Thorns exposed in Rose

PASADENA, Calif. – Joe Paterno wore his traditional horn-rimmed glasses Thursday, but he should’ve traded them for a blindfold.

It was that ugly.

A second-half rally by Penn State in a 38-24 Rose Bowl loss to Southern California was a mirage – just like the notions that the Big Ten deserves its reputation as an elite football conference and that the Bowl Championship Series can provide a satisfying ending to the college football season. On this day, on a national stage, the culprits were exposed together.

We’re referring to the Big Ten and the BCS, who deserve each other because they no longer can mask their imperfections.

During the postgame trophy presentation, ABC’s John Saunders congratulated USC coach Pete Carroll and then cut to the chase.

What if the Trojans were to play either Florida or Oklahoma, the teams matched up in the BCS title game to be played next Thursday?

“With all due respect, those are two great programs,” Carroll said. “But I don’t think anybody can beat the Trojans this year.”

Actually, somebody already did beat the Trojans. Oregon State, on Sept. 25, a 27-21 shocker that has left Carroll declaring something he couldn’t prove. And then there was USC running back C.J. Gable, taking it one step further.

“We know we would crush Florida and Oklahoma,” he said. “We know that.”

Outrageous? Perhaps. But don’t blame the Trojans. Blame two entities that deserve it – the Bowl Championship Series and the Big Ten.

Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany wasn’t in the press box during the game. He was somewhere in the stands, according to a Rose Bowl official, and presumably wearing a fake mustache, dark glasses or some suitable disguise. Those who know the inner-workings of college football know that Delany is one of the fiercest opponents of a playoff. And if Delany thinks USC’s lobbying for a playoff was shrill, just wait.

It’ll get worse when Texas beats the daylights out of Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl on Monday. Wait for the game to be played if you must, but it’s worth noting that Penn State’s loss to USC dropped the Big Ten to 1-5 in bowl games this season. Of course the only way to guarantee the Buckeyes would lose would be to put them in the BCS title game, where they got clobbered each of the past two years.

USC made a strong case that it deserves to contend for a national championship after Mark Sanchez threw for 413 yards and four touchdowns and the Trojans piled up 474 yards in offense against a defense that statistically ranked as one of the best in the nation. But oddly enough, no one makes a better argument for an eight-team playoff than the BCS rankings.

The top five teams – Oklahoma, Florida, Texas, Alabama and USC – all entered the bowl season with one loss. No computer system can convincingly or satisfyingly determine the best among those five. Nor should it deny a chance for the next three teams in the rankings – unbeaten Utah, one-loss Texas Tech and even one-loss Penn State – to contend for the title.

But if you’re tired of hearing people rail about the BCS, let’s move on to the Big Ten.

By Big Ten standards, Penn State’s two-touchdown loss here was a nail-biter. Pounding one of the purported powers from the Midwest has become as much a tradition here as the Tournament of Roses Parade. Last year, USC drilled Illinois 49-17 and the year before that pummeled Michigan 32-18. The Big Ten hasn’t won a Rose Bowl since 2000.

USC fans should relish the victories and the fact that the Trojans became the first school to win three consecutive Rose Bowls. They also should mark their good fortune in playing a Big Ten school. Rightfully, critics called Ohio State undeserving of a spot in the national championship game after lopsided losses to SEC powers LSU and Florida. But the Big Ten’s problems go beyond Ohio State. They permeate the entire conference, and Penn State provided the latest and starkest evidence.

Matched up against USC’s swift receivers, Penn State spent most of the day chasing in vain.

“I don’t think our secondary scheme is at fault,” Paterno said after the game, and he’s right.

The problem is the Big Ten doesn’t have players good enough and fast enough to match up with the likes of USC’s Damian Williams, who caught seven passes for 127 yards and a touchdown – in the first half . He finished with 162 yards, 10 catches and perhaps with the idea that playing Big Ten teams on a weekly basis could put him in position to win the Heisman Trophy. Particularly in the secondary and among the linebacker corps, the Big Ten personnel is a step slow.

“Our overall team speed, we knew that we could get guys down the field in our vertical passing game,” Sanchez said. “We told our receivers all week that you’re going to be able to make a catch downfield and be ready to get down and secure the ball, because they’re going to be flying to the ball like they always have.”

Flying, but against the nation’s top teams, arriving too late.

Picking up on USC’s superior speed couldn’t have been any clearer had you watched the game through Paterno’s prescription glasses. But deficiencies for Penn State and the Big Ten go beyond that.

“I didn’t think our pass rush was particularly strong either,” Paterno said.

Yes, Big Ten teams are losing the battle of speed, strength and agility. Steve Sarkisian, who will take over full time as head coach at Washington after serving in his final game USC’s offensive coordinator, cited recruiting when asked about the apparent talent discrepancy between the Big Ten and country’s elite teams.

“I’d like to think that coaching has a little bit to do with it, too,” he said with a grin.

But Paterno has proved he knows a thing or two about coaching during a career in which he’s amassed more victories than any coach in college football history. And he’s also shown the wisdom that could have eliminated some of the ugliness here Thursday, when the Trojans interrupted their own celebration to argue they should have a chance to compete for the national championship. Paterno has been lobbying for a playoff longer than any of the players on the field Thursday has been alive.

His campaign started in 1968, leaving one to wonder what it would take to break down the barrier erected by the BCS and other playoff obstructionists.

“Obama,” said Rey Maualuga, USC’s star linebacker.

Indeed, the President-elect has let it be known that he favors a playoff, and Maualuga couldn’t help but hope presidential clout can deliver the postseason college football demands. On a day when the Big Ten and the BCS looked particularly ugly, it was a beautiful thought.