Yesterday, I read on ESPN.com that Trojan offensive guard Jeff Byers—although a senior already—will have not a fifth, but a sixth year of eligibility. This is great news for the USC offense. Byers has been a stalwart on the line all year, and is an examplary student as well as athlete. Coaches praise his work ethic; he was a walk on who earned his way to a starting position. Not only does he grind it out on the practice field, but he (to borrow a Ben Stiller quote) likes to break a mental sweat as well. With a 3.27 GPA and already having earned his B.A. in Business Administration, Byers is currently working towards his masters degree. He is also a candidate for the Lowe’s Senior Class award, which recognizes all-around excellence in Senior athletes.

This offseason, Byers plans to gain 15 points and reach 305. With his athleticism and experience, Byers will surely be a major anchor in next year’s line. He was one of two offensive starters expected to leave after the Rose Bowl (along with Patrick Turner). Now, the O-line returns all its starters, and the offense only loses one wide receiver. With a year of starting experience under Mark Sanchez’s belt, and an O-line with plenty of chemistry, who knows what next year’s Trojans can accomplish?

So, after all the ranting I’ve heard about the BCS being inefficient, and my own ranting (on bleacherreport.com) that the Pac-10 is better than it looks, I decided to put myself to the test.

Throughout the season, I have argued that it was the Pac-10’s difficult non-conference schedule that made them seem weak. By splitting the number of games that they have won, the Pac-1o made themselves look worse than the incestuous SEC. The Big 12 I give some respect to. They played a few tough games outside of their conference. The SEC, however, continues to ride their reputation as a strong conference, and has yet to prove themselves in bowl play.

So now that you have the background to my argument, here’s what is really important: the stats. For the next two weeks, I will be logging a comparison of the Pac-10 versus the two “strongest” conferences in the NCAA. Hopefully, I will be proven correct in that conference strength means nothing when comparing an incestuous conference to one that actually plays difficult out-of-conference games. If I’m proven wrong, you may not hear from me for a while.

Pac – 10 Bowl Results

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Hey Everyone,

Welcome to USCConquest.com, soon to be the best source for USC Athletics (Southern California, not those Carolina imposters). Discussion is not only acceptable here, but encouraged. If anyone wants to make posts on the blog, you’re more than welcome to. Just email me and I’ll set you up.

I figure I can bore you a little bit about myself now since from here on out I’ll be keeping it strictly to sports. I’m a born and bred New Englander, but a USC Trojan as well. I bleed Cardinal and Gold on Saturdays, Red White and Blue on Sundays. That’s right, I am a fan of possibly the most hated team in their respective sports leagues, and damn proud of it. Once in a while I may sneak in some Patriots commentary. As some of my friends would say, “don’t hate”. I can’t very well comment on football and completely leave out a team that created my love for football.

As far as my upcoming posts go, I’m going to be keeping a running log of my reactions to several of the bowl games, and their impact (if any) on USC Football. Also, look for a preview/recap of the USC-Georgia Tech basketball game. This is their second big regular season matchup of the year, after narrowly losing to Oklahoma. Look to the Trojans to step up on this one.

Until Next Time,
Fight On!
Mitch
(BEAT THE LIONS!)