USC immune to East Coast Bias?

There is a case to be made that because USC is a de facto national football powerhouse the Trojans don’t suffer from the east coast bias. We’ll explore this notion in the coming weeks, but evidence supporting the argument showed up in the New York Times today in a piece about first impressions of this 2006 season. USC was listed first among five teams with a positive showing over the weekend:

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA – A U.S.C. official joked last week that because the Trojans gave up a touchdown in the waning seconds of the national title game, the world had forgotten about them.

Welcome back, world. The Trojans’ 50-14 evisceration of Arkansas in Fayetteville on Saturday night included an offensive outburst that gave U.S.C. a point more than it averaged last season. In his first career start, John David Booty looked every bit the top quarterback recruit in the country he was billed as four years ago. ...

But the hallmark of this team may be its defense, as the Trojans showcased their speed in a new formation that used three defensive linemen and four linebackers. Carroll has called this perhaps the fastest team he has ever been around, and it showed, as U.S.C. stymied Arkansas and forced five turnovers.

Nice. ("Evisceration" is a word you won't see much in sports coverage outside the pomposity of the NY Times.) But then the article states other obvious impressions from Saturday, putting the Pac-10 on a list of teams/conferences “pelted with spitballs”:

PAC-10 - Sure, U.S.C. and Oregon rolled. But the middle tier of the conference (aside from U.C.L.A.) looked pitiful.

Cal had a chance to launch itself into the national-title picture and was instead hammered at Tennessee. Washington State was crushed, 40-14, at Auburn. Those blowouts will perpetuate the stereotype of the “soft” Pac-10. Arizona State also struggled mightily Thursday against Division I-AA Northern Arizona. The score was tied, 14-14, entering the fourth quarter, but Arizona State scored the final 21 points.

So, USC Football is grand on a national level, but our Pac-10 Conference sucks. It’s the same old story. Looking at the Pac-10 as a whole after one game, can we argue?

Way to go, Tedford.
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USC Football Post-Game: Houston Nutt is a nut

One more SEC post before we move on to the Big 12 …

In case we ever forget how much we must appreciate Pete Carroll, I just picked up the news that Houston Nutt announced officially today that Mitch Mustain is now the starter at quarterback for Arkansas following the USC Trojans' 50-14 victory in Fayettefille last night.

Mustain will replace Robert Johnson, who will be moved to wide receiver. (I don’t want to accuse anybody of anything, but what’s with these hick schools moving African-American QBs to wide receiver ... then moving them back when something happens to the white guy?) Here’s what the Nutt had to say for himself:

Mitch (Mustain) has done some good things all through camp. He’s been very accurate. He has shown some very good things under pressure. And then he gets in the game and can execute and take us down the field.

So, why the hell didn’t the Nutt name Mustain the starter in the first place? The true freshman did look good throwing a nice pass and scoring on a QB draw after entering the game with 9:40 remaining. But the Nutt is only telling half the story, because Mustain looked like a child a few minutes later, staring down his receiver and throwing into double coverage for a pick.

To be fair, the first thing the Nutt apparently said about the matter at his Sunday press conference was that Johnson handled the situation with a lot of class. But in the same breath, he says:

I really hope he’ll have a true role at receiver and I think he can help us. It’s not all his fault. It’s not one person’s fault, it’s a team game. Sometimes you have to make hard decisions. … You worry about something like that because he works so hard. He cares, he’s a team player. He has done everything we have asked him to do and especially when it isn’t his fault.

Of course, it isn’t his fault! It’s the Nutt’s fault. Why put Johnson through spring and summer camp as a QB, then move him out? What makes Mustain more ready now after two series in the fourth quarter of a blowout? Is it because Johnson was at a distinct disadvantage at the start, since the new Arkansas offensive coordinator was Mustain’s high school coach last year? Who is actually coaching the Razorbacks ... the Nutt or the hick fans who booed Johnson before Mustain came in?

The other thing is that the Nutt apparently isn’t being completely truthful about the "team" aspect of his QB situation. The report from the sidelines during last night’s game was that Johnson didn’t speak to Mustain when the kid came off the field. The Nutt is a nut. What a mess!

Thank goodness we have our man Pete Carroll.
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USC Football Post-Game: (South) East Coast Blahs

Shortly after our 50-14 beat down of the Arkansas Razorbacks football team last night – so much for revenge factors – I heard what should be the last from the SEC fan with the misguided take on the east coast bias. Following a few exchanges and a worthless comment from an ugla fan (something about the gutty little bruins “doing well” this season) the semi-intelligent argument ended with a cheap and sudden thud:

We hear the Trojan point of view every week at church. It sounds like this. blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blahblah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blahblah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blahblah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blahblah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

Has anyone else noticed you can't spell sucks without U S C.

So ... with any intelligent parts of that discussion thread apparently done, I turned to today’s post-game coverage. For people out east, that means the New York Times, which of course covered last night’s “not so golden” domer win as if South Bend were in the Meadowlands. But, we can’t complain really, because USC is recognized as a national powerhouse by the Times, which means they had to have a staffer in Fayetteville to cover the Trojans.

Coverage in the Times – that is, the Los Angeles Times – was par for the course. Bill Plaschke’s column was unabashed, as usual. But, what I’ve really enjoyed reading lately is Scott Wolf’s blog for the Los Angeles Daily News. Sometimes a few of his posts are identical to some of his daily reports for the paper, but you can tell he looks for an angle on things that is different than the Times …

A First Thought
… here’s what I think is one of the most important things I heard after the game.
USC coach Pete Carroll told his offensive assistants to open up the offense at halftime, which explained why quarterback John David Booty started throwing to wide receivers Dwayne Jarrett and Steve Smith in the second half.

"I was encouraging the (assistant coaches), saying `let's go.’ We were playing safe early on,'' Carroll said.

Wolf’s reputation as the “scourge of the Internet message boards” is interesting, too.

Well, USC Football 2006 is off to a relatively standard start – meaning we beat a supposedly good team from a major conference at their house by 36 points. How spoiled are we? It’s good to be a USC Trojan.

We Are SC! We are 1-0. Here come those crazy Huskers. Can’t wait to see what Callahan thinks he can pull on us.
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USC Football Game Day: (South) East Coast Bias

Waiting around for the USC-Arkansas game - which of course starts late at 8:45 pm EDT - I came across a blog post titled "East Coast Bias" from an SEC fan. Of course, he doesn't get it.

The media is often accused by you West Coast natives of being biased towards East Coast Schools. (insert whining California USC fan voice) "SI only writes about East Coast schools" "The West Coast can't ever get its due" "Why I am I always picked last for the dodgeball game". The media is not biased against the West Coast. They just don't have a choice on who they write about. They must write about schools that actually have a chance at making a showing in the top 20. They need people to read their magazine and watch their show. Name me 3 West Coast schools who have a legitimate shot at a title this year. You can't. I can name 4 just in the SEC, not to mention the Big 12, ACC or Big East conferences. So as soon as the Pac 10 starts actually making a showing as a conference, and actually play a conference game, then you are going to hear about West Coast schools. Let's face it who really wants to read about Arizona beating Stanford.

I can agree with this last sentence. I don't care much about Arizona vs. Stanford, since USC is a national program. The rest is bunk. Then he goes overboard:

On another side note, if you want to talk about biased how about the AP's psuedo title given to USC in 2003 so they wouldn't get their feelings hurt. Who actually took home the BCS crystal trophy? Hint: it wasn't USC.

Of course, I respect any fan who loves his team and his conference, but this guy needs some schooling. The following is what I wrote as a comment on his post:

Note: My use of "Southern Cal" is to avoid the cheap Carolina retort most southerners like to use. And besides, I'm not Tim Tessalone.

Wow! How soon people forget about what actually happens on the field of play and other facts of the matter. Here are a few reminders for you:

2002: Southern Cal 24, Auburn 17
2003: Southern Cal 23, Auburn 0
2005: Southern Cal 70, Arkansas 17.

Not to mention Southern Cal's dismantling of Oklahoma (Big 12) in the 2005 Orange Bowl: 55-19. The funniest thing that night was Tuberville trying to make the case before the game that the Tigers could beat USC … then after the game changing his tune to say he just wished Auburn had a chance to play us.

Even funnier? How about Tubberville claiming that Auburn had the greatest back field in the history of college football … when in fact he didn’t even have the best backfield in the history of the season! Please tell me I don’t have to remind you who won the Heisman in ’04 and ’05.

As for the 2003 season, you should remember that Southern Cal was No. 1 in both the coaches poll and the AP heading into the bowl games, but the coaches were contractually obligated to “vote” LSU No. 1 after the Sugar Bowl. So we split. It was only the BCS suits and the “stupid” computers - as your brethren who also commented on this post called them - that got LSU its trophy.

And get this … Southern Cal offered to play LSU in the BCA Classic to start the next season (2004), but alas, the Tigers declined. Make no mistake, the USC Trojans will play anyone, anytime, anywhere.

You SEC dudes think it’s easy to beat Southern Cal? History says otherwise. Southern Cal is 16-10-1 vs. the SEC.

Plus, USC is 10-6 vs. the ACC, 9-4 vs. the Big East, 27-9-2 vs. the Big 12, and for good measure, 63-37-2 vs. the Big 10.

Ain’t nobody whining from Southern Cal. In fact, we’re laughing at the stuff ya’ll are sayin’. Check the scoreboard, son!

Fight On!
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USC Football Game Day: Arkansas

With the 2006 season upon us, I woke this morning to check out all the newspaper coverage. Disappointingly, it’s basically more of the same stories we’ve seen for the last several weeks: John David Booty “finally” getting his shot, USC reloading to replace Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush, Arkansas remembering the sting of last year’s 70-17 blowout by the Trojans, etc.

So, I turned on ESPN Radio to listen to the College GameDay “Tailgate” show, which is on before the start of the TV version of GameDay at 10:00 am EDT. Again, it was mostly the same stuff we’ve been reading and hearing. I guess there’s only so much that can be said until the games are actually played.

But then Beano Cook came on the show to talk about himself, as he usually does, in order to justify his biased and messed up predictions. He described how he knows so much about college football because he “lives for this stuff” and talks year around to journalists all over the country. For example, he said he talked to a writer in Milwaukee to learn about Wisconsin’s running backs. Wow, what a concept!

Then, the old fart unleashed a gem (i.e. another example of his Trojan hating status): He predicts notre dame (surprise!) versus Auburn in the national championship game. And, his sleeper pick? … Arkansas.

Right. And Ron Powlus was supposed to win two Heisman Trophies. What an idiot.

USC … Beat the Razorbacks!
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East Coast Bias grows as it sleeps

Back to Bill Plaschke’s take on west coast "intelligence" ...

Putting aside pre-disposed opinions based on regionalism – which is the crux of the east coast bias – one of the most significant elements influencing east coast media is a simple lack of knowledge. As some journalists in the eastern time zone readily admit, they don’t actually see west coast teams because … they fall asleep! Tony Kornheiser, for example, has for years admitted to dozing off before the end of late night games.

Honestly, having lived on the east coast now for several football seasons, it can be pretty tough for adults with real lives to stay awake, let alone fully observant, for any game that starts at 10:00 pm and ends after 1:00 am. No where is this issue more evident than in the Sunday sports sections of east coast newspapers, which often list the “late” start times of west coast games, rather than the final scores.

The result is a reliance on "conventional wisdom" (another form of the east coast bias) which allows east coast journalists and the fans who follow them to fall back on what they know … and even worse, what they think they know.

For instance, not too many people saw Reggie Bush gain 513 yards vs. Fresno State last season because the game started at 10:15 pm EST. Sure they may have been blown away by Reggie’s stats and SportCenter highlights the next morning … but the fact is he already won his Heisman on the tall grass in the minds of voters.

I can’t quite say, as Plaschke does, that West Coast fans are smarter and more sophisticated. But, he is right in that it’s all about reality versus perception.

It’s difficult to perceive the reality of college football – regardless of how smart or sophisticated you might be – when you’re asleep.
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Why should USC play a game?

A new version of the USA Today pre-season coaches poll, "reconfigured" by our friend Jeff Sagarin to include "strength of schedule," has us rated No. 1. Now we know why this MIT nerd had us top-ranked in his pre-season rankings, as well.

Okay … Call me crazy … Say I’m not too smart … Tell me I’m looking a gift-horse in the mouth … but this simply makes no sense to me.

How can anyone, including a supposed “genius” MIT nerd, accurately determine the strength of any schedule before any school actually plays a single game?

I'm sure Sagarin devoted a lot of time and brain cells to creating the algorithm that placed us No. 1 – and I can only enjoy seeing us at the top of anything – but this proves how utterly ridiculous it is to leave the fate of the college football national championship to nerds and suits.

There is a reason why football games are played. Thank goodness the real season is upon us. Fight On!
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