What about this season?

This season is an exceptional case. With the expectation level so high after winning the 2004 national championship and returning virtually the entire offense, including the Heisman Trophy winner and another Heisman Trophy finalist (Bush), anything less than winning the 2005 national championship would be a disappointment. However, I would still consider the season successful if USC made it to the Rose Bowl, regardless of the outcome. Of course, my confidence in USC’s chances of if they go to the Rose Bowl is high given Carroll’s track record in BCS bowls, the coaching staff’s proven ability to construct excellent game plans when given extended time to prepare, and the team’s tendency to steadily improve over the course of the season until peaking for the bowl game.

Therefore, even though the team is 9-0 and has already beaten Notre Dame in possibly the best college football game of the year, it is too early to say that USC has had a successful season. In fact, should the team lose one of its last three games, the season would be a disappointment based on this season’s exceptionally high expectation level, and will probably even be a disappointment based on the standard criteria I outlined in the preceding post.

Of course, all I’m thinking about this week is beating Cal. Beat the Bears!