In the process of evaluating USC relative to the rest of the college football world this year, one interesting point emerges: Would USC’s season be vieweed as more of a success (and less of a failure) if the Trojans had lost to Oregon State and Utah but then ran the table in their remaining games and finished 10-2? USC’s last game of the season would have been the win over Notre Dame. USC would have finished the season on a five-game winning streak. The Trojans would not have lost by 23 points to Utah in Las Vegas in the Pac-12 Championship Game.
Would that mean USC had a better year than the 11-2 season we just witnessed?
Look at Penn State as a relative comparison. Penn State lost twice in the middle of the season to Michigan and Ohio State, but it went unbeaten in November.
Never mind the fact that Penn State beat Indiana, Maryland, Rutgers, and Michigan State in November, four ordinary-to-mediocre teams. Because Penn State finished the year on a winning streak, some people will think the Nittany Lions did better than USC, which failed against Utah.
However: Is this true? Did Penn State have the better year?
Trojans Wire talked about this at The Voice of College Football:
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