Refusing To Sleep With The Enemy

In the world of sports, what if it would behoove your team to have your bitter rival win its next game against another opponent which poses a bigger threat to your team than does your rival?  That is the exact situation faced by fans of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish this coming weekend.

Under the current rules of the BCS (which stands for "Bowl Championship Series"), only the top two rated teams have an opportunity to play in the National Championship Game on January 7, 2013.  There is no tournament like the NCAA has for basketball.  The BCS ratings are calculated weekly using a somewhat complicated formula involving two polls (the Harris Interactive Poll and the USA Today Coaches' Poll) and six computer rankings.  Each of the six computer rankings takes into account not only a team's won-loss record but also its strength of schedule (SOS).  Thus, beating a team ranked, say, number 9 is worth more in the computer rankings than beating a team ranked number 19.  (Incidentally, the BCS system for determining the national champion is going to be replaced by a four-team playoff, starting with the 2014 season.)

According to the BCS ratings which were released two days ago, the top four teams, in order, are Alabama, Kansas State, Notre Dame and Oregon.  All four of those teams are undefeated, and since they are not scheduled to play each other, there is a decent chance - - I would put it at about 80% for each team - - that their records will remain unblemished throughout the remainder of the regular season.  Thus, the fans of each team will not only be cheering for that team; they will also be pulling for the other three top-rated teams to lose, thereby enhancing their own team's chances of getting into the National Championship Game.  Right?

As former Indiana head coach and ABC analyst Lee Corso would say, "Not so fast, my friend!"

Consider this coming weekend's slate of games.  Number 1 Alabama plays LSU.  The Crimson Tide is a 9.5 point pick, even though the game is in Baton Rouge.  ND fans will automatically hope the Tigers can pull the upset (even though the LSU head coach is a Michigan alum, the wacky Les Miles).  Similarly, Irish fans won't hesitate to cheer against number 2 Kansas State, which is an 8 point pick this weekend over visiting Oklahoma State.  However, it is the third battle, number 4 Oregon against Notre Dame's arch rival, Southern Cal, which is causing a division in the ranks of Irish boosters.  For which team should we cheer?

At first blush this should be a no-brainer, at least for the casual observer.  A win by Southern Cal, which is a seven point home dog, would deliver two immediate benefits to Notre Dame.  First and most obviously, it would knock Oregon from the ranks of the unbeaten and give ND some BCS breathing room.  (I am going out on a limb by predicting Notre Dame covers the seventeen point spread against Pitt in The Bend.)  Secondly, a win by SC on Saturday would benefit Notre Dame's SOS if the Irish manage to beat the Trojans over Thankgiving weekend.

There is, however, one tiny problem in asking this Domer, and many other Domers, to cheer for a Southern Cal victory on Saturday over the Ducks.  To wit, I would be cheering for Southern Cal!  You can call me a fool or you can call me short-sighted.  You can even call me Al.  I am sorry, I just cannot bring myself to cheer for the Trojans.

When I think of Southern Cal I think of cheaters like former running back Reggie Bush, whose family accepted at least $200,000 in illegal benefits from SC boosters.  I think of former head coach Pete Carroll, who got out of Dodge and fled to the Seattle Seahawks right before the NCAA lowered the boom with very tough sanctions, including drastic scholarship reductions and a two year bowl ban, against his program.  I think of phantom penalties in the LA Coliseum, including the invisible holding penalty which cost ND a national championship in 1964, not to mention mysterious holding and clipping penalties throughout the years which never show up during a replay review.  I think of athletic directors like Mike Garrett, who finally got fired for "looking the other way" when NCAA rules were being broken right under his nose.  I think of their football practices being open to visits from Hollywood stars and rappers who have no connection to the school.  I think of former quarterback Matt Leinart, who was enrolled in a single class, ballroom dancing, to keep his eligibility alive for his final season.  I think of Southern Cal's current coach, Lane Kiffin, a Minnesota native who is such a horse's patootie he makes Jay Cutler look like Billy Graham.  And of course, who can think of USC without recalling their most famous football player, stone cold killer OJ Simpson? Only a jury of his starstruck peers believed The Juice was innocent.

My theory is this: If Notre Dame keeps winning, things will work themselves out.  If I'm wrong and it turns out that a perfect season by the Irish does not result in a chance to play in the National Championship Game, so be it.  I will still be able to look in the mirror knowing that I didn't prostitute myself by rooting for an SC victory over the Ducks.  As we used to cry out during SC Week back in the day, "Puncture the Trojans!"