USC football: Pat Haden favors playoff
The Bowl Championship Series appears clearly headed toward a playoff, which is fine with USC Athletic Director Pat Haden.
“I have been an advocate for a playoff for a long time,” Haden told the school’s athletic department website. “All the arguments that have been put out there against a playoff can be refuted.”
Haden, a former USC and NFL quarterback, played on Trojans teams that won national titles in 1972 and 1974.
USC finished atop the Associated Press and United Press International polls in 1972. In 1974, the Trojans finished second behind Oklahoma in the AP poll but atop the UPI poll. UPI did not rank Oklahoma at all because the Sooners were on probation.
USC, under third-year Coach Lane Kiffin, is expected to begin the season at or near the top of 2012 preseason polls.
The Trojans, led by quarterback Matt Barkley, open the season Sept. 1 against Hawaii.
This season’s BCS championship game will be played in Florida, where the Trojans won their only BCS title by defeating Oklahoma in the 2005 title game.
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USC football: Pat Haden favors playoff
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