USCw - Petey has some words for the gators...

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With Pac-10 schools going 14-16 against non-conference foes (including an embarrassing 1-6 mark against the Mountain West); with half the conference under .500; with the Washington schools playing their worst football in a generation, the BCS computers could not have been less impressed with the Trojans' seven Pac-10 victories.

"But at least they're in the Pac-10," Carroll interrupted, as I ticked off the woes of the Bruins and Cougars and Huskies. "What conference is The Citadel in?"

A millisecond later, he was spouting assurances that he had nothing but respect for The Citadel (a member, incidentally, of the Southern Conference, one of the strongest leagues in the FCS, formerly known as I-AA). But the battle was joined.

"Who's better?" he asked, "Oregon State or Ole Miss?" Which team is more deserving of a shot at the national title, in other words: the team that lost to the Beavers in Corvallis, or the one that got rolled by Mississippi in their own Swamp?

"Oregon State is vying for a conference championship. What's Ole Miss doing?"

Carroll's main point: Before we reflexively concede that SEC teams play stronger schedules than the rest of the world, cast an objective eye on their slate of non-conference opponents. While Florida deserves credit for taking on Florida State, and even Hawaii -- a Sugar Bowl team last season -- the Gators also enjoyed a mid-November exhibition against The Citadel. Georgia hosted Georgia Southern, South Carolina waxed Wofford, LSU welcomed Appalachian State. Mississippi's eight victories included romps past Memphis, Samford and Louisiana-Monroe. Wins over those same ULM Warhawks, and Tennessee-Martin, couldn't save the job of Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville.

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