Michael Ventre

LSU is No. 2 in the latest BCS standings, and I suppose the Tigers have as much claim to the spot as their closest competitors. They have just one defeat, and they’ve shown moxie in pulling out recent close-call wins over Auburn and Alabama.

But LSU this year is probably best known for head coach Les Miles’ snide remarks before the season about the Pacific 10 conference, and what an easy path USC would have to the title game. As it turns out, USC isn’t the team he has to worry about from that league. Oregon is.

His basic premise seemed to be that the SEC is a tougher conference than the Pac-10. Comparing conferences is the stuff of barroom twaddle. There really is no way to prove it, except maybe one: Sending the best the SEC has to offer against the best from the Pac-10.

That’s not foolproof either. But it least it’s a battle that takes place on the field, where some resolution can occur. And if LSU happens to make it unscathed through the rest of its schedule, as it should — Louisiana Tech, at Mississippi, then Arkansas, followed by the SEC championship game — then Miles will find himself having to back up his opinion about the Pac-10 because he might just find himself in the BCS championship game against Oregon.

And that will be a definite “Be careful what you wish for” scenario.

The Tigers were supposed to have the most dominant defense in the land. But they just gave up 34 points to Alabama. And their only loss was a 43-37 decision against Kentucky. Again, that’s 43 points. They’re not intimidating people, they’re trying to outlast them.

Oregon has successfully navigated the perilous part of its schedule, knocking off Michigan on the road early and then stopping ranked conference foes in USC and Arizona State. If the Ducks can finish out their season with wins over Arizona, UCLA and Oregon State, and if they can crack the top two should Ohio State fall with a loss to Michigan, then the nation might see if LSU can prove Miles’ opinion of the Pac-10 against a Ducks offense that is more efficient and multi-faceted than anything the Tigers have dealt with this year.

LSU has shown itself to be worthy of the high regard pollsters had for it going into this season. But whether it can uphold the honor of the SEC by foiling the Pac-10 for the national championship is still to be determined.

Woes in Westwood
Pac-10 bashers might have an even more difficult time taking shots next year, assuming UCLA goes out and hires a real coach and the Bruins improve.

It is tempting to say the program is in free fall, except it’s been that way for a while. It’s just that it’s harder to ignore now.

It’s bad enough that UCLA represents the only victory on Notre Dame’s schedule this year. But the Bruins (5-4, 4-2) have also lost consecutive games to bottom feeders Washington State and Arizona, and they looked ragged in the process. And it doesn’t get easier: the Bruins’ final three games are against Arizona State, Oregon and USC, all ranked.

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For quite some time, head coach Karl Dorrell has been the target of fans’ ire and media wisecracks for the team’s bipolar play. But last week athletic director Dan Guerrero, long a vocal supporter of Dorrell, told the Los Angeles Times: “I will be very interested to see how we finish the season. And you can use that.”

Not good.

UCLA has a couple of problems. One is that Dorrell is one of the highest profile African-American head coaches in a sport that has an embarrassing record of hiring in that department. Another is that if he’s fired after this season, the school owes him $2 million, and UCLA is known to be a skinflint when it comes to its football program.

That latter fact might make hiring a high-profile replacement problematic. But after Dorrell, the fans and alumni could just demand such a name. The individual mentioned most often is Rick Neuheisel, currently the Baltimore Ravens’ offensive coordinator who played at UCLA and coached at Colorado and Washington. But it is believed he would want way more money than the school is willing to pay.

Still, look for a change, especially if the Bruins fail to do anything down the stretch to save Dorrell’s job.

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