Losing may not be a bad thing

By Peter Bartell


We all know that USC and Ohio State are two teams that are national powers every year. We also know that both teams tend to fall off the saddle once a year.

The most recent example happened last year for the Trojans when they lost to the Oregon State Beavers in Corvallis in the fifth week of the season. After that, the Trojans were unstoppable for the rest of the season thanks in large part to their defense that shut out three opponents and allowed just 56 points in their final nine regular season games. They finished the regular season ranked fifth in the BCS standings.


The Buckeyes were on the losing end of their match up with the Trojans last year in the second week of the season and had crept back up to third in the BCS standings by the ninth week of the season. This clearly put them in line for a shot at the BCS National Championship had they not dropped a 13-6 decision to the the Penn State Nittany Lions in week 10.

Both teams have shown that they’ve played their best football after a loss. Unfortunately for the Trojans, that loss happened in week five last year. Had it happened earlier we could’ve seen a different national title game. So sure people will write the loser of this game off, but history shows us that when either of these teams lose, they come back even stronger, which could spell trouble for the rest of the nation.