we went to the Orange Bowl, that would be better," senior linebacker Matt Grootegoed said.
Undeterred, Carroll banged his message all week. At least he came up with some thin thread of a motivational tactic. He certainly didn't have one by talking about lowly Arizona.
The Wildcats (2-7, 1-5) are one of the worst teams in the country, but not the worst team in the Pacific-10 Conference, thanks to a victory over pathetic Washington last week.
Arizona already has played three top-10 teams (Utah, Wisconsin, California) and came closer than anyone else to upsetting the Badgers in a 9-7 loss. The Wildcats get their fourth top-10 team tonight.
"A ridiculous way to go about your first year," said Arizona coach Mike Stoops, struggling through his inaugural season.
Even worse, the Wildcats are 0-17 against ranked teams dating to 2000. Did someone mention the Rose Bowl is at stake? Anyone?
Late this week, Carroll finally admitted he's on notice against any signs of a letdown because of the opponent.
"I'm on it, I'm working on it," he said. "But if we win, there will be some [celebrating] in the locker room."
Fortunately for the Trojans (9-0, 6-0), playing a cupcake isn't something new. Their previous home game was against Washington, just before the Huskies announced coach Keith Gilbertson would be fired after the season.
Their entire schedule isn't exactly daunting. USC's opponents enter this weekend with a 42-38 record. Oklahoma's are 48-33.
That argument won't be settled unless the Trojans win their remaining games. A homecoming crowd will see if USC can claim its 20th successive home victory, which would tie a school record.
"I didn't really know that," Grootegoed said. "I'm not a stat guy. Our goal is to win every home game. We could win 100 in a row, and it wouldn't matter to me."
Grootegoed takes some pleasure in the difference between Coliseum crowds today and his freshman year.
"Without a doubt, that place gets a lot louder, with 70,000-plus or 90,000 people," he said. "When I was a freshman, I don't want to bring it up, but it was nowhere near as loud. I remember getting booed off the field once."
Boos are unlikely tonight; a crowd of 70,000 is expected.
"This is a championship opportunity for us," Carroll said. "There's so much to play for."
Perhaps with that in mind, the Orange Bowl will have a representative at the game.
No. 8 Georgia (8-1) at
No. 3 Auburn (9-0)
Auburn faces a big test this week in its quest for a spot in the national title game. Auburn is third in the BCS standings and will likely need some help to make it to the title game. The Tigers are coming off a bye week, while Georgia has won three in a row since being upset by Tennessee. Auburn will look to run the ball, while Georgia quarterback David Greene is now the winningest quarterback in college football history.
No. 18 Miami (6-2) at
No. 10 Virginia (7-1)
After back-to-back losses, all that is left for Miami is a chance at the ACC title. In order to do that, the Hurricanes must win their last three games and the first step will be a tough road game in Charlottesville. Miami's defense looked suspect in those two losses and Virginia's offense is ranked first in the conference. The Cavaliers' tailbacks may give Miami trouble.
No. 21 Boston College (6-2) at
No. 13 W Virginia (8-1)
With a victory over the Eagles, West Virginia would clinch at least a share of the Big East title and have the inside track for the conference's spot in a BCS Bowl game. Should Boston College win it could take the conference if it wins its last two games against Temple and Syracuse and West Virginia does not finish five or more spots ahead of it in the BCS rankings.
No. 4 Wisconsin (9-0) at
Michigan St. (4-5)
The Badgers are still unbeaten and a big reason why has been the emergence of the passing attack. Wisconsin has traditionally been a run first team, but the recent play of quarterback John Stocco and receiver Brandon Williams have made them an even more dangerous team. Michigan State blew fourth-quarter leads against Michigan and Ohio State over the last two weeks, and this week is without starting quarterback Drew Stanton.
The pressure was already on Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso before their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League raised further questions about his future. Arsenal remain perfect in this season’s competition and three points clear at the top of the standings after a 3-0 win against Club Brugge, while defending champions Paris Saint-Germain were held 0-0 at Athletic Bilbao. The clash between Madrid and City was the standout game of the round amid reports this week that Alonso had lost control of the locker room. Speculation over his position is likely to intensify after the latest
‘HIGH STANDARD’: The Thunder are on track for a Finals-Cup double after they scored 22 three-pointers in equaling the best 25-game start to a season in NBA history The Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday bagged a 16th straight victory, thrashing the Phoenix Suns 138-89 to romp into an NBA Cup semi-final clash with the San Antonio Spurs, who stunned the Los Angeles Lakers 132-119. NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points to lead the reigning NBA champions Thunder, who improved to 24-1 to equal the best 25-game start to a season in league history. They dominated from start to finish to book their place in the final four of the in-season tournament in Las Vegas, where they are tomorrow to take on the Spurs. The New York Knicks and
TOP OF THE TABLE: Evann Guessand put the visitors ahead early in the game and Flavius Daniliuc equalized before Youri Tielemans got the winner in the second half Aston Villa on Thursday extended their winning streak to eight games in all competitions with a 2-1 victory against Basel in the UEFA Europa League to secure at least a playoff spot. Villa were tied with Olympique Lyonnais, who beat Go Ahead Eagles 2-1, and Midtjylland, 1-0 winners over Genk, atop the standings of the second-tier European competition on 15 points with five wins from six games. They have bounced back from a poor start to the season and are third in the Premier League, including a 2-1 victory over leaders Arsenal on Saturday. At St Jakob-Park in Basel, summer signing Evann Guessand
Italian Luca de Aliprandini described Saturday’s World Cup giant slalom at Val d’Isere as the hardest race of his life, coming two days after his Swiss partner Michelle Gisin suffered a heavy fall in training which required neck surgery. De Aliprandini finished 26th in the men’s event won by Loic Meillard, but the result paled into insignificance with two-time Olympic ski champion Gisin in hospital with injuries to her wrist, knee and cervical spine (neck). “It was Michelle’s wish that I race here. I couldn’t say no to her, but it was the toughest race of my entire life,” an emotional De
RSS