After watching our victory over ASU this Saturday, I will be leaving ABC on for the ESPN game of the week: USC/Oregon.  But besides rooting for some freak all-out stadium brawl that disqualifies both teams from the BCS forever, what is the best possible outcome for the Cal fan?  Should we root for USC or Oregon?

Here are some things to consider:

(1)  USC needs to lose twice in order for Cal to jump them in the conference race.  Oregon needs to lose three times.  Since it is somewhat more feasible to think that USC will lose one more game than Oregon to lose two more games, the advantage here goes towards rooting for Oregon.  That is, if Oregon beats USC, and USC then loses one more game while Cal wins out, then Cal may take 2nd in the conference (Holiday Bowl, sigh).

Message: Root for Oregon

(2)  BUT, both USC and Oregon have a few more difficult games on their schedule (as does Cal).  Oregon's end of the season schedule includes Stanford, Arizona, AND Oregon State.  Stanford and Arizona, moreover, are away games for the Ducks.  USC finishes the season with only tough games against Arizona and Stanford.  And both of those are at home.  USC's end of the season is significantly easier than Oregon's.

Message: Root for USC

(3) Of course, both of these scenarios revolve around rooting for Cal to take 2nd place.  If you still believe in a Rose Bowl berth, THEN the most feasible situation I can imagine is Oregon beating USC, then losing those tough away games plus Oregon State, while USC loses to Arizona.

Message: Root for Oregon

So to my mind Oregon would be the better choice.  Plus, I think USC, not Oregon, is a bigger recruit competitor for Cal.  Plus, I hate USC with a passion, and I'm kind of ambivalent about Oregon.  Who are you going to root for?