Post-Game: Ohio State 2008

I work with this guy who grew up in Columbus, OH, but didn’t bother to go to “the” Ohio State University. He’s a graduate of one of those little eastern schools with a name that sounds like all the others – you know, Williams or Hamilton or Middlebury or Leland. Of course, Leland isn’t a real school but the fictional place where Alex P. Keaton went off to college after growing up in Columbus. Of course, Columbus is a real place, but we can’t be sure about the college football team that plays there. It can be kind of confusing sometimes when reality is mixed with fiction. But I digress …

Even through my colleague went to a school in the northeast, he remains an ardent Buckeye fan. So, early last week he offered to bet me on last Saturday’s game.

“I know the Buckeyes are 10-point underdogs, but I want to make this a straight up bet, because I know we’re gonna win,” he told me. Of course, I respected his delusional allegiance to Ohio State, but more than anything I didn’t have the heart to tell him it really didn’t matter what he thought.

“Sure,” I said, because I was, in fact, sure of the outcome. “What are you thinking in terms of stakes?” I figured he could come up with whatever it was he was going to pay, since there was no risk to me. It only seemed fair.

“Well,” he said, “how about the loser has to wear the jersey of the winner for week.”

“OK.”

“And, you have to wear a hat of the other team,”

By “you” I figured he meant him, of course. So, again I said, “OK.”

He continued, “And you have to sing the other team’s fight song.”

“Sounds good. I’ll take that bet. Anything else?”

“Hmmm. And the jersey needs to be two sizes too small.”

Now, this guy is not a small guy, and since I’m not one to intentionally embarrass my work colleagues undeservedly, I thought I’d try to let him off the hook a bit.

“Are you sure you want to bet all this?” I asked earnestly.

“Absolutely,” he said with a knowing chuckle. “My wife has an OSU jersey that will look great on you.”

I laughed along as I began to realize that this bozo actually believed Ohio State would … not just could, but would … win the game. So, I decided to take the gloves off just a little.

“You know, on second thought, I think we should raise the stakes a bit,” I said. “I won’t enjoy hearing you butcher USC’s fight song, so why don’t we decide that the loser has to sing the fight song of their hated rival.”

“Oh, that’s a great suggestion,” said the sucker … I mean, my colleague.

Of course, we all know what happened Saturday. And I’m sure many in the Trojan Family enjoyed the spoils of friendly office bets similar to mine. It was great to see my broken colleague (right*) singing in honor of USC in front of the whole office: “Hail to the Victor.”

Indeed, it’s fun when reality – that is, the current greatness of USC Football – is mixed with the fiction of our opponents’ delusional self-confidence. For us there is no confusion, whatsoever … We Are SC!

* Buckeye's face obscured to protect whatever dignity he has left.

Game Day: Ohio State 2008

Too much hype. Too much talk. There’s nothing left to it but to do it. Beanie or no Beanie, it doesn’t matter.

We are SC!

Win Forever!

Who Says 'To Hell' These Days?

This is a great week. Not only is USC at the center of the college football universe leading into our “biggest game of the season,” but people are saying stupid stuff all over the nation, which of course I find inspiring.

Sure, we’ve already seen some really stupid stuff before this week, but you tend to appreciate it more when the stupid stuff comes from a hated, albeit respected enemy.

Again, we’ve been away for a while, so I’ll clarify the Displaced take … USC has two primary enemies: Notre Dame, which is hated but deserves a level of respect, and ucla, which is hated and deserves no respect, at all. But I digress …

Not only is Charlie Weis (above) still struggling to figure out this head coaching thing, he remains clueless about how to keep his foot out of his mouth. It’s bad enough that his reputation as an offensive genius is turning out to be merely offensive to Domer fans, but his messed up sense of humor is dragging the Domers down further.

The AP serves up the backstory and the ensuing stupidity:

[Weis] was talking about his expectations for this season, saying his team would make a statement in its opening game against San Diego State.

"Then we'll listen to Michigan have all their excuses as they come running in and saying how they have a new coaching staff and there's changes. To hell with Michigan.” …

Weis said he knew his comment would come up this week. ...

"Anyone who is a Michigan fan should know and understand that that comment pays respect to Bo and his mentality versus when playing an opponent," he said. "So take it for what it's worth. But I think that's a very respectful comment toward Coach Bo's 'To hell with Notre Dame.'"

Actually, anyone who is a college coach should know that Michigan’s players (who weren’t more than four years old when Schembechler retired after the 1990 Rose Bowl) couldn’t care less about the Crew Cut’s historical tribute. “To hell with Michigan!” That’s all they’ll hear.

So, I have to ask: How can this stupid stuff continue to happen after more than three years? I ask only because I want USC’s wins over the Domers to mean something again. We can’t have our storied rivalry be tarnished like this by a loud mouth who does so little (three wins) with so much talent.

I can hear my anonymous Domer friend now … “To hell with Charlie Weis!” he says.

Anyway, I can’t wait until Saturday, and I’m hoping against all hope that Beanie Wells will play. We want no excuses.

Speaking of Beanies, I got a note from Beano this week. He said he noticed that we were posting here again and that Thursdays weren’t the same for him while we were out.

I apologized for the long break and said, “Well, Beano ... We’re Back!”

Beano’s response? “That’s awesome. To hell with Scott Wolf!”

Win Forever!

Southern Inferiority Complex: 2008 Edition

This college football season is not yet three weeks old, and already we see the Southern Inferiority Complex emerging from yet another highly-ranked SEC team. I guess the whining and crying, while beating up on 1-AA programs, isn’t exclusive to Tommy Tuberville and Les Miles. Mark Richt is getting into the act, as well.

Again, we’ve been away a while, so let’s review:

The Southern Inferiority Complex is a second cousin to the Domer Hype Machine, which is of course closely related to the east coast bias. Together these three subversive movements make up the larger Axis of East Coast Bias. But, I digress …

Apparently stunned and feeling under-appreciated in the wake of Georgia’s fall to No. 2 – following its home field 45-21 practice game versus Georgia Southern, and in comparison to USC’s road win at Virginia – Richt began monitoring SportCenter highlights looking for reasons to blame others, in case the Bulldogs do not fulfill their “destiny.”

Andrew Dasher of UGASports.com gives us the scoop:

Running back Knowshon Moreno was a hot topic of conversation during this week's teleconference with Georgia coach Mark Richt.

Moreno's 18 carry, 168-yard, three-touchdown effort in Saturday's 56-17 win over Central Michigan obviously wowed the sellout crowd at Sanford Stadium, but it was his hurdle of Chippewa safety Vince Agnew to complete a 29-yard run that dropped jaws.

OK. Let’s stop it right here. Who the hell is Knowshon Moreno? And, more importantly, who are the Central Michigan Chippewas? Oh, that’s right. They’re another no-name school against which Craig Sheppard could complete a “three-touchdown effort.” Who is Craig Sheppard? Exactly. But, I digress …

It was a play that Georgia fans will no doubt be talking about for quite a while, but it was one that many in the country watching ESPN did not get to see except for a brief glance during a quick preview of the Bulldogs highlights to come following a commercial break. Knowshon Moreno's hop over Vince Agnew wasn't the highlight fans thought it should be.

When the network did its Top 10 plays, Moreno's highlight was not included. Richt was asked about the omission.

"I think they missed the boat or didn't do their homework or something," Richt said. "Normally they do a good job with that, so it looks like somebody would have noticed that. It didn't make their highlights, but it's going to make ours for a long time."

A representative from ESPN's local online affiliate claimed that FOX did not put the highlight in its highlight package to other networks.

"You're kidding me," Richt said. "OK, so you're throwing FOX under the bus. I threw you under the bus now you're throwing FOX under the bus. That's the way it works."

If anybody should be thrown under any bus (figuratively, of course), it’s Richt. Who does he think he is … Roone Arledge? Perhaps if he did his “homework or something” he’d knowshon that much of the sports media knowshons that hurdling a Chippewa is hardly a challenge. Try hurdling this … or this … or this … then we’ll talk about highlights.

And while you’re at it, try doing it more than once, in a big game, against a rival program, on national primetime television. Then maybe we’ll all see Georgia’s highlights on ESPN, and we’ll knowshon who Knowshon is.

Until then, Richt should concentrate on the task at hand, rather than trying to make a mountain out of a Chippewa. Trust us, we know.

Beat the Buckeyes!

Ohio State Week: Transferring Hate

Like everyone else, I can’t wait for this Saturday’s game. I can’t wait to see USC on college football’s center stage in prime time, once again. I can’t wait to see how well our man Pete Carroll has prepared the Trojans for a classic match-up against an iconic program.

Still, I also can’t help but feel like something is missing this week. Maybe it’s the feeling that Ohio State won’t be bringing its best without a fully healthy Beanie Wells (above). Maybe it’s the Buckeyes’ lackluster win over Ohio last Saturday, and their slide in the rankings to No. 5. Maybe it’s the 10-point spread that tells us the magically accurate experts in Vegas feel the same way.

The thought crosses my mind that perhaps this isn’t the supreme challenge we all thought it would be … and that scares me. USC can’t afford to think Ohio State isn’t anything but “the” Ohio State.

Then again, what the hell do I know? According to Paul Peszko of the Bleacher Report, any hint of complacency among the Trojan Family was erased when Slick Rick and Trader Chow out-coached Rocky Top's Phil Fulmer – I know, that’s not saying much – in Pasadena last Saturday night. Here’s Peszko’s take:

Last week, Ohio State lost any psychological advantage they could possibly muster when UCLA came back in the second half to knock off Tennessee in OT, 27-24.

Even though USC was named No. 1 in both polls, they were no longer the media darlings of L.A. football. All week long, it has been a continuous procession of UCLA Bruins before the media.

The usual hype over USC’s 52-7 pasting of Virginia and the rise to No. 1 has been eclipsed by the media’s fascination with a team given up for dead pulling off the upset of Week One. …

For the Trojans, the game with Ohio State is not a springboard to a National Championship. It is not even to maintain their ranking at the top of the polls. It is not to show that the Pac-10 is better than the Big Ten. It is not even to prove that Trojans are better than Ohio State.

For the Trojans, the game with Ohio State is much, much bigger than all that. This game is for one thing and one thing only: to take back the City of Angels.

Hmmm. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I think Peszko is on to something. As I watched Slick Rick’s “relentless optimism” – a.k.a., the classless behavior that will no doubt lead to his third set of violations sometime during this, his third head coaching job – I began to feel the proper hate that fuels the motivation it will take to beat the Buckeyes.

If allowing ucla and its Slick Rick to get under our skin a little bit gives us an edge this Saturday, that’s fine with me. I’m in.

Fight On!

Ohio State Week: It's a Matter of Class

I love it when people talk trash. It's part of what makes sports in this country so great. Anyone can say anything they want, but it all comes down to performance on the field. And more times than most, when someone talks trash to the USC Trojans, we make them pay.

Just ask DeShaun Jackson, a Displaced favorite whose considerable athletic gifts on the field were surpassed by the speed of his mouth ... until we shut him up on the field, twice.

So, while much of the hype-makers were quick to jump on Ray Small (above) for his words of "wisdom" following "the" Ohio State's "dismantling" of the Ohio Bobcats last Saturday, it's all old news to us.

To review, in case you haven't seen Small's words on the bulletin board inside Heritage Hall:

As I took my visit to USC, I'm like, 'How are they successful? They're not even serious about the game.' Before the game, they're all going crazy. Me and [Buckeyes defensive end] Rob Rose was on the visit and I'm looking like, 'Wow.' And then the coach said, 'You better get out of here. It's 'bout to get hectic.'

And then I come [to Ohio State] on the visit and before the game, it's all quiet, everybody getting taped, coaches talking. It's the total opposite. ...

It's more of a class thing ... Here at Ohio State, they teach you to be a better man. There, it's just all about football.

How is USC successful? This is how we do it, Ray. We read books about tennis! Of course, this can be a bit puzzling to those who mistake conventional wisdom and sweater vests for "class."

Still, I suppose Small is right about one thing: USC is certainly a different kind of football program. Small will find this out first hand on Saturday afternoon.

We are SC!

Once Again ... We're No. 1!

And now for our second "displaced" act ...

Back to No. 1 where we belong?! As any true, 21st century Trojan Football fan knows, the only polls that matter, during the only week that matters, are the ones at the end of the season that get us into the BCS Championship Game. But the fact remains that it is indeed more fun when we're No. 1.

It's even more fun when USC Football takes over the top spot after thoroughly dominating a team from a BCS conference on its home field, while the Ohio State university -- that's "thuh," not "thee" -- and Georgia beat up on 1-AA teams.

Perhaps it will be all-time fun in a few weeks, if/when we take over the No. 1 spot for being No. 1 more than any other program in the land. Certainly, being No. 1 was easy fun this past Saturday, as we enjoyed an extra week to prepare for the Buckeyes.

That said, we here have a particularly good feeling about being No. 1 this season. The last time USC opened the year on the east coast against a team from Virginia, the Trojans won a national championship in Miami adjacent. We'll see what happens this coming Saturday and in the weeks to come, but we'll go ahead and say it now ... I'm feelin' some No. 1 fun come January in south Florida.

If it happens, I can link back to this post and say, "I told you so!" And, if not, I can always erase the link like our revisionist friend Murshed "Nestor" Zaheed. It's gonna be a fun ride, regardless.

Fight On!