This Is A Win/Win for The Gophers
I want to say that "I can't believe the people on this board who have been hammering away at Brew & Co for having such a patsy schedule, and who are now complaining at the possibility of having USC on the schedule", but honestly, I CAN believe it. For whatever reason, there is a vocal minority around this program who will complain no matter what. If we play NDSU, BGSU, and Cal our NC schedule is too weak to prep for the Big 10. If we play Air Force, Cal and USC, then we'll be killing ourselves with a NC schedule that is too tough.
Now, while it's possible to choose to be a nay-sayer IF we end up with a home-and-home with USC, there's really no downside for the Gophers doing this.
As some have already stated, the major pros are as follows:
- We can use the games as part of the recruiting package, telling kids they'll have a chance to play against one of the best teams in the country.
- We'll get a boat load of $$$ for the program.
- We'll get a test against one of the best football teams around prior to Big 10 play, which should help the team be better prepared for the conference schedule.
- Even if we lose BIG, losing to USC will likely hurt us less in BCS standings because of the jump they give us in strength of schedule.
- If we win the game... well, let's not get too far ahead of ourselves in saying what a win against USC would do. Suffice it to say that it would likely be a BIG win.
Here is the one major possible con:
- If we lose BIG (say 63-14), we could be "embarrassed".
My answer to that is, USC beats the tar out of most teams they play. Here are their 2008 results:
at Virginia W 52-7
No. 5 Ohio State W 35-3
at Oregon State L 27-21
No. 23 Oregon W 44-10
Arizona State W 28-0
at Washington State W 69-0
at Arizona W 17-10
Washington W 56-0
No. 21 California W 17-3
at Stanford W 45-23
Notre Dame W 38-3
at UCLA W 28-7
No. 8 Penn State* W 38-24
Average margin of victory over the 13 games was 29.5 points, including beating two top 10 by a total of 46 points. Oregon St. and Arizona were the only close games all year. If the Gophers replaced Virginia, Ohio St. or Notre Dame on that schedule and lost by the same scores, I wouldn't be embarrassed. USC is probably the premiere college football program in the country... losing to best is not something to be embarassed about.
I hope that Maturi and Brew can make this happen. I'd love to see the 2010 Gophers competing against USC. It would be a great game, and a great opportunity for the program.
Go Gophers!!!