A few weeks ago, I was convinced that the USC football team was more overrated than the iPhone, so I pitched a column to a few of our editors on the vulnerabilities of the so-called best college football team of all time.
I figured the inexperience at wide receiver and the shaky-talent of quarterback John David Booty would ultimately cause the Trojans to lose a game during the rigorous Pac-10 schedule.
Our news editor flat out told me I would lose all my credibility if I wrote that column, (which surprised me, because it implied that I had credibility to begin with), so I decided to hold off.
Little did we know, a perennial Pac-10 conference cellar-dweller — the Stanford Cardinal — would be the first team to not believe the hype and upset USC 24-23 over the weekend.
The news of the loss shocked everyone in the country, including the No. 13 ASU football team, who had absolutely dominated the Cardinal by 38 points the week before.
"It just goes to show you, on any given Saturday any team can beat you," ASU senior captain Josh Barrett said after a recent practice. "You have to be ready to play."
While the Trojans went through the motions against their 40-point underdog opponent, Stanford came out with everything to gain and nothing to lose.
Led by head coach Jim Harbaugh (the guy who called USC the best team in college football history) and the whistle he wore around his neck, the Cardinal and their starting backup quarterback made two crucial plays on fourth down in the fourth quarter to win the game.
And I thought all the drama in Los Angeles involved Kobe Bryant, Britney Spears' child-custody battle or the cast of "The Hills." Boy was I wrong.
Now that one of the Pac-10 front-runners has fallen victim to a monumental upset, the conference is open for the taking, and the Sun Devils (6-0, 3-0 Pac-10) have to like their chances of competing for a title with their highest AP ranking in years.
"It's something to be proud of, but it's not something to be comfortable with," Barrett said. "We have to stay focused, and with this next game, we have to want it more than any other game."
Besides intending to have more desire than the visiting the Washington Huskies, ASU must stop talented red-shirt freshman quarterback Jake Locker in order to stay undefeated.
"He's explosive and he makes plays," Barrett said. "He has a target on his chest — we have to stop him."
While Locker is a marked-man this coming Saturday, Barrett and his teammates have been looking forward to playing against tough Pac-10 teams like Washington, after watching their previous games on TV.
"There's a lot of respect for the other teams in the Pac-10, but there's also that [thought] where you want to get out there and play them," he said. "I look at it as if I were watching the games in a film room."
Not only has Barrett been impressed with UW, the conference as a whole has been exciting to watch, with junior wide receiver DeSean Jackson of Cal, and Oregon's offense catching his attention as well.
Considering the league's top to bottom depth, especially with four teams currently ranked in the top-14, the Pac-10 conference championship is more available than Bret Michaels, from the VH1 show "Rock of Love."
Every top team in the conference, even No. 10 USC, feels like they have the same chance of getting to either the Rose Bowl or better.
And with six tough games left on their schedule, the Sun Devils are now in position to make a run for the roses.
"We want to get to 7-0, that's the main thing. [We need to] take advantage of the bye week and get as healthy as possible, and then take it week by week and get that BCS bid," Barrett said.
If that's the case, Sun Devil nation, get your popcorn ready and party like its 1997.
Send me your best one-liners at edward.price@asu.edu
