GATOR CHOMP COULD HAVE BEEN TROJAN MARCH.Byline: PAUL OBERJUERGE GLENDALE, Ariz. - It could have been the Trojans. Pete Carroll Peter C. Carroll (born September 15, 1951, in San Francisco, California) is the current head coach of the University of Southern California Trojans football team, having held that position since 2001. has to be thinking it. Mike Garrett Michael Lockett Garrett (born April 12, 1944 in Los Angeles, California) is a former American football player who won the 1965 Heisman Trophy as a tailback for the University of Southern California Trojans. , too. It could have been the Trojans. John David Booty John David Booty (born January 3, 1985, in Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S.) is the starting quarterback of the University of Southern California (USC) football team. He is called "John David", and sometimes referred to as J.D., because his father's name is John. has to be thinking it. It was his tipped pass at the UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX 18-yard line with barely more than a minute to play that went for an interception that kept USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. from escaping the Bruins, back on Dec. 2. USC's linemen have to be thinking it. They couldn't keep UCLA's defense out of Booty's face for 60 nightmarish minutes in Pasadena, where USC lost 13-9 and was packed off to play the Big Ten's overrated Overrated was a Horde World of Warcraft guild, based on the US Black Dragonflight Realm. On November 2 2006, the majority of the guild members were indefinitely banned from the game for use of (or directly benefiting from) a third-party "wall-hack", used to bypass content runner-up in the Rose Bowl -- instead of its overrated champion in the BCS (1) (The British Computer Society, Swindon, Wiltshire, England, www.bcs.org) The chartered body for information technology professionals in the U.K., founded in 1957. national championship game. It could have been the Trojans here Monday night, against Ohio State. And they would have won. Instead, it was Florida's Gators who had the great good fortune to line up against previously unbeaten and top-ranked Ohio State, which proved to be the most bogus 12-0 team in college football history. Final score: Florida 41, Ohio State 14, in one ugly blowout at the University of Phoenix Stadium. Thus, the Gators get all the hardware. That crystal football, the rings and all the rest -- when it could have been the Trojans ... winning a third national title in four years. Florida was very good. But Ohio State was execrable. So bad, let's guestimate Noun 1. guestimate - an estimate that combines reasoning with guessing guesstimate approximation, estimate, estimation, idea - an approximate calculation of quantity or degree or worth; "an estimate of what it would cost"; "a rough idea how long it would take" and say half a dozen college football teams would have routed them Monday night. So bad, another half-dozen would have beaten them by a touchdown. Turns out, Ohio State is slow. As well as easily dazed daze tr.v. dazed, daz·ing, daz·es 1. To stun, as with a heavy blow or shock; stupefy. 2. To dazzle, as with strong light. n. A stunned or bewildered condition. and confused. As well as alternately timid and foolhardy fool·har·dy adj. fool·har·di·er, fool·har·di·est Unwisely bold or venturesome; rash. See Synonyms at reckless. [Middle English folhardi, from Old French fol hardi : . And did we mention slow? Florida treated the Buckeyes as if they were Vanderbilt. No, we take that back; Vanderbilt lost only 25-19 to the Gators. Vandy probably beats the Buckeyes by 14. Ted Ginn Jr. returned the opening kickoff 93 yards for an Ohio State touchdown, got hurt soon after, left the game never to return -- and then it turned into one long orange-and-blue Florida highlight film. Which probably left 20 football coaches -- from Heritage Hall to Boise, Louisville and Baton Rouge Baton Rouge (băt`ən r  zh) [Fr.,=red stick], city (1990 pop. 219,531), state capital and seat of East Baton Rouge parish, SE La. -- wishing they'd had a shot at
the Buckeyes.
Holy mackeral, did Ohio State stink it up. The Buckeyes couldn't cover anyone. They couldn't tackle anyone. They couldn't solve Florida's spread-the-field offense. They couldn't run the ball. They couldn't move the chains. They couldn't protect their quarterback. And, perhaps most shocking, Troy Smith, the Heisman Trophy winner, was helpless. He passed for 35 yards on 4-of-14 inaccuracy in·ac·cu·ra·cy n. pl. in·ac·cu·ra·cies 1. The quality or condition of being inaccurate. 2. An instance of being inaccurate; an error. , with an interception and a lost fumble. He was so bad, the Downtown Athletic Club The Downtown Athletic Club was an athletic club in a 35-story building located at 19 West Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It was founded in 1926. By 1927, it had purchased this site next to the Hudson River to construct its own building. may call for another round of Heisman balloting. Ohio State finished with 82 yards. That's right, 82. Against a good Florida defense, but one that had been giving up 269 yards a game. USC would have had the same advantages against Ohio State that Florida did. Too much speed. Too many good receivers. A defense too strong to move, too quick to out-run and too experienced to fool. And if USC gets to play Ohio State without Ted Ginn, too ... Ohio State entered Monday's game as a seven-point favorite, but there were indications the Buckeyes were a fragile No. 1. The Big Ten was a shaky 2-4 in bowl games, and its second-best team, Michigan, was handled by USC, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl. The same Michigan team that lost only 42-39 to the Buckeyes. The same Buckeyes team that gave up 80 points in its final two games. ``We didn't do things all the way along to do what you need to be a champion,'' Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. ``When you look at what transpired in the game, it's not surprising the score turned out the way we did. We gave them every opportunity to make it a 41-to-whatever game, or however it turned out ... ``We didn't deserve to be champions.'' Well, duh. Turns out, whoever played Ohio State last night was going to be champions. Getting here was the key. ``There's probably five, six, seven great college football teams in this country,'' Florida coach Urban Meyer said, ``and the only way to find out who's better is to go play.'' It was Florida that got to go play. And it was the Gators who were cavorting on the field when it was over. Feeling the confetti raining down, listening to their fans roar. When it could have been the Trojans. paul.oberjuerge@sbsun.com (909) 386-3866 CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Florida quarterback Chris Leak completed 25 of 36passes for 213 yards and a touchdown Monday. Stephen Dunn/Getty Images (2 -- color) As confetti falls at the University of Phoenix Stadium, Florida's Kenneth Tookes, right, and Jermaine McCollum celebrate the Gators' BCS title game win. Andy Lyons/Getty Images (3) Ohio State's Troy Smith, right, is sacked by Florida's Jarvis Moss, center, and Derrick Harvey. Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press |
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