USC-Ohio State a big risk ... and treat for fans
Teams that create tough early schedules should not be punished if they lose
Kevin C. Cox / Getty ImagesIf quarterback Mark Sanchez's Trojans lose on Saturday, they don't deserve to be dropped out of the title hunt after rewarding fans with a great matchup.
BCS busters
The BCS-buster babbling could begin in earnest as early as the wee hours of Sunday morning, and never has it been this extensive. After Saturday's games as many as three non-BCS programs could not only be ranked in the top 20, but might also be ranked ahead of any school from the Atlantic Coast Conference or the Big East.
East Carolina (Conference USA) is currently ranked 14th and visits unranked Tulane on Saturday. Brigham Young (Mountain West Conference) is ranked 18th and hosts unranked UCLA. Fresno State is 21st and, as already noted, hosts No. 10 Wisconsin.
Should all three win — and we should know better than to assume a three-team parlay — they could all potentially be ranked ahead of the highest-ranked schools in the ACC and Big East. Wake Forest (19th), of the ACC, is idle this week and Fresno State would likely leap ahead of the Demon Deacons. South Florida (Big East) hosts Kansas. A loss to the Jayhawks would drop the Bulls into the 20s if not out of the AP poll.
Why are we all so breathless about this development? Because after this weekend ECU, BYU and Fresno State may not play another ranked team all season. After Saturday, the Cougars’ and Bulldogs’ toughest remaining games are their season-closers, at Utah and at Boise State, respectively. The Pirates have two BCS conference opponents remaining in ACC schools North Carolina State and Virginia, but thus far nobody beyond the Greenville P.D. has been able to slow their momentum.
Will all three of these teams be undefeated at season’s end? Doubtful. Will one? Quite possible.
Quickly then, so you heard it here first (or near-first): One of these three teams, assuming any go undefeated (and, yes, that is quite the grand assumption to make before the autumnal equinox) will automatically earn a BCS bowl berth should it finish in the top 12 of the final BCS standings. Either that or if it is in the top 16 of the BCS standings and rated ahead of any BCS conference champ (read: ACC or Big East).
No more than one non-BCS school can earn an aforementioned automatic berth. However, a second school can earn an at-large berth. For that to happen we imagine that a second of these three teams would have to be undefeated … and that a BCS bowl would put its faith in their fan base over, say, Missouri’s or Wisconsin's. Good luck with that.
If we had to pick at this moment? Our favorite to remain unbeaten is East Carolina, followed by BYU and then Fresno State. Talk to us again on Sunday should the Bulldogs surprise the Badgers.
Casting large shadows
Both Notre Dame and Syracuse have placed themselves in potentially awkward situations this Saturday. The Fighting Irish, for their home date with Michigan, will honor the 20th anniversary of their last national championship team. Members of the 1988 team that went 12-0 (beating that season's No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 ranked teams before even advancing to the Fiesta Bowl) will return to South Bend — even Dr. Lou will be present.
Also on hand will be a member of that team who holds an actual medical degree, cardiologist Reggie Ho (you may remember him as the 5-foot-5 kicker who went 4-for-4 in field goal attempts in the season-opening 19-17 defeat of No. 2 Michigan). Ho, a walk-on, converted as many field goals that evening as the Irish have in their past eight games.
Meanwhile, on Friday evening Syracuse, 0-2 and smarting from last Saturday’s 42-28 home-opener loss to Akron, will host the premiere of The Express, a biopic on legendary Orangeman running back Ernie Davis, the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy (1961). Syracuse legends such as Jim Brown and Floyd Little will be on hand, as will everybody’s All-American, Dennis Quaid, who portrays Syracuse coach Ben Schwartzwalder in the film.
A statue of Holtz will be unveiled outside Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday. A statue of Davis, whose life was tragically cut short by cancer when he was just 23, will similarly be unveiled at Syracuse on Friday evening.
Whether either pillar will inspire the Irish or the Orange to victory remains to be seen. Notre Dame hosts Michigan, which has beaten them by a combined 85-21 score the previous two seasons. Syracuse hosts a resurgent Penn State team that has obliterated its two opponents in '08 by a combined 111-24.
In South Bend and Syracuse, Saturday could well be both a day to remember — and to forget.
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