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Team of decade? USC has edge, but it's not over

Florida, LSU could snag mythical crown with another national title in ’09

Pete CarrollASSOCIATED PRESS
Pete Carroll's USC Trojans have won back-to-back national titles and seven straight Pac-10 titles during the decade.

JIM LITKE
Jim Litke
AP columnist
Fat lot of good having Snoop Dogg and Will Ferrell on the USC sideline did.

Then again, they weren’t the only guys wearing Trojan jerseys who failed to lay a hand on Texas’ Vince Young the whole night, let alone when the Longhorns’ quarterback took off for the right corner of the end zone with 8 yards and 19 seconds left in the 2006 national championship game at the Rose Bowl. If just a single USC defender arrived in time to stop Young, college football would have only one three-time national champion since 2000 and no debate about the team of the decade.

Instead, three schools have won it all twice — so if you’re not in that club, take a seat.

That means you, Oklahoma, even with the best overall record (102-19) and the most Top 10 finishes (eight in nine years) of the bunch. You, too, Texas, since even a win in the game of the century — see above — still only counts as one championship. And don’t forget to save chairs for Miami and Ohio State.

Sorry, too, if you’re what used to be known as a “small school.”

Six Division III titles since 2000 makes Mount Union the unchallenged team of the decade — in Division III. Ditto for those four Division II crowns at Grand Valley State, and the back-to-back-to-back FCS championship trophies collecting dust at Appalachian State.

This stage is reserved for the big boys. And in what has been the sport’s golden era by just about any measure — talent, dollars, attendance, TV ratings, TV deals, classic games, upsets for the ages and yes, even celebrity fans — there are only three contenders still standing.

The resumes:

Another title this year for any of those three settles the debate. And if Oklahoma were to win a second instead — no small feat, given the Sooners’ 1-3 record in title bouts since 2000 — then the program’s sustained excellence brings it squarely back into the argument. In fact, statistical analyst George Sarkisian crunched most of the same numbers from the past decade used to determine the annual Massey Rating — records, rankings, strength of schedule, margin of victory, offensive and defensive rankings, etc. — and rated Oklahoma well ahead of USC (fifth), Florida (seventh) and LSU (which didn’t make his Top 10).

And if none of those scenarios play out?

Southern California gets the nod.

Carroll has turned USC into the closest thing to a national program that college football has seen in decades, willing to play anyone, anywhere, anytime and mercilessly carving up opponents in nearly every postseason bowl appearance. For all the talk about how much tougher the Southeastern Conference is than the Pac-10 — which went 5-0 in last season’s bowl games, by the way — look at who Florida and LSU choose to schedule outside the conference.

© 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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               TERRIFIC TROJANS

Since 2002, USC has finished in the top 4 in every final AP poll. No other school has finished in the top 12 every year. In fact, USC, Ohio St., Oklahoma and Texas are the only schools to end each of the last seven seasons in the Top 25.

SeasonAPCoaches
200832
200732
200644
200522
200411
200312
200244