This season, USC needs more than the Rose Bowl

Somebody has to walk up to Granddaddy, shake his sturdy hand, stare into his clear eyes, and tell him.

He's probably already heard the furtive whispers. He's surely seen the rolled eyes. The dude may be 94, but he's still strong, and still smart, and probably already knows, so just tell him.

Hey, Granddaddy of Them All?

The USC football team doesn't need you. The USC football would be better off without you.

This season, for the Trojans, the Rose Bowl would be nothing but thorns.

No offense, Granddaddy, but this season, you're just not big enough.

All together now . . .

OSU our hats are off to you. Beavers, beavers, fighters through and through.

Now that the nocturnal, semi-aquatic species of rodent is out of the bag, every USC fan should feel free to root for Oregon State to win its last two games.

The Beavers would tie USC for the conference title, and, because they beat the Trojans, would go to the Rose Bowl for the first time in 44 years.

Freeing Tommy for bigger and better things.

We'll root for every man, we'll cheer for every stand, that's made for old OSU.

It's blasphemous, but basic. It's the opposite of everything Coach Pete Carroll preaches, but perhaps secretly just what he wants.

Oregon State needs Pasadena. USC needs something else more.

Now that USC's national championship hopes have been all but snuffed, the Trojans have to think about their national reputation.

The Rose Bowl can't restore it. A Big Ten opponent can't enhance it. Beating the hay out of a bunch of slow Midwestern kids for the fourth time in six years won't cut it.

"We are getting kind of tired of that," said Kyle Moore, a senior defensive lineman. "I think we know we're faster than them by now."

The Trojans, who could be kept out of the national-championship game by another one-loss team, need to play somewhere that could persuade the BCS machine to never allow that to happen again.

They need to play somewhere that could persuade next year's voters to give them a strong preseason ranking and early benefit of the doubt.

The Trojans' mojo is hurting. The Pac-10's street cred is failing. Either of two games could fix both.

The Trojans need to play in the Fiesta Bowl against Texas Tech, Texas or Oklahoma.

Or they need to play in the Sugar Bowl against Florida or Alabama.