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USC quarterback Caleb Williams doing some of his heroics vs UCLA. Photo courtesy of on3.com
NOW THAT THE REGULAR SEASON HAS ENDED FOR SOCAL’S TWO COLLEGIATE FOOTBALL PROGRAMS…
To be honest, it’s all pretty straight forward.
It’s a good thing that my alma mater’s football team won their regular season finale in the East Bay in the shadow of Strawberry Canyon the day after Thanksgiving after losses in their previous two games, including the one against my alma mater’s crosstown rival (which I was at) that both flat-out and straight-up hurt.
It showed that those Bruins, despite having a group of defensive backs who couldn’t cover a twin-sized bed or even a crib, had two characteristics that they sorely and desperately needed after what they had gone through the previous two weeks;
Heart and Guts.
Especially with the offense as it was painfully obvious that Dorian Thompson-Robinson, or DTR, simply would not let UCLA lose.
Now that they’re 9-3 and ranked a perfectly decent 17th in the AP and coaches’ poll and will probably have that same ranking when the College Football Playoff polls are released,
Regarding the bowl game they will participate in in a few weeks,
Most pundits have the Bruins in Allegiant Stadium just across I-15 from Mandalay Bay and the Strip for the Las Vegas Bowl on December 17th, with some putting Chip Kelly’s team in El Paso for the Sun Bowl on December 30th.
If it were up to me, I’d prefer either the Vegas Bowl or the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio.
As such, my gut is agreeing with the bulk of the pundits as far as them saying that UCLA will play in the Raiders’ home stadium with Bruin Nation enjoying the many pleasures that the Las Vegas Strip – which I have always said is Disneyland for adults – has to offer.
Which I suppose makes the Bruins in the Las Vegas Bowl my prediction.
UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson throwing a pass during the Bruins’ 35-28 win over Cal. Photo courtesy of abcnews.go.com
Let us now chat about the south-of-downtown L.A. institution’s football team that’s now ranked fourth in both the AP and coaches’ polls, shall we?
Like I had stated in my post-game thoughts on Twitter and Facebook after they took care of Notre Dame on Saturday,
Those Trojans of USC are (though you will get an argument from Michigan students/alumni/fans after what they did in Columbus vs Ohio State) playing the best football in the nation right now.
And, to directly quote what I posted on this blog’s social media pages,
CALEB WILLIAMS HAS PROBABLY WON THE HEISMAN TROPHY TONIGHT.
After all that transfer quarterback who came with coach Lincoln Riley from Oklahoma to Exposition Park has done to pretty much carry ‘SC on its back,
How can I – nor anyone else who claims to be into college football – say otherwise?
Especially when they will not only play for the Pac-12 Championship four days from this writing in Vegas,
But they will face the one team that beat them this season – and even then it was by a two-point conversion in the last minute – Utah as those Men of Troy will be absolutely and desperately determined to enact revenge for what happened to them at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City this past October 15th.
Which I’m predicting they will do in a fairly convincing fashion.
Which will put them in the semifinals of the College Football Playoff vs Georgia in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta on New Year’s Eve.
Where their run will end as that will essentially be a home game for Georgia in almost every sense of the word;
As sure as I’m typing this, I really don’t see Riley, Williams, Jordan Addison, and the rest of those Trojans being able to overcome all the advantages that those defending national champs and currently undefeated and top-ranked team will have going into that semifinal as UGA (their iconic bulldog mascot) will ultimately prove to be more formidable than Traveler.
All right, I’ve made my thoughts and predictions concerning USC’s & UCLA’s football teams for the next few weeks known.
There’s nothing left to do but to see if I’ll be proven right.
USC tight end Lake McRee (#87) carrying the ball during their rivalry clash vs Notre Dame on Saturday. Photo courtesy of espotting.com