USC fans are wise to not get excited yet


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Trojan fans, I’m proud of you.

I thought, after USC’s 49-10 blowout of Hawai’i in which sophomore wide receiver Marqise Lee took the first play of the entire season for a touchdown, you would all start booking flights to Miami and talking about how you couldn’t wait to beat down Alabama.

I was all set to write a column more or less about how everybody needed to calm down. I was going to write about how the 2004 Trojans are the only preseason Associated Press No. 1 team to actually win the BCS Championship since 2000, and how only four teams have done it in the last 30 years. A mere 10 teams have done it since the Associated Press started preseason rankings in 1950.

I was going to say that there is a lot of season left, a lot of football to be played, a lot of traps to be avoided. I was going to remind everyone that USC beat Hawai’i, not Alabama nor Oregon nor even Utah. I thought people would need a reminder that USC played just one game, against perhaps its worst opponent of the season, and that there were still 13 to go to get to Miami or Pasadena.

And, to my surprise, fans agreed with the sentiment.

I have had so many conversations with delusional people who claim there is “no way” the Trojans won’t win it all. The “BCS title or bust” mentality I have felt from many on this campus is ludicrous. I was afraid people legitimately expect that out of this team.

Does the team have a chance? Of course, and a pretty good one.

Is it something they should be expected to do? Never.

“One down, 13 to go” is the perfect moniker for the grind that is a college football season. There is almost no room for error: chances are, one loss will derail USC’s championship aspirations. One injury, one bad call, potentially even one missed tackle and it can all come crashing down.

So, Trojan fans, thank you for not getting caught up in the hype — too much, that is. Some of it is legitimate. Lee’s touchdown is a sign if there ever was one.

Honestly, it’s perfectly fine to salivate over a colossal showdown of undefeated teams when Oregon visits the Coliseum on Nov. 3. And go ahead and dream of an unstoppable-force-meets-immovable-object championship game of USC and Alabama in South Beach. But remember that, for now, that’s what these matchups are: dreams.

In high school, my basketball coach would ask us the same question before every game: “Why is this game the most important game of the season?”

We gave the following answer every time: “Because it’s the next one on the schedule.”

Ask anyone on this Trojan football team this week about any opponent besides Syracuse, and he will tell you his focus is entirely on the game ahead. I was worried Trojan fans were going to forget the simple fact that it won’t matter what happens in November or January if USC missteps against a lesser opponent before that time. But after the game on Saturday, I saw fans posting the team’s “prep not hype” motto on Facebook and Twitter. Those words are painted on the grass at the entrance to Howard Jones Field. The team sees them as they enter practice every day. Trojan fans are wise to remember those words this year as the hype grows and the preparation becomes all the more important.

 

 

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