I just got back from the Rose Bowl, where UCLA lost tonight to the worst Notre Dame team in the history of college football. UCLA's offense collapsed and gave up six turnovers after Ben Olsen was sacked and injured his knee. The coaches threw backup quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson into the fire, and things went downhill from there. McLeod (apparently pronounced "Mc-Cloud") turned the ball over five times and made a number of terrible interceptions, which Notre Dame (a crummy team, to be sure) eventually managed to take advantage of. The UCLA defense played lights-out, and gave up very few points. But when your offense is actively hurting your cause, you are going to lose. It was too much to ask of a guy with absolutely no prior experience running Karl Dorrell's mind-numbingly complex West Coast Offense.

But right now I'm torn. The feelings of disgust have set in from the ND game. UCLA's football team has been frustratingly inconsistent for as long as I remember, and, like its head coach, incredibly uninspiring. At the same time...


I am thrilled for my "other" school, Stanford. Unbelievably, they've just taken down USC, 24-23, AT THE COLISEUM, in a 17 point 4th quarter comeback with a freshman backup quarterback who had never taken a snap... Many had tried and come close, like Cal in 2005 and Washington State in 2006, but none had actually succeeded in conquering Sauron within the Black Gates of Mordor. SC had not lost there in six years and was favored by six touchdowns over Stanford, arguably the worst team in the Pac-10. (Strangely enough, the last time they lost there was also to Stanford.. that was back when Stanford was good.)

I have been trying to figure out how this happened, but it sounds like a perfect storm had to converge this evening:

• Stanford's starting quarterback, T.C. Ostrander, suffered a seizure while sitting in a restaurant last week, and was replaced by inexperienced freshman Tavitha Pritchard, whose uncle just happens to be some dude named the Throwin' Samoan;
• John David Booty cracked a finger during the game and continued to play;
• USC was depleted by injuries at offensive line and running back due to injuries last week in the Washington game;
• USC missed an extra point after scoring a touchdown;
• late in the second quarter, Stanford made at stand at their 1-yard line and forced USC to turn over the ball on downs
• USC committed 5 turnovers (!);
• USC could not run the ball on Stanford (!!);
• Stanford scored in the last minute of the 4th quarter (completing the 17-point 4th quarter comeback), and Pritchard completed passes on 4th and 17 (!!!) and again on 4th and 10 (!!!!) at the goal line.

The chances of all these things occurring at the same has to be one in a million. Of course, SC has gotten fat and arrogant and complacent in its glory too. But seriously, what are the chances? I'm happy for Jim Harbaugh's young program. I won't gloat as much over the fact that SC lost, because as much as I hate to admit it, Pete Carroll really has built up something special across town, and when you're on top, everyone is always looking for you to trip up. But it's also shocking to see that program come crashing back to earth.

Anyway, the blind optimist in me says that UCLA is still 3-0 and tied for first in the Pac-10 conference. The realist in me says that UCLA gets crushed at the Rose Bowl in two weeks by now-#2 ranked Cal.