Ridiculously off base

While reading my blogs earlier today, I was a little stunned to see USC coach Pete Carroll refer to his team's Pac 10 schedule as "ridiculously difficult." I thought I was missing something, so I checked the latest AP Poll. Other Pac 10 teams besides USC in the rankings? Zero. The current record of USC's conference opponents: 15-17.

A closer look at the "ridiculously difficult" schedule the Trojans face entering tonight:

tonight, at Oregon State (1-2)
The Beavers have won two of the last three in Corvallis, but opponents have score 30 or more points in Oregon State's two losses. Penn State finished with 454 total yards in a 45-14 victory.

10/4 vs. Oregon (3-1)
Beat Washington 44-10 in their season opener, but gave up 424 total yards in last week's 37-32 loss to Boise State.

10/11 vs. Arizona State (2-2)
Lost to UNLV 23-20 and had four yards rushing in last week's 27-10 loss to Georgia.

10/18 at Wash. State (1-3)
Its first win came against Portland State, a championship subdivision team.

10/25 at Arizona (3-1)
Wins over Idaho and Toledo, and opened Pac 10 play with a 31-10 victory over UCLA, which was 4-of-17 on third down conversions and had 196 total yards.

11/1 vs. Washington (0-3)
The Huskies' 41-point loss to Oklahoma was its largest at home since a 48-0 loss to USC in 1929.

11/8 vs. Cal (2-1)
Cal lost to a Maryland team whose only loss is to Middle Tennessee State (1-3).

11/15 at Stanford (2-2)
Jim Harbaugh's team has a bright future, but lost to Arizona State 41-17 and allowed San Jose State to control the clock longer in last week's 23-10 win.

12/6 at UCLA (1-2)
BYU finished with 521 total yards in a 59-0 victory over the Bruins.

-Trae Thompson