USC makes case for BCS title-game shot

There were two plots being played out Saturday night at the Coliseum: the one on the field and the one in the tangled Bowl Championship Series crabgrass.

USC won the game, beating Notre Dame, 44-24, in a matchup that in not one way compared to last year’s thriller in South Bend, Ind.

But what did the rest mean?

That’s what college football experts and bowl representatives were trying to sort out -- and not doing a good job of it.

Did USC’s impressive win secure a trip to the Jan. 8 BCS national title game against Ohio State?

Yes, but ...

But what?

Yes, but USC still has to beat UCLA on Saturday.

Trojans Coach Pete Carroll, who pretends not to care anything about the BCS, did manage to sneak in a plug for his team’s national-title credentials.

“We played a heck of a schedule, I don’t know what more we can do,” Carroll said. “Let the system figure it out.”

Did the lopsided defeat cost Notre Dame an opportunity to earn its first Rose Bowl bid since 1925?

“I can’t answer that,” Mitch Dorger, Rose Bowl chief executive, said from home moments after Saturday’s result became official.

That decision might ultimately come down to: What other choices will the Rose Bowl have?

“The weekend was full of surprises and the options clearly narrowed,” Dorger said.

Is 11-1 Florida or 11-1 Michigan happy about the way BCS affairs are headed?

Um, that’s a big no.

A weekend of wacky results -- with three top-10 BCS teams losing -- has cleared out several teams and identified others.

Eliminated from at-large consideration were No. 7 West Virginia, No. 6 Arkansas, and even the second-place team from the Big 12 Conference.

Confused?

The BCS wouldn’t have it any other way.

USC began the weekend ranked third in the BCS standings behind Ohio State and Michigan.

The Trojans, perhaps as soon as today, will jump Michigan into the No. 2 spot.

There appears to be little doubt about this.

Michigan’s regular season is over.

USC was already No. 2 in both BCS human polls, Harris and the USA Today coaches’, and now has a win over BCS No. 5 Notre Dame, with UCLA still ahead.

The Trojans figure to increase their poll lead over Michigan and can, either this week or next, expect to jump from No. 3 in the computers into Michigan’s No. 2 spot.

So, if USC beats UCLA, the Trojans can start packing for Glendale -- the city in Arizona.

There would be some Gator-gnashing should Florida defeat Arkansas on Saturday and become the one-loss champion of the Southeastern Conference.

Florida is No. 4 in the BCS and believes it should be in line to play Ohio State.

The Gators, though, were not impressive in a 21-14 win over unranked Florida State and, afterward, were asked about losing style points.

“Here’s our style,” Coach Urban Meyer said to reporters. “You got at Tennessee, you’ve got Kentucky, you’ve got Alabama, LSU, Georgia and Auburn and at Tallahassee. So much for style.... If that’s what’s making decisions, then I’m going to stand by my comment from a week ago. Implode it. It’s over.”

Didn’t Meyer know that this was the first year of the BCS’ new four-year deal?

The Rose Bowl situation, meanwhile, is clear as mud.

If USC plays Ohio State in the BCS title game, the Rose Bowl will get the first two replacement selections for losing its anchor teams.

The Rose Bowl would take Michigan and ... ?

OK, tap, tap, tap, we’re waiting.

The logical choices would be Notre Dame, the Big East Conference champion -- Rutgers or Louisville -- or the probable highest-ranked non-champion from the SEC, Louisiana State.

The Rose Bowl could also consider three-loss California if the Bears somehow earn eligibility by finishing in the top 14 of the final BCS standings.

Cal was 19th this week.

Rose Bowl officials attending Saturday’s game were privately hoping Notre Dame could keep the USC game close enough to warrant an offer.

Emotions fluctuated with every Trojans touchdown and Notre Dame counterattack, with the end result producing quizzical shrugs.

Michigan beat Notre Dame, 47-21, at South Bend in September and the BCS normally frowns on rematches.

The Rose Bowl, though, has to be thinking Notre Dame if only because Michigan-Notre Dame might be the most attractive game it can make.

A lot, Dorger said, will depend on what happens next.

“It’ll be interesting to see where everyone stands after the polls come out,” he said.

If Notre Dame doesn’t go to the Rose Bowl, the Irish will still, at 10-2, probably earn a BCS at-large bid -- probably in the Sugar Bowl.

They are, in the end, Notre Dame.

One bowl scenario is clear: Boise State, which beat Nevada, probably clinched an automatic bid to a BCS game.

Boise State, ranked No. 11 in the BCS last week, needs to finish in the top 12 -- and that seems a done deal.

In this year’s BCS bowl rotation, Boise State would play the winner of the Big 12 -- Oklahoma or Nebraska -- in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1.

So what happens if USC loses to UCLA next week?

Don’t ask.

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chris.dufresne@latimes.com