The Sports Informant

I’ve admitted I’m not a USC fan, but hear me out. The Trojans’ loss last night to Oregon State is good for college football.

While a group of fans in the southern part of the state are weeping, along with a fairly large group of front-runners across the nation, the loss opens the door to a million possibilities. It is these possibilities that can get fans not wearing the hideous maroon and gold combination to start paying attention.

For the same reason Tom Brady’s injury is great for the NFL this season, because it offers a new story to emerge from the ashes, USC’s fall from grace creates a battle for the nation’s top spot that could go back and forth until the final week of play.

After USC dominated Ohio State the week prior, it was obvious the top spot was theirs to lose. Unlike years past, where there may have been a swap week to week based on margin of victory and strength of schedule between the No. 1, 2 and 3 spots, the Trojans swiftly secured supremacy with the stomping of the Buckeyes. With a weak Pac-10 schedule ahead of them, and a Notre Dame team still struggling to find legs to stand on, USC seemed a lock for the national championship game. That lock is broken now, and every top 10 team in striking distance is sprinting for the gate.

Suddenly, the SEC schedule becomes the most important in college football. Georgia, the nation’s No. 3 seed, which stands tall at 4-0 so far this season, faces 4-0 and No. 8 seed Alabama this weekend. That game could have national title implications. Florida’s got the nation’s No. 4 spot and LSU is at No. 5. Most of these teams will face each other, and one loss could keep them from the national title. With schedules this difficult, and this much on the line, how could we not be excited?

Meanwhile, the Big 12 has four undefeated teams in the top 10 in the nation. Oklahoma, who will likely leapfrog USC for the No. 1 spot with a win over TCU this weekend, is at No. 2. Missouri is at No. 6, Texas is at No. 7 and Texas Tech is at No. 10. Again, they’ll all mix things up together this season and the king of the hill on that pileup could earn itself a national title.

This is what college football is supposed to be. The best teams in the land should duke it out to decide who is the ultimate champion. With no postseason tournament to showcase a survivor, now teams can decide their own fate — and take control out of the hands of BCS pollsters — just by winning tough football games. Because they have to beat legitimate, ranked opponents along the way, they’ll be deserving of the title.

The season just got a whole lot more exciting…

Unfortunately, there is a downfall to this situation. Each year, USC represents the West Coast’s best possibility at a national championship. The strength of USC usually equates to great respect for the Pac-10 Conference, too. Thursday night, that was all shattered. The conference’s (and nation’s) best lost to a team not even ranked. Oregon State came into the game 1-2. They left it with a win, and arguably, one that ruined the entire conference this year.

With Cal suffering a disappointing loss last weekend, Oregon falling to Boise State and UCLA getting killed by BYU this season, the Pac-10’s top spot goes to Arizona, who hasn’t had a strong team in nearly a decade. There isn’t one undefeated Pac-10 team left, and we’re only four games into the season!

So while last night’s game could be the best thing to happen to college football this season, it may have been the worst thing to hit the West Coast since Paris Hilton.