Ohio State-Michigan nearly always decides the Big Ten. Same with Oklahoma-Texas in the Big 12. In the 1990s, the Tennessee-Florida winner consistently ascended in the SEC. The prevailing teams from those games, as often as not, became players in the national title hunt. That's where the USC-California rivalry appears headed, at least as long as coaches Pete Carroll and Jeff Tedford stick around. It's the North-South. Or High Tech vs. Hollywood. It's Dodgers-Giants with an oblong spheroid. They are the Pac-10's two winningest teams since 2003. They dominate recruiting. Cal was the only conference team to beat USC over the past four seasons before the stunner at Oregon State three weeks ago. And for the second time in three years, their showdown determines the Pac-10 title. (Don't look now, but, on paper, they appear poised to do the same in 2007). Even with Cal's shocking defeat last weekend at Arizona, which eliminated the Bears from the national title hunt, the stakes are pricey.
If Cal wins, it goes to the Rose Bowl for the first time since the 1958 season. If USC wins, it goes to the Rose Bowl. At least. The season will be a disappointment to the loser, judged a failure by its fans. Moreover, after Louisville, Auburn and Texas fell last week, USC found itself reborn in the national title hunt, ranked third in the BCS standings, just ahead of Florida.
Assuming the BCS logarithms don't spit out an Ohio State-Michigan rematch for the Jan. 8 title game in Phoenix, the Trojans now have the inside track to earn the coveted spot opposite the winner of the Big Show in Columbus in large part because their home stretch -- Cal, Notre Dame and UCLA -- is the most demanding among contending teams. So, despite losing an unparalleled collection of skill players to the NFL, despite a 33-31 loss at Oregon State, despite starting just four seniors, USC is in good position to add to a trophy case that includes a pair of national championships, a runner-up finish last season, four consecutive top-five poll finishes and a 56-5 record -- and that's just the section starting in 2002. To think: The Trojans rediscovered their swagger after falling behind 33-10 at Oregon State. They promptly went on a 77-0 run over the next seven quarters, a scoreless streak that didn't end until Oregon booted a third-quarter field goal in an impressive 35-10 USC victory last weekend.
Perhaps the Trojans needed to be reminded how bad losing felt during the regular season. They hadn't experienced it since Sept. 27, 2003 -- at Cal. "I hate to think that's what you need, but our team has rebounded well," Carroll said. "We've played our best football since. It was obviously a changing point for us." Perhaps Cal will learn that lesson for a second time this season. It needs to recover quickly from its face plant at Arizona, which included blowing a 17-3 halftime lead. "At the beginning, there was a lot of disappointment about not taking care of business," Tedford said. "Now it's full steam ahead, just thinking about playing USC with a chance to compete for a conference championship." The way things appear, that figures to be a near-annual occurrence, which will give the Pac-10 a rivalry of national significance.
DeSEAN DECISION: USC doesn't lose many recruiting battles, but it lost a big one to California when DeSean Jackson picked the Bears over the Trojans on signing day two years ago. Jackson has become the Pac-10's most dynamic offensive player -- a near-reincarnation of Reggie Bush, both as a receiver and punt returner.
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