USC will Win

My favorite shirt was a plain cardinal (red, for all you haters) with the words, "I'll mess with Texas" emblazoned over the image of that horrible land.

Did I say "horrible"? Yes. Texas is horrible. Look at what's come out of there. George Bush. Um, George W. Bush. And now, Vincey "I really thought I was going to win the Heisman" Young. And for this reason alone, I want USC to kill Texas tonight in the Rose Bowl.

I just walked across USC's campus and it was electric. "The Spirit of Troy," the Trojan marching band for you dodos, were playing. The band's long-time leader, Arthur C. Bartner, barked out instructions. If you ever heard him yell you'd know "bark" is the proper adjective to describe Bartner's voice. Everyone was wearing cardinal. Except for a guy who looked just like Keyshawn Johnson - could it be him? - who was wearing a white No. 1 jersey. Everyone had smiles on their faces. The line in the bookstore was wrapped around the bookshelves. You could feel a victory, if not a blowout, coming on.

This game is being billed as the "greatest college football matchup in history." But why? What has Texas won? Wasn't last year's Orange Bowl also the "greatest college football matchup in history." USC won 55-19.

Texas is being labeled as a more physical and tougher team. They're going to handle USC's offensive and defensive lines. I heard that last year too.

"USC won't be able to handle Vince Young," the experts have said the last five weeks. "USC won't be able to handle Adrian Peterson," they said last year before the national championship game. Peterson, 25 carries, 82 yards.

USC will win this game. If you think Texas is really going to win, you haven't watched enough USC games. USC's offense is fast, diverse, talented. All 11 starters, including the fullbacks, will be in the NFL eventually. At least a handful of the backups will be playing on Sundays as well.

The defense? It's the weak spot? Right? Well, at the beginning of the season, yeah. With mostly freshmen and sophomores, the defense had to learn to play together. There was no Cody, Patterson or Lofa. Well, tell UCLA and their less than 200 yards of total offense that USC's defense is the weak spot of the team.

USC will win this game because Pete Carroll is on his way of becoming the greatest college football coach in history. USC is an extra point away from having rolled off 48 consecutive wins. (USC missed an extra point in regulation against Cal in 2003 and lost the game in OT.) Give Carroll a week to prepare, you're Notre Dame in 2004, 41-10. Give him two weeks, you're UCLA, 66-19. Give him a BCS Bowl time to prepare, you're Iowa (38-17) or Oklahoma (55-19).

USC will win this game because they are champions. While Texas talks about being disrespected and having to prove a point and that USC is all hype, Trojan players talk like champions. Well Texas has closed practices, USC allows children, family members, Trojan alumni and the media to watch their sessions. While Texas Head Coach Mack Brown goes to a shrink to handle his stress, Carroll leads his team up the highest diving board on campus and is the first to jump.

USC will win today. And it should be a win that all of Los Angeles is proud of.