College football doesn’t need a playoff because it already has a playoff, right? The glorious regular season!

Every game counts. Every Saturday matters. Every matchup is do-or-die.

September to January. The whole thing is one magnificent tournament of gridiron love!

Fudge bars!!!

If college football’s regular season is a playoff, it’s the most poorly conceived one in the history of sports, which, as we understand it, started several years ago.

How can anything be sold as an acceptable format when it’s single-elimination for some schools, double-elimination for others?

Florida lost to Ole Miss and yet has survived. The instant Texas Tech loses, the Red Raiders will be as done as Amos Alonzo Stagg.

And how about the teams that don’t lose at all and still are eliminated from BCS finals consideration? If these are the playoffs, Ball State should be alive until someone defeats the Cardinals. Period.

You know how people mock baseball because the American and National leagues can’t even play by the same rules concerning the designated hitter?

How about if the American League’s best regular-season team advanced directly to the World Series, while the National League required its top two teams to play each other for the right to advance?

Laughable, huh?

Well, that’s exactly what happens in college football, where the Pac-10 and Big Ten continue to identify champions every fall without staging a championship game?

You do realize how much of an advantage this has been for USC and Ohio State in recent years, correct?

Not having to play in the Pac-10 Championship Game Presented By Geico probably has saved the Trojans at least once.

But no one wants to hear that. Not at this point. The final weeks of the regular season are upon us, and we can’t wait to see who wins these crucial games.

Even more, we can’t wait to see how the victories are interpreted and which teams are picked to play for the next bogus title.

I think it is a no-brainer that he should go pro.

Mainly because:

1. It’s a very weak year for quarterbacks in the coming draft.  Outside of Matt Stafford, who is there?

2.  Sanchez is a pro-style guy and that’s what the NFL likes.  There are very few pro-style prospects out there.

3. He’s had his share of injuries (though nothing major) and staying healthy isn’t a given.

4. It appears he will have an outstanding year statistically, aided in part by a down year for the Pac-10.  Given the difficult schedule USC must play next season (with road games at Ohio State, Cal, Oregon and Notre Dame), it might be hard to duplicate such success.

Of course, if Sanchez returns, he will be, along with Sam Bradford, among the top Heisman contenders.

The top 10 BCS standings:
1. Texas 7-0
2. Alabama 7-0
3. Penn State 8-0
4. Oklahoma 6-1
5. USC 5-1
6. Oklahoma State 7-0
7. Georgia 6-1
8. Texas Tech 7-0
9. Ohio State 7-1
10. Florida 5-1

Despite the ankle injury, recent concussion, and complete lack of playing time since his dad wrote Pete Carroll a letter characterized with excessive question marks, we talked to Vidal, and he said he feels grrrreat today.

To illustrate such marked emotion and to blazon this site with the world's weirdest commercials, watch today's off-topic video and feel great today.

Dear Coach Carroll:

I am writing this letter to you on Monday, September 1, 2008 at 3:30 pm
(ET).

I am at a complete loss for words because my son, Vidal, has not received
treatment on his ankle and quadriceps since the team's return to Los Angeles
on Saturday evening. As you know, Vidal suffered a contusion to his
quadriceps muscle and sprained his ankle during the UVA game. To date (for
over 36 hours), (1) his ankle has not been X-rayed and (2) he has received
no treatment to either injury, other than having a boot placed on his ankle.

I must admit that I am completely perplexed by the lack of attention your
training staff is giving to Vidal's injuries. When I asked Vidal if he
received treatment today, he told me that the training room is closed today.
In all of my years of associating with athletes, and corresponding with
athletic trainers, I have never heard of a training room being closed on a
holiday during the sport's season. This includes Labor Day, Thanksgiving,
Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, etc.

You and I have discussed my dissatisfaction with the manner in which Vidal
has received treatment for injuries in the past. Most notably, the double
hernia that he played with for all of the 2007 season, and possibly the 2006
season - an injury that went misdiagnosed for the entirety of the season(s).
Given our discussions, I trusted that corrective action would be taken.
However, this is clearly a policy issue that has not been addressed, and the
results are intolerable.

In consulting with doctors and athletic trainers on the east coast, I have
been told that Vidal should be receiving at least three treatments a day.
Additionally, his ankle should have been X-rayed upon the team's return to
Los Angeles, and no later than the early morning hours of Sunday, August 31,
2008. However, it appears as though your training staff has no "sense of
urgency" to get him back to 100%.

The clock is ticking and Ohio State will be in town next week. What is
being done to ensure that my son is being cared for in a proper manner???
When is the USC training staff going to meet his medical needs??? It makes
me wonder if the trust that I have extended is misplaced.

Sincerely,
Dexter Hazelton

NOTE: Dexter Hazelton said Thursday he didn't know how letter surfaced on an Internet message board. He also said Carroll called him that day and his son received treatment on his ankle later that day.
--

Compared to other regional universities like UCI ($12.1 million) or Cal State Fullerton ($9.2 million) or UCLA ($0.0 million because they were unable to report due to "computer problems") it is quite the sum. But this probably does not even crack the top 10 (Ohio State regularly pulls in over $100 million).

Of $76.4 million, $28.6 million is attributed to USC football, but there is $39 million of unallocated revenue that comes from general donations to the athletic department. Judging by the amount of revenue directly attributable to USC football, let's assume USC football is responsible for 77% of those general donations, bringing USC football revenue more in the neighborhood of $58.5 million.

Pete Carroll is paid $4.1 million (roughly 7% of our total revenue estimate). Pretty solvent, especially compared to the Title IX disaster that is USC Women's Soccer. No offense to Amy Rodriguez, but they spent $1.2 million on $26,604 (46.8 times their revenue).

Football is big breadwinner for USC athletics [All Things Trojan]
USC generates $76.4 million in revenue [OC Register]

“I can’t talk today. I might say anything.”

C.J. Gable and Joe McKnight were kidding. Sort of. Before I even approached the two running backs they were declining interview requests from an SID.

With most everyone giving their two cents on USC’s running back rotation — Coach Pete Carroll said Tuesday the team is “still searching” — I figured it’d be a good idea to see what the four so-called co-starters thought.

One-on-one with Allen Bradford:

Question: Do you know your role and what is it?

Allen Bradford: Pound the run, be physical, bring attitude to the running back group. Mac (running backs coach Todd McNair) just tells me punishment. Last game I didn’t get carries. It’s hard. What I said yesterday (to media) is frustration.

Q: How can you be most effective?

Bradford: If I don’t get my carries I can’t be effective. I think I just need carries. I’ve been here for years so people know what I can do. Virginia, I had some good runs. I ran hard. It was real hard having no carries (against Oregon State). I just got to go out there and keep going, try to get some carries and be physical.

Q: How many carries do you need to get into a rhythm?

Bradford: Just a couple touches. Just a couple touches and I’ll be at it. It don’t take that long for me to get riled up. When I get out there in my mind I feel like I can take every one to the house. But five yards and I’ll be cool. I know as I get the ball more and compete I’m going to run harder.

Q: Is the rotation keeping the rushing game from being at its best?

Bradford: I think Oregon State was really prepared for us. I had a couple plays early. I was in on the second play but they audibled. Then I had the play with Joe but he kept it. It just didn’t work out. I think the coaches feel what I’m saying. I talked to Coach (Pete) Carroll, he understands me, he understands my frustration. I’m not sure if that’s going to get me more carries.

Q: When did you talk to Coach Carroll and what did you talk about?

Bradford: Today. It was probably 10 minutes. I’m just frustrated. He understood. I know he read it in the paper. He understands. He just told me to go out there and keep running hard. He understands why I feel that. I don’t get carries after all the work I put in. I’m not saying my time will come because I feel that my time should be now. That’s how I feel.

The running back situation is a rotation. I just got to keep dealing with the rotation. I just got to suck my pride up, I guess. He just told me to keep running and he understands. He understands everything. He said he knows what type of player I am and I’ll never stop fighting.

How do you feel about your meeting now?

Q: I’m not a selfish player. I’m not going to just go up there and say give me the ball. I just told him what I felt and what was on my mind. After I talked to him I felt a little better. We’ll see how the game goes this (week), what they do. I just had to vent some. It’s not just what he told me but I had to let it go.

Q: Do you think somebody should get at least 10 carries, even if it isn’t you?

Bradford: I don’t know about 10, but Virginia we all had nine and Joe had six. You can’t complain. The first two games, I think the distribution was 18, 14, 13, 13. It’s even. I was just mad at the fact I did not get one. One would have been cool. Just one. I think that’s why I was so frustrated. I still have catches on the season. But it don’t feel like I’m a part of it, that was the whole thing.

Q: If someone has the hot hand should they get the bulk of the carries?

Bradford: If we did that a lot of people would be leaving. We’re all too good. If it happened to anybody else they would be the same boat I’m in. They would feel the same way. I think it would be the same situation. Dishing the ball out to everybody, how they’re doing it, how they did it the first two games was good. We all know, like Coach Mac said, if someone gets hot, we’re going to keep dishing them the ball. The first game, we all did good the first game. The second game, Ohio State, Joe was hot. Give him the ball. Last game. Stafon.

Q: And still, Stafon got only seven carries. Should he have had more?

Bradford: Think about it, we only ran the ball 22 times.

Q: But if he would have gotten more carries, you might have had more first downs and this ran more plays, right?

Bradford: You don’t know what would have happened. I just felt like I wasn’t a part of it.

Q: How do you keep a good attitude about the situation?

Bradford: I really don’t know. It gets to me but I try not to show it. Don’t show it at all. Don’t show my frustrations. I just keep on running.

Related links:

• In search of … Joe McKnight
• In search of … Stafon Johnson
• In search of … C.J. Gable

Last year, USC went down as a 41-point favorite at home to Stanford.

On Thursday, USC went down as a 25-point favorite at Oregon State.

What does it mean?

It means lessons from 2007 about no gimmes in college football weren't learned.

It means a team needs to exhibit more than talent alone if it wants to compete for a national championship.

It means the Pac-10's shocking spiral into the muck of irrelevancy is complete.

The top-ranked Trojans thought they could casually wander through an evening in Corvallis, Ore., but an inspired Oregon State squad dumped them on their rear ends, 27-21.

This is the same Oregon State team, now 2-2, that got outclassed at Penn State and lost its season opener at Stanford.

This is the same USC team that looked unbeatable after bludgeoning Virginia and Ohio State by a combined count of 87-10.

But these scrappy Beavers obviously have no fear when facing the Trojans, considering they've now beaten them in two of their last three meetings.

How did this happen?

It was nothing fancy. Oregon State just ran right at USC, and the Trojans made true freshman tailback Jacquizz Rodgers look like a Heisman Trophy candidate, as he cut and sprinted for 186 yards on 37 carries with two TDs.

The Beavers offensive line, mostly mediocre through the first three games, whipped the USC front seven, a sparkly crew of future NFL draft picks.

USC trailed 21-zip at the half, but when they closed the gap to 21-14 by scoring on their first two possessions of the third quarter, it seemed like the Trojans had snapped out of their slumber and were ready to reassert themselves.

Nope.

USC produced just two first downs on its first three possessions of the fourth quarter. The third possession ended with QB Mark Sanchez missing terribly on a pass that Beavers safety Greg Laybourn returned 29 yards to the USC 2-yard line.

Rodgers jaunted into the endzone for a 27-14 lead with 2:43 left -- the PAT failed -- and Beavers fans started climbing over the Reser Stadium fences, anticipating a celebratory charge.

Sure, USC, in desperation, fought back to score a TD and float a notion of a comeback, but the onside kick failed, and now the Pac-10 figures to be bystanders while the rest of the country figures out who the leading national title contenders are.

It's hard to imagine the Trojans can win their way back into the race because they play no other teams which are presently ranked.

The only hope for the Trojans probably is a SEC or Big 12 champion with two losses. And that guarantees nothing.

This was a big tumble, and USC doesn't have the sort of remaining schedule that can set it upright again in the collective eyes of pollsters.

Ultimately, what happened Thursday night in Corvallis is this: USC proved it wasn't exempt from the Pac-10 malaise of 2008, and now the conference is decidedly on the outside looking in while the rest of the college football nation battles for spots in the national title hunt.

Always one to push competition, Carroll has elevated backup quarterback Garrett Green to the number two spot on the depth chart, leaping over both Corp and Mustain.

Starting cornerback Shareece Wright will miss “a number of weeks” because of a neck injury, Trojans coach Pete Carroll announced after practice Monday.

Tests revealed a hairline fracture in one of Wright’s vertebrae. He originally suffered the injury against Ohio State on Sept. 13 when he collided with a teammate.

Senior Josh Pinkard will start in Wright’s place opposite Cary Harris when USC visits Oregon State on Thursday. Pinkard started three games in 2005 at cornerback and the season opener in 2006 at free safety. He missed most of the past two seasons because of knee injuries.

Kevin Thomas, who moves up to the No. 3 cornerback spot, is also a former starter. Both he and Pinkard played extensively in the first two games.

“Luckily we have some depth this year at that position, so hopefully there’s no drop-off,” defensive coordinator Nick Holt said. “I feel comfortable with whoever’s in there.”

USC will miss Wright on its punt-coverage team. Carroll called Wright “a great gunner.” Receiver Ronald Johnson will get first crack at that spot, with Thomas also in the mix, against Oregon State’s Sammie Stroughter, who returned a punt 70 yards for a touchdown when the teams met in 2006.

Wright participated in non-contract drills Sunday after sitting out the previous three practices but reported lingering soreness. Carroll said that if the injury is like other broken bones, it could take six weeks to heal.

Carroll said Wright would have played against Oregon State if healthy despite facing a felony charge of resisting a police officer in connection with a party that got out of hand earlier this month.

Freshman T.J. Bryant will serve as the fourth cornerback against the Beavers.

Related links:

• LBs Brown, Galippo won’t play at Oregon State
• Garrett Green nudges ahead of Corp, Mustain

Every Wednesday night on "SportsCenter," the most memorable image of the week is awarded as Bud Light's Freeze Frame.

Mark Sanchez won tonight for this Lambeau-like leap into the stands following USC's demolition of Ohio State -- beating out K-Rod breaking the all-time save record.