11-1 vs. 11-1. Big Ten Champs vs. PAC 10 Champs. Top ten program vs. Top ten program. Penn State vs. Southern California in the Rose Bowl.
What an epic matchup eh? The ratings for this game will be off the roof and will probably be the biggest marquee matchup out of the five BCS games.
But if you ask USC fans if they want the Rose Bowl, most would probably say “no”. Of course they have their reasons and every one of them is understandable…except one.
Reason #1: They’ve been to the Rose Bowl 5 out of the past 6 years. If I were a USC fan, I’d be bored of tears of the Rose Bowl as well.
Reason #2: Many of their fans think they’re the best one loss team in the country. They definitely have a case and should be arguing they’re better than Texas, Oklahoma, Florida, etc.
Reason #3: They should lose to UCLA to play in the Holiday Bowl which would provide a better game than playing Penn State in the Rose Bowl. Wait, uhhhh huh?
Even Adam Rose of the LA Times wants to see USC lose to UCLA, then play either Texas, Oklahoma or Texas Tech in the Holiday Bowl.
As a PSU fan, I disagree with this. First off, PSU does this thing called play defense which is something the Big 12 hasn’t been able to adapt all season long. USC will find it hard to score points against this defense that’s 11th in total defense. Add that PSU’s offense isn’t too shabby either averaging 40 points a game.
But the fact remains that for the next month, we’ll be hearing about how great USC is and how overrated PSU is. We’ll hear how badly the Trojans will stomp the Nittany Lions and how PSU shouldn’t even be on the same field as SC. PSU has no chance as they play in the ‘weak’ Big Ten yet outside of Oregon State, the PAC 10 isn’t exactly the NFL.
Is it fair and right? No freakin’ way. Is it going to continue? Unforunately…
