We never did get a matchup between USC and Michigan in the Fiesta Bowl. If the Trojans had beaten Utah in the Pac-12 Championship Game, we probably would have had that matchup since TCU lost in the Big 12 Championship Game to Kansas State. TCU would have played Georgia in the other playoff semifinal.
Because the USC-Michigan matchup never did happen, I didn’t want to talk about the pairing heading into the Pac-12 Championship Game. USC had to take care of business first, and it didn’t. Yet, privately and inwardly, I did think USC had a great chance to beat Michigan if the two teams did meet in the Fiesta Bowl.
We all saw why this past Saturday, when the Wolverines lost to TCU in the Fiesta Bowl.
Saying “USC coulda taken Michigan!” (or any other team) in a playoff semifinal might seem like empty boasting, especially since USC fell so far short of even getting to the playoff. Getting blasted by 23 points by Utah and still saying the Trojans could have put up a fight might sound like a pathetic, stubborn attempt to die on a hill.
What it actually was: an attempt to underscore a simple point.
Michigan and all other teams in college football this season aren’t elite teams.
That’s not the statement of a loser trying to diminish the teams which finished higher than USC and had better seasons than USC. It’s merely analysis of college football in 2022: There really were zero elite teams. It’s not that USC was so good, but that other teams didn’t separate themselves from USC by a large margin.
Will USC thrive in the Big Ten? Saturday brought home the point that the Trojans should be fine when they change conferences in 2024. Let’s discuss this.