A soft schedule and hard finish for top-ranked USC?
CHRIS DUFRESNE / ON COLLEGE FOOTBALL
The relative weakness of the Pac-10 could work against the Trojans when the spots in the BCS title game are decided.
Don't dial the BCS crisis hotline yet, USC fans.
Everything, for now, looks fine and Vandy.
Stunningly, though, only one week after USC's dominating performance against Ohio State left the Trojans as overwhelming favorites to get to the national title game, the watchwords in coming weeks might be: Watch out.
Watch out for the Big 12 and Southeastern conferences.
Watch out for Oklahoma, Missouri, Texas, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana State and maybe Alabama.
Watch out for voters and analysts getting amnesia about what USC did in its first two games and concentrating on what the Trojans do in their last 10.
Watch out for sloppy, uninspired efforts against Pacific 10 Conference piñatas Washington, Washington State and UCLA.
USC stayed on top over the weekend, but did you notice how the bottom dropped out?
The Associated Press poll, released Sunday, shockingly revealed no currently ranked teams left on USC's schedule.
The Pac 10's supposedly second- and third-best teams, Oregon and Arizona State, both lost and dropped out of the top 25.
The USA Today voting coaches kept Oregon at No. 22 after a home loss to Boise State, but how long will that last with the Ducks running out of quarterbacks?
USC is still on top, but what a drag the Pac-10 has become.
Meanwhile, Notre Dame, USC's last remaining nonconference opponent, was sniffing the top 25 until a loss to Michigan State opened the trapdoor.
USC has to hope it has built up enough prime-time equity to compensate for a crumbling Pac-10 foundation.
Even the Trojans' 52-7 win at Virginia has been somewhat offset by Virginia's follow-up, 35-point loss to Connecticut.
In 2004, USC, Oklahoma and the SEC champion all finished unbeaten and the SEC champion was left out.
You're nuts to think that's going to happen again.
Good as it looks, there is no guarantee that going 12-0 is going to get USC to the BCS title game.
Georgia, at 13-0, could not possibly be denied, nor could any other 13-0 SEC champion.
Georgia just walloped Arizona State, the team picked to finish second in the Pac-10.
Georgia has regular-season games left against current AP No. 4 (Florida), No. 5 (LSU), No. 8 (Alabama), No. 15 (Auburn) and No. 21 (Vanderbilt), plus a possible berth in the SEC title game.
USC still owns all but three first-place votes in the AP poll and all but five in the coaches', but some of those votes would no doubt move away from the Trojans.
