USC’s demise: Respect homefield advantage
I came on the Sports Animal during drive-time Thursday, talking about my excitement for the ESPN game that night. USC at Oregon State.
Jim Traber and Al Eschbach scoffed at the notion that the game might be competitive, and for a half it wasn’t. Oregon State led by 21, and you know the rest. Beavers 27, USC 21, and the No. 1 team in America had fallen.
Here’s why I won that joust (not that I win all that many). Respect of the homefield.
We’ve talked for years about the road troubles for OU and OSU. Here’s why they struggle on the road. Because everyone struggles on the road. The mysteries of homefield advantage extend far beyond Middle America.
Here are the results of USC’s last three trips to Corvallis, Ore., a place where it had lost only nine times in 71 games before Thursday: 33-31 loss, 28-20 win, 31-21 loss.
What made anyone think USC would roll in that venue?
Consider last season, when USC went to Washington and escaped with a 27-24 win. UW stinks; did last year and does this year. Yet USC barely survived. USC was impressive at times on the road in 2007, routing Arizona State, Nebraska and Notre Dame, but the Trojans lost at Oregon and won just 24-17 at California.
This is a great lesson for college football analysts, which is most every fan. The road is difficult.
Twenty unbeatens remain among the cartel conferences. Here’s a ranking of their remaining road schedules, from toughest to easiest:
1. Oklahoma State: Missouri, Texas, Texas Tech, Colorado.
2. Kentucky: Alabama, Florida, Mississippi State, Tennessee.
3. Alabama: Georgia, Tennessee, LSU.
4. Minnesota: Ohio State, Purdue, Illinois, Wisconsin.
5. Georgia: LSU, Kentucky, Auburn (plays Florida in Jacksonville).
6. Penn State: Purdue, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Iowa.
7. Nebraska: Texas Tech, Iowa State, Oklahoma, Kansas State.
8. Vanderbilt: Mississippi State, Georgia, Kentucky, Wake Forest.
9. Texas Tech: Kansas State, Texas A&M, Kansas, Oklahoma.
10. Texas: Colorado, Texas Tech, Kansas (plays OU in Dallas).
11. Missouri: Nebraska, Texas, Baylor, Iowa State.
12. LSU: Florida, South Carolina, Arkansas.
13. Colorado: Florida State, Kansas, Missouri, Texas A&M, Nebraska.
14. Florida: Arkansas, Vanderbilt, Florida State (plays Georgia in Jacksonville).
15. South Florida: North Carolina State, Louisville, Cincinnati, West Virginia.
16. Oklahoma: Baylor, Kansas State, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State (plays Texas in Dallas).
17. Connecticut: Louisville, North Carolina, Rutgers, Syracuse, South Florida.
18. Wake Forest: Maryland, Miami, North Carolina State.
19. Wisconsin: Michigan, Iowa, Michigan State, Indiana.
20. Northwestern: Iowa, Indiana, Minnesota, Michigan.
Note: I did not include the OU-Texas game at Dallas or the Florida-Georgia game in Jacksonville in these rankings. They aren’t true road games, but they aren’t home games, either. If you want to include them, it’s certainly easy enough to adjust all four teams’ road schedules up a few notches.
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Comments
Randall, I favor the two radio blowhards being shown up yet again.
I am so tired of the PAC-10 and the SEC talking about how tough there conference is to play. I have never understood why football cannot have a “January Madness” like basketball. You would have about the same number of “Bowl” games ranking from first round to championship. (The Big Bowl game) Take the top teams from ALL conferences, and have a true National Champion
I, too, listed to the drivetime blowhard bonanza yesterday and all I have to say is . . . GO BERRY! You were right on the money and I knew it at the time. Road games are seriously risky.
Oh yeah, almost forgot - - - Hey Jim and Al: NEENER NEENER
Howdy from Ft Worth, I enjoyed your TCU article that I picked up on line here earlier this week, as a “69 class man I have seen so many years of good and bad both here and on TV as i aged in US, but I have always been duly proud to try and reflect the University’s name in my ways, Walter C. Bosworth, Ph.D.
I think the best part of the night was the realization that, 4 weeks into the season, the Pac-10 has no more undefeated teams, a feat matched only by the Sun Belt conferance.
I don’t know what was better, seeing Oregon State take down USC, or seeing the two radio blowhards shown up yet again.