By Arash Markazi

The reason the 2002 squad gets so much leeway from the computers (they also finished a close second in the New York Times rankings) despite their 3-2 start was they played one of the toughest schedules in recent memory with nine of their 13 opponents ranked in the Top 25 and their two losses were by a combined 10 points on the road against Kansas State and Washington State, two teams that finished the season ranked in the top 10.

USC finished the year by rolling off eight straight wins, scoring at least 30 points in each victory, including blowing out their last three opponents -- No. 25 UCLA, 52-21, No. 7 Notre Dame, 44-13, and No. 3 Iowa, 38-17, in the Orange Bowl.

Pete Carroll has often pointed to the October stretch in 2002 as the time when USC discovered its current invincible attitude and morphed from a good team to a great one. Following a difficult overtime loss to Washington State on Oct. 5, the Trojans found themselves down 21-3 to Cal the following week at the Coliseum. Staring at a possible 3-3 record, the Trojans scored 27 unanswered points and won, 30-28. The following week against No. 22 Washington, USC scored 27 unanswered points after a 7-7 first quarter on its way to a 41-21 win and then rattled off 30 unanswered points the next week in a 44-33 win over No. 14 Oregon at Autzen Stadium after trailing 19-14 at the half. It was during those stretch of games that Carson Palmer went from being a perennial disappointment to a Heisman winner, and a freshman receiver from Florida named Mike Williams went from home sick to just plain sick. Since that loss to Washington State, USC has won 44 of its last 45 games, putting together one of the best runs in college football history.

Despite the possibility of being the top team in Matthews' ratings for the fourth straight season, the Trojans wouldn't consider this year's national championship as being a "Four-Peat." The USC athletic department says it doesn't recognize Matthews' ranking as a "legitimate" national title. There is, however, still some hope for the seniors who graduated in 2002. Ttwo years ago, USC finally recognized the 1939 Trojans football team (8-0-2) as being national champions despite Texas A&M (11-0-0) being widely considered the champions that season. The only ranking USC came in first after that season was the Dickinson System, a mathematical point formula devised by Illinois economics professor Frank G. Dickinson, which is similar to the one used by Matthews. So, who knows, maybe it will take 65 years, but Palmer and Polamalu might still have a shot at getting one of those national championship rings that eluded them while they were at USC.

Three Units of Knowledge

Keeping with the USC theme, here are three factoids about the Trojans that I think are just as impressive as their current 33-game winning streak.

- Since 2002, USC is undefeated in regulation in its last 47 games, losing at Washington State, 30-27, in overtime in 2002 and at California, 34-31, in triple overtime in 2003. Their last loss in regulation was at Kansas State, 27-20, on Sept. 21, 2002. Think about that for a second. Had kicker Ryan Killeen connected on his field goals in both overtime losses, USC might be going into this weekend's game against UCLA looking to break Oklahoma's 47-game winning streak from 1953-57, which is the longest in NCAA history.

- One of the reasons USC has been so successful during that stretch has been its high-scoring offense. The Trojans have scored at least 22 points in their last 48 games. During this stretch USC has scored 30 or more points 39 times, 40 or more 29 times, 50 or more 10 times and 60 or more three times, including their 70-17 rout of Arkansas this season.

- While the Trojans have won their games by an average margin of three touchdowns under Carroll, their largest margin of defeat was a 27-16 loss at Notre Dame on Oct. 20, 2001. Even in that game USC held a 16-10 lead in the third quarter before Carroll went for a curious fake punt at his own 28-yard line that was stopped, giving the Irish the momentum as they scored 17 unanswered points. Besides that loss, Carroll has lost his other eight games as a college head coach by a total of 31 points, an average margin of just under four points per game. In fact, Carroll's first season in 2001 was the only time in USC history that a team lost five games by five points or fewer and the first time that it lost twice in the final 12 seconds. Basically, what this all means is that while Carroll has been the coach, USC has been in a position to win every game in the fourth quarter, an impressive stretch when you consider he's coached 61 games over the course of five seasons.

Link Monkey

- Florida fans might be the loudest bunch in college football, but for the sake of their poor, poor professors, they should act like they are in a library and keep it down during games.

- Brown isn't the only school in Rhode Island churning out geniuses. Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane, who graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design, showcased what would later become his hit cartoon as a student film. Check it outhere and  here.

- Closest field goal ever. Couldn't you at least give him 1.5 points for that try?

- So this guy wasn't an English major, but even my cousin, who's in the fifth grade, got this one pretty quickly.

- The hottest pastime on college campuses this season? Dressing up like Burger King and causing trouble. Here's the best example I've seen.

- Why Peanut Butter Jelly Time! might not always be the best time.

- Yes! Yes! Yes! For the love of God, yes, already!

Drop/Add

Drop: Nick and Jessica

Add: Eva and Tony

Although it broke my heart to hear that Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson split during Thanksgiving Break it was time to move on from the not so newlyweds and focus on the couple of the moment, Eva Longoria and San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker. They have been together for about a year now, which is like, eight in celebrity years I think, and are reportedly close to tying the knot. Things are so serious that Longoria even has Parker's initials tattooed in an intimate area of her body. "I'm not saying where it is," she said. "But let's just say he gets to view it on a regular basis." So does that mean she's been T.P.ed?

Drop: Courtesy Invites

Add: Genuine Invites

Around this time of year you will hear various reporters and analysts claim that this player and that player "at least deserves an invite to New York" for the Heisman Trophy ceremonies. I've never understood this argument. Why would anyone want to see or hear from guys like Marcus Robinson or Drew Olson on Dec. 10, when the only players who have a shot at winning the trophy are Reggie Bush, Vince Young and Matt Leinart? Inviting anyone other than those three to the ceremony would be akin to the time Chris Perry was invited to the show in 2003 when, again, there were only three players in the running (Jason White, Larry Fitzgerald and Eli Manning). As expected, Perry looked ridiculous sitting amongst the finalists as he came in a distant fourth, finishing with just seven percent of the vote, putting him closer to last place than third.