Michael Ventre

It might indeed be way too early to draw a definitive conclusion as to which team is worthy of the No. 1 spot. But it’s never too soon to inflame a rivalry that is in its infancy and gaining strength by the day.

The USC-LSU thing is percolating, but hardly boiling over. It’s only the second week, after all. There’s plenty of time for ill will to build up before the national championship game in New Orleans, where both of those fine universities hope to send representatives.

But on Saturday, the LSU Tigers sat at the poker table and declared, “We’ll raise you one blowout of Virginia Tech.”

Now USC will have to peer out of its poker face and respond, using its date Saturday against Nebraska in Lincoln as chips.

Back in the day — the 1980s, to be exact — the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics played each other even when they weren’t playing each other. They scoreboard-watched like mad fools, keeping a constant focus on what the others were doing.

They are not alone in the annals of sports. The Yankees and Red Sox have a long history of playing entire seasons with one eye on whichever club happened to be the opponent that day and the other on what their rivals were doing. Same for the Patriots and Colts. And in college football, it wasn’t long ago that USC and Texas ran neck and neck all the way to their titanic Rose Bowl clash for the title, won in dramatic fashion by Vince Young and his supporting cast of Longhorns.

USC is ranked No. 1, LSU No. 2. Lee Corso gushed over the Tigers during Saturday night’s thrashing of the Hokies and said that those positions should be reversed, but after all, he’s Corso. Enough said.

The fact is that LSU looked terrific. Much has been made of the mighty Tigers defense, and that unit certainly deserves kudos. But quarterback Matt Flynn is in charge of a multi-pronged offense that is efficient and at times devastating. LSU’s offense should get equal billing on the marquee with its defense.

Whether you believe Virginia Tech was as worthy of its No. 9 ranking going into Baton Rouge as Michigan was of its No. 5 rating when it welcomed Appalachian State, the fact remains that LSU laid down one heck of an opening bid.

So now it’s USC’s turn. It will have to make enough of a statement Saturday to keep the majority of pollsters from defecting to the LSU camp, or for that matter, to that of Oklahoma, which is No. 5 with a bullet.

The Trojans opened with a passable practice-game performance at the Coliseum against Idaho, in which coach Pete Carroll seemed more interested in getting his freshmen some reps on the big stage than he was in getting everyone in “A” game mode. Then they had a bye. Facing the improved Cornhuskers amid a sea of red will represent the Trojans’ first true test.

After the 2003 season, LSU beat Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl to capture the BCS championship, but there was some mild grumbling and resentment because USC defeated Michigan in the Rose Bowl and won the Associated Press version of the title. Split championships never sit well with either side.

Then this year, LSU coach Les Miles made a crack to some alums about USC’s Pac-10 schedule, which stoked the fire some more.

None of this figures to be lost on the Trojans or the Tigers, as each week will bring another opportunity for the schools to ante up.

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