[NU Sports] USC ... WTF?

[SjT (Stephen J. Truog)]

> I actually was thrilled to see this last night.  Some wanted
> USC to crush

Definitely - unless they're playing the Evil Empire, all I need to do is think of that smug John Robinson smirking as he said how they deserved it after the Rose Bowl to rev up the hatred for SC.

Plus, as Mike said, it's just great for college football. I think everyone saw SC's schedule as a cakewalk after OSU but now that wild unpredictability and excitement are back. Heck, Vandy might knock off one of the Big Three in the SEC ... and as many points as OU and Mizzou have been scoring, their defenses look awfully suspect. We could have another wild year!

I also think it shows once again how conference games truly ARE different - even if the league is in a "down" year. The OSU last night wasn't as star struck by the Trojans as the OSU two weeks ago was. It's like how NU can play teams like Wisconsin, Michigan State or Iowa close year after year even when they're winning handily outside the league.

> Paterno has said that this Penn State offense is better
> than his offense in
> 1994.  His 1994 offense was the best offense I've seen

And that's the other big thing - I don't buy the transitive property either, but I do think last night showed that PSU might be better than everyone thinks they are. They've been putting up big numbers against "unproven" foes, but one of those foes just went to being "proven" last night -- if they rout Illinois, as I think they will, tomorrow night ... look for PSU to rocket up in the polls and become the clear favorite.

> I haven't noticed anything yet this year to suggest
> that JoePa is wrong, so
> that's a pretty scary prospect for Big Ten defenses. 

They certainly look miles ahead of the rest of the league in terms of speed and balance - my big question is that leadership one when it comes to a close game, but they may not face that if they keep lighting up the scoreboard.

So yeah, a fun start to the weekend. Now let's make it purplely perfect by creaming the corn!

GO CATS!!! BEAT IOWA!!!
- SjT