Michael Ventre

“We’re No. 2!”

The chant is deafening, not because of the passion of a particular team’s fans, but because so many teams’ fans can probably make the claim. Actually, the chant should be “We SHOULD be No. 2!” because California is the temporary No. 2 team behind unbeaten LSU — until the next weekend massacre in college football.

USC clung to the No. 2 spot with the desperation of a man hanging from a ledge by his fingernails, or better yet, make that a woman by her fake fingernails. Jim Harbaugh and his eggheads came to the Coliseum Sunday and stomped on USC’s hands. Remember, this is the same Harbaugh who claimed USC was the greatest college football team ever. He looks pretty silly now!

But in a season of continuous upheaval, the No. 2 spot behind the Tigers is up for grabs. It means nothing, of course, because there’s plenty of season left. But as all of those who follow this stuff as closely as investors follow the stock market know, it’s never too soon to project which two lucky contestants will be selected for the BCS championship game on January 8 at the Superdome.

LSU appears to be one of them, especially after it cleared the Florida hurdle in stirring fashion.

But second fiddle figures to be played by one of these teams: California, Ohio State, South Florida, Oklahoma, Boston College, and yes, even two-loss Florida. In fact, of all of those teams, Florida is probably the second-best team in the nation. But the Gators have two losses now and that's too tough an obstacle to overcome for anyone.

And although there is an outside chance now No. 10 USC could redeem itself and engineer a comeback to the No. 2 spot, don’t count on it. The loss to Stanford was too stunning, too embarrassing and too unforgettable.

They say you have to hit bottom in order to realize you have a problem. The Trojans hit bottom on Saturday, and their problems in the intangible areas of confidence and cohesion don’t figure to get solved in time to become dominant, especially when they still have to face Notre Dame, Oregon, Cal and Arizona State on the road.

No, the likely No. 2 will probably end up being …

Special feature Florida faces SEC upset

Ohio State. Simply put, they’re good, and they have a smoother path.

Cal is an excellent team, but it still has some prime opportunities to stumble, especially at UCLA (although the Bruins’ QB situation is in shambles because of injuries), at Arizona State and at home to an eager-to-redeem-themselves-nationally group of Trojans.

Oklahoma is also a superb contender. Although the Sooners toughed out a win against Texas, there’s still that bitter aftertaste of the Colorado loss in voters’ minds. And there’s no guarantee they’ll beat Missouri on Saturday.

South Florida and Boston College still need to win over some doubters on a national level.

Meanwhile, Ohio State has the team and the pedigree. The Buckeyes just keep motoring along, knocking off would-be threats like Purdue. They’re a lot better than the roadblocks they have coming up – Michigan State, Penn State, Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan – yet all of those teams have enough national credibility so that the Buckeyes will impress the pollsters after they roll over them.

College football Two-man race with Tebow, McFadden

There are still two months and a lot of games left. But as of right now, barring an unforeseen calamity — a road surprise at Kentucky or Alabama, perhaps? — the LSU Tigers will run the table and retain their No. 1 ranking. And Ohio State fans, at least at this juncture, can be fairly confident that making travel arrangements now will not result in a loss of their deposits.

This was supposed to be the year of the quarterback. Actually, every year is the year of the quarterback. Those pretty boys get way too much credit.

Except this year
The signal-callers who were supposed to have their likenesses carved into college football’s Mount Passmore instead have been underwhelming.

John David Booty of USC has shown flashes of dazzling talent. But he has looked awful against Washington and now Stanford, and there are calls in some quarters for his benching in favor of Mark Sanchez. He went from Heisman Trophy candidate to a statue positioned underneath flocks of boo birds in a relatively short period of time.

Brian Brohm of Louisville is having a fine statistical year, with 20 touchdown passes and only four interceptions. He’s completing 67 percent of his passes. But his team is 3-3 under his leadership, and these Cardinals were supposed to contend for the national title.

Chad Henne of Michigan has been tarred with the brush of losing to Appalachian State and Oregon. Colt McCoy of Texas is 0-2 in the Big 12. Kentucky’s Andre Woodson looked shaky in a loss to South Carolina on Thursday, committing a couple of key errors that led to the Wildcats’ first loss. Hawaii’s Colt Brennan, just as anticipated, is doing well, but he performs out there somewhere in the Pacific, and at late hours. And he got hurt last week. And his team hasn’t beaten anyone of note.

Who wants to be considered the top quarterback in the land? Anybody?

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