Is Oregon the new USC?

[LA Ute]

This one's for HFN and Triplet.

Not too long ago, USC was the big show in college football, not just the Pac-10.

That, at present, is no longer the case nationally or in the conference. But USC is still part of the conversation, even if it's folks talking about the Trojans absence.

Oregon players got plenty of "Are you the new USC?" questions this week.

"We’re not the new USC. We’re just Oregon," Ducks linebacker Spencer Paysinger said. "We’re not saying that we’re taking anything away from 'SC or that the power shift has happened. It’s just that we feel that Oregon is the premier team in the Pac-10 now. We’re not taking anything away from them. We’re just building up who we are."

Read the whole thing. It's probably good for everyone to have some competition in the PAC.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

The last 11 Pac 10 titles have been won by USC and Oregon.

[Surfah]

The last 11 Pac 10 titles have been won by USC and Oregon.

Or shared.

[Surfah]

The short answer to your question LA is no.

[KillerDog]

If the question is, will Oregon be suspended from post season play etc. because, like USC, they are paying players and stuff, the answer is yes, they are the new USC. Let's be honest, the University of Nike is clearly paying players just like USC was.

[oxcoug]

The short answer to your question LA is no.

My view is - yes and no.

Yes in the sense that it's filling the void, the Nike connection has given it a kind of celebrity and it's achieving high levels of football success.

No in the sense that there are certain things that have made USC what it is which go beyond football, which attract talent and are unique to the So Cal environs. Things like sunshine, babes and the buzz of a big city. USC will bounce back before long.

I think Oregon is going to be good for a long time and USC is never going to be the PAC 10 hegemon it was (especially if Harbaugh sticks around at Stanford). But Oregon can't ever quite be USC.

[MartyFunkhouser]

If the question is, will Oregon be suspended from post season play etc. because, like USC, they are paying players and stuff, the answer is yes, they are the new USC. Let's be honest, the University of Nike is clearly paying players just like USC was.

We only tolerate that behavior from SEC teams. Oregon better watch out.

[TripletDaddy]

No need to read the entire article.

I only read your blurb and stopped here:

"We’re not the new USC. We’re just Oregon," Ducks linebacker Spencer Paysinger said. "We’re not saying that we’re taking anything away from 'SC or that the power shift has happened. It’s just that we feel that Oregon is the premier team in the Pac-10 now. We’re not taking anything away from them. We’re just building up who we are."

I don't see anything wrong with this, nor is it particularly insightful. No team can dominate the conference every year forever. Every team is cyclical. Right now Oregon is up. They are playing for a title on Monday. That is all that matters.

SC had a really great run and is in rebuilding mode now...a rebuilding mode where the lows are other schools' "good seasons". The two programs are distinct with different trajectories, history, accomplishments, traditions, etc. I don't think Oregon wants to be the new USC, I'm pretty sure they would rather have their own identity.

Right now Oregon is the team to beat in the PAC. Stanford is really good. SC, even under sanction, has a good team and will be good next season. ASU should be decent next season. UW continues to improve slowly and steadily each season under Sark. Good things are happening in the PAC right now and Oregon is currently leading that charge.

[LA Ute]

My view is - yes and no.

Yes in the sense that it's filling the void, the Nike connection has given it a kind of celebrity and it's achieving high levels of football success.

No in the sense that there are certain things that have made USC what it is which go beyond football, which attract talent and are unique to the So Cal environs. Things like sunshine, babes and the buzz of a big city. USC will bounce back before long.

I think Oregon is going to be good for a long time and USC is never going to be the PAC 10 hegemon it was (especially if Harbaugh sticks around at Stanford). But Oregon can't ever quite be USC.

This is probably the majority view, tinged with a little hope about the end of USC hegemony. But if history is any guide, that won't happen. (The Trojans are kind of like the Yankees. They are there and whether we like the way they do things or not, they aren't going away, nor would we want them to, really.)

[TripletDaddy]

My view is - yes and no.

Yes in the sense that it's filling the void, the Nike connection has given it a kind of celebrity and it's achieving high levels of football success.

No in the sense that there are certain things that have made USC what it is which go beyond football, which attract talent and are unique to the So Cal environs. Things like sunshine, babes and the buzz of a big city. USC will bounce back before long.

I think Oregon is going to be good for a long time and USC is never going to be the PAC 10 hegemon it was (especially if Harbaugh sticks around at Stanford). But Oregon can't ever quite be USC.

I give a pass to pretty much all of you here because none of you really know much about the PAC nor havent really followed it. LA Ute has shown that despite living there for 30 years he knows little. Obviously, HFN knows the PAC.

I remember when Wazzou had its run and everyone was heralding the end of the era for UCLA of all teams. Wazzou was going to be good for a long time. UCLA had been a behemoth in the PAC for years. Now look at both of those schools. Don James and the Huskies, same story.

Stanford has had Harbaugh and yet to convert to even one PAC title, let alone sniffing a national championship.

I guess what I am saying is that history does not support your notion that a school will not be the 800 pound gorilla in the conference ever again. If anything, PAC history tells us that it is inevitable, not impossible. The PAC has generally been about runs by the same schools over and over, but in cycles.

[Green Monstah]

I think "placeholder for USC" is more appropriate. Once USC gets off probation I think we'll see a shift back to the Trojans. Eugene is a nice place, but I reckon it's pretty hard to convince a kid, all else being equal, to come to Eugene over SoCal.

[happyone]

In my completely uninformed opinion - NO

USC has consistantly been a force in college football since the '20s/30s. IMO this is what makes USC - USC. They same thing can be said about a few other programs also - Ohio State, Oklahoma, Michigan, Notre Dame and a few others. Until Oregon has a few decades of top flight football they won't be another USC.

[ERCougar]

It still feels weird to hear about USC's "history". I mean, I know about it, obviously, but all my years growing up, USC kind of sucked, so it sort of feels like what ND must seem to today's teenagers. To me, USC has been a football power since about 2000, or the year after whatever year it was that Utah beat them.

EDIT: I guess it's all relative. It looks like they still had a few Rose Bowl wins in the 80s.

[LA Ute]

I give a pass to pretty much all of you here because none of you really know much about the PAC nor havent really followed it.

Well, for most of us, the school (or schools) we actually attended, and the conferences they are in, are our main focus and not an afterthought. We realize that is different for you. Maybe you should have just gone to USC, since that is clearly where your heart lies.

[TripletDaddy]

It still feels weird to hear about USC's "history". I mean, I know about it, obviously, but all my years growing up, USC kind of sucked, so it sort of feels like what ND must seem to today's teenagers. To me, USC has been a football power since about 2000, or the year after whatever year it was that Utah beat them.

EDIT: I guess it's all relative. It looks like they still had a few Rose Bowl wins in the 80s.

Since 1970 (not sure what year you were born) SC has played in 17 Rose Bowls.

That is by far more than any other PAC or B10 school.