ORANGE BOWL
1) SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA vs. 2) OKLAHOMA
Jan-4 8:00/ABC
SO WHAT’S THE STORY OF THIS GAME?
It’s for the national championship! Well, sort of…
DO USC AND OKLAHOMA HAVE ANY HISTORY WITH EACH OTHER?
Absolutely! Though this is the first time playing each other in a bowl game they’ve gone at it eight times before with the first one being 1963 and the last one in 1992. USC leads the series 5-2-1 and won the last four meetings. But it gets more interesting. USC has played a #2 ranked Oklahoma twice and beat them both times. Oklahoma has played a #1 USC team three times and is 1-1-1.
1992: USC-20 OK-10
1988: USC-23 OK-7
1982 USC-12 OK-0
1981: USC 28 OK-24
1973: Tied-7
1971: OK-33 USC-20
1964: USC-40 OK-14
1963: OK-17 USC-12
HOW MANY CHAMPIONSHIPS HAS USC WON?
Ten! Starting from 1928 and going all the way to last year in 2003. Their last nine championships were stemmed in the Rose Bowl (get the pun?). This is also their second trip to the Orange Bowl, their first was two years ago as they beat Iowa 38-17.
WHAT THE HELL IS SO GOOD ABOUT USC?
To put it simply, everything. They haven’t lost a game in over two years as their win streak is the second largest in the nation at 21. This season they defeated two top ten teams including Virginia Tech and California, while also knocking off Arizona St., Oregon St., UCLA and destroying Notre Dame. Their offense is quarterbacked by Heisman winner Matt Leinart who threw for 2,990 yards, 28 touchdowns, only six interceptions and a satanic completion rate of an unfathomable 66.6. His rating is somewhat ludicrous at 154.5. He also has an ability to sneak in the goalline rushing for three touchdowns. His favorite target is Dwayne Jarret who has caught for 734 yards and 12 touchdowns. There are seven other players on the team with over a 100 yards receiving. The rushing game is led by LenDale White whom has accumulated 985 yards and 13 touchdowns on a pass first offense. But the shiniest gem of them all is the team MVP all purpose running back Reggie Bush whom has accumulated a total of 1,311 APY with 6 rushing TDs and 7 passing TDs. On defense, it consists a host of stars and future pros. LB Matt Grootegoed literally takes the option of running wide out of the playbook. Lofa Tatupu creates a huge obstacle in the middle and is as intimidating as his name. He also has defensive back hands grabbing four interceptions. The line is led by Shaun Cody and Mike Patterson, both can play either Tackle or End and will usually switch up confusing offenses. They combine for 15 sacks and both are savvy at the fumble recovery.
WHAT IS USC’S ACHILLES HEEL?
None really. They rank in the top ten of the 14 official team categories the NCAA recognizes and are in the top twenty on 12 of them. If one wants to nitpick, their pass defense ‘only’ ranks 31 but that could be inflated due to the pass happy Pac-10. USC never found a fourth starting defensive back and have been rotating several players so that could be the biggest hole. The real weakness is the kicking game and USC could be in trouble if it comes down to a last minute kick. PK Ryan Killeen is only 12/23 and is not very good over 40 yards. But he makes up for it by going 57/57 in extra point attempts. The real challenge comes mentally with the pressure and the month off. But USC coach Pete Carrol and the Trojans have been there, done that.
HOW MANY CHAMPIONSHIPS HAS OKLAHOMA WON?
Seven! Going back to 1950 and their last one in 2000. Four of these championships stemmed from wins at the Orange Bowl (ha ha!). This is their unprecedented 18th appearance at the Orange and are 12-5 all time with their last loss in 1987 to eventual champion Miami (FL) and their last win in 2000 where they themselves became the champion in a 13-2 victory over Florida St. This is their third BCS championship game, fifth straight BCS bowl and have played in all four venues.
WHAT THE HELL IS SO GOOD ABOUT OKLAHOMA?
Lately it’s been perfection on both sides of the ball. Everybody they faced got smacked and their victims list is quite impressive. Bowling Green, Texas Tech, Texas, Oklahoma St., Texas A&M and of course the 42-3 beatdown of Colorado which insured them their place in the championship game. On the helm, we have last year’s Hesiman winner QB Jason White who threw for 2,961 yards, 33 touchdowns and only 6 interceptions. WR Mark Clayton leads the team with 855 yards whose specialty is running after the catch. Travis Wilson and Mark Bradley are also gifted and add Brandon Jones to the pack, that gives White four great targets. Freshman RB Adrian Peterson shocked the world with 1,843 rushing and 15 touchdowns. Their offensive line is the best in college football and features Outland winner OT Jammal Brown and possible future winner C Vince Carter. Their defense is not the most talented and is quite young but they have ace up their sleeve, Bob Stoops who has made the most of it. The defense has only allowed six points in the last three games and have two shutouts for the season, including BCS contender, Texas.
WHAT IS OKLAHOMA’S ACHILLES HEEL?
Like USC, it’s special teams. The Sooners also don’t have a good kicker. PK Trey DiCarlo is only 50% and Garret Hartley who has supposedly replaced him has yet to kick a field goal. P Blake Ferguson has a habit of bobbling the snap and the coverage has yielded to good opposing runners.
WHAT THE HELL IS THE ORANGE BOWL?
Only the second oldest bowl in the nation with a couple cute stories. It started as the brain-child of Miami’s office of tourism and recreation in 1933 as they felt they could do what Pasadena did with the Tournament of Roses and create a New Year’s celebration culminating with a football game. It was called the Miami Palm Festival. The first game pitting Miami against Manhattan almost never happened. The Festival promised a payment of $3,000 to Manhattan but could only come up with 1500 by game-day. The local sheriff actually saved the game by rounding up all the local bookies and mobsters and asking them to pay the money or else all their bets will fault. Miami won 7-0. Two years later, the game returned this time under the banner of what many were calling the Orange Bowl. The idea was to pit northern teams against southern teams. As the decade went on, the Orange Bowl was considered second-fiddle to the ‘Big Three’ of the Rose, Cotton, and Sugar. But in 1939 they were able to land a powerhouse match of Oklahoma and Tennessee. They weren’t able to out-bid the other three bowls but ‘representatives’ would sneak into campuses and lure the athletes showing players pamphlets of Miami making the players yearn to go see the beaches and the ladies. This forced the coaches to choose the Orange Bowl over the big money. The Orange Bowl then became one of the premier bowls having a strong relationship with the Florida schools and the Big 8/12. 15 champions have come out of the Orange Bowl.
