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The words of USC Footbal Caoch PETE CARROLL could barely be heard over the roar of the crowd of mostly students who didn't venture home for the holiday break. He said the AP Trophy for the nation's best college football team was for the "entire USC family" to enjoy and "represent with style and class".
USC received 48 of the 65 votes rendered by the sportswriters to win the top spot in the ASSOCIATED PRESS poll. LSU, which hung on to beat OKLAHOMA 21-14, in an unimpressive game between the top two teams in the BCS poll, ended up with 60 of the 63 votes from the college coaches. Three brave souls bolted their contractual obligations and voted USC number 1. Before the SUGAR BOWL, 37 of those same coaches thought USC wasa the best team in ther country. How they could change their minds after seeing LSU in action is a mystery that may never be explained. The SUGAR BOWL saw 7 turnovers, and 3 others negated by penalties. These werre the two best teams in the nation? I don't think so. LSU's defense gave OKLAHOMA fits, making Heisman Trophy winner JASON WHITE look like he was still in high school. He went 0 for 8 down the stretch when OKLAHOMA could have tied the game up. Is this guy the best player in college football? Get real. As for LSU, in their last 2 possessions, with the game on the line and a first down all they needed to put it out of reach, they couldn't gert it done. On one try Tiger quarterback MATT MAUK dove for first down yardage and came up about a yard short. Really meek, MAUK. And on their last possession with less than 2 minutes to kill, rather than run plays MAUK curled up on the ball like a scared rabbit. You can't be serious. This is the national champion? I don't think so, and neither do the Trojans and their fans. The sportswriters and coaches werer unanimous before this game, and the silly BCS computer should not indicate any different. After all, wasn't it the same computer that said OKLAHOMA was the best team in the country? After 2 consecutive ass-whoopins, I think we all can agree that OKLAHOMA isn't even one of the top 5 teams in the country. As for LSU, we'll never know just how they would do up against the AP # 1 USC. AP California Bureau Chief CLAY HASBROW put it nicely in presenting the trophy to PETE CARROLL, "The AP takes pride on getting it right." Don't they ever.
It was the 4th AP title for USC football, and their 9th college football championship, starting in1928, then 1931, 1932, 1962, 1972, 1974, 1978 and now 2004. USC has been involved in 3 of the 11 split national title situations. In 1978 USC won the coaches poll while ALABAMA won the AP. In 1974 the AP awarded USC while the coaches annointed OKLAHOMA. The UNIVERSITY of SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA has been on a roll recently, as this was their third national title in the last 30 days. with championships going to the men's water polo team and the undefeated women's volleyball squad.
In attendance for USC were quarterback MATT LEINART, defensive tackle SHAUN CODY, cornerback MARCELL ALMOND, defensive end KENECHI UDEZE, defensive end JAY BOTTOM and tight end NICK VANDERBROOM.
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