"Sugar: You've lost that championship game feeling"
I won't bother watching this game. What a big farce! The 2004 Southern Cal team is the 2004 national champs. The coaches cannot even vote for the real no. 1.
Jan. 2, 2004
By Dennis Dodd
SportsLine.com Senior Writer
NEW ORLEANS -- They're planning quite an elaborate scrimmage here Sunday night.
Cheerleaders, big crowd, national television, the whole bit -- which is somewhat of a pity. Most of the country doesn't know what to make of the Sugar Bowl now after No. 1 Southern California made its definitive statement Thursday in the Rose Bowl.
Vince Carter says he was taught to share, but he doesn't want to when it comes to the title. (AP)
That's one way to look at it. Calling the Sugar a scrimmage might be disrespectful, but calling it a championship game might be flat-out inaccurate. USC -- No. 1 in both polls, hello? -- just steam-rolled the Big Ten champion by two touchdowns in the crown jewel of bowl games.
Is the Sugar for half a title, a "half-plus" (more on that later)? Does the loser buy the beer? Until further clarification, call it The Battle for the Bauble, the crystal football sponsored by a home security company that is presented to Sunday's winner.
Even the trophy sponsor, ADT, looks a little silly at this moment, calling it "college football's ultimate prize" on its website. Uh, no suits. To many, the Sugar is actually quite a comedown from Pasadena's crown jewel. But not to the participants who fielded questions Friday on the relative relevance of their game.
The biggest snafu in BCS history and the Trojans' performance has made for one heck of an argument.
"I don't want to share with anyone," Oklahoma center Vince Carter said. "My momma taught me to share when I was a kid. But some things you just don't want to give up, and a national championship is one of those."
One thing is a virtual certainty. Sunday's winner isn't going to be a consensus national champion. Oklahoma forfeited its right when it lost the Big 12 title game by four touchdowns four weeks ago. LSU has a more legitimate gripe, having at least won its league.
"Good, they won the Rose Bowl," said Oklahoma All-America defensive tackle Tommie Harris of USC. "They can be No. 1 as long as we can be national champs."
The only thing that can keep USC out of the public and voting consciousness is time. More than three days will have passed when the Sooners and Tigers kick off Sunday night. A rout by either side might make that automatic No. 1 vote in the coaches poll easier to swallow.
That consciousness can drift away from a Rose Bowl that captured the television screen and the broadcast booth. The game was dominated there by Pac-10 grads Dan Fouts (Oregon) and Keith Jackson (Washington State).
They can't help where they went to school, but to their credit, they did go out of their way to criticize the BCS in support of the Trojans. Their employer, ABC, was in the weird position of having to promote both the Rose and Sugar as championship games. ABC took its stance Thursday, listing the teams by their BCS ranking: USC was No. 3 and Michigan No. 4.
Here we go again. That means Oklahoma will be listed No. 1 on Sunday even though it's No. 3 in the human polls.
Jackson said Thursday that USC won the "human championship," adding, "The other one down in New Orleans on Sunday night, of course, will be the computer version -- the BCS championship game."
It's "Yeah, but ..." football. USC is No. 1 in the polls, but there's this trophy in New Orleans. There is still the possibility USC could finish No. 1 in both human polls if the 37 coaches who voted for the Trojans revolt. They could call in their No. 1 votes for USC and be counted by USA Today.
That's the so-called "half-plus" title for the Trojans. But it appears as if most coaches will abide by a 5½-year American Football Coaches Association agreement and cede the final No. 1 spot to the BCS championship game winner.
And that's not such a bad thing for LSU. The school's followers are ready to bust a move on Bourbon Street, having not won a title since 1958.
"It's more for our fans to have a good feeling," said LSU defensive end Marcus Spears, who might have had the sagest comment of any of the players. "They don't want to share the national championship.
"For us, we'll feel like we won the national championship. That's what this game is. If we win, I'll feel proud about that."
College football is the only sport that lets two teams claim championships. The BCS only lessened the chance that would happen, it didn't eliminate it. Splits have occurred 10 times since 1954, or roughly once every 5½ years. Considering that it last happened in 1997 between Michigan and Nebraska, we're about due.
"He won the national championship, I'm sure of that," Lloyd Carr said of Pete Carroll after the Rose Bowl. "There will be a time when no one remembers it's a split national championship."
"It's still a national championship," Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said. "They only give one of those crystal footballs out, and we got one just three years ago, and our guys like it. Having another would be incredibly special."
That adds new meaning to the term "ball security." USC has ridden off into the Pacific sunset with one national championship. Drop this crystal ball, and it might do more than crack.
It could break hearts, because right now, it's all the Sooners and Tigers have left.
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