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There really isn’t much hidden upside to USC’s stunning collapse in Corvallis Thursday night.  No happy unintended consequences or silver lining.

It was bad.  Very, very bad.

But it could have been worse.  By the time Sunday morning rolled around, what seemed like a shoe-in for the most dramatic, shocking, news generating loss of the college football weekend had some company.  First, Mississippi went into The Swamp and knocked off #4 Florida, 31-30.  Then Alabama went into #3 Georgia and absolutely dominated the Bulldogs, going up by as much as 41-17 before UGA scored a pair of late and ultimately meaningless touchdowns.  The Crimson Tide arrived in Athens highly ranked themselves, but by kicking the hell out of their conference brethren, made a serious statement and did damage to the reputation of a top team.

When it was all said and done, the Trojans dropped to ninth in both polls, behind unbeatens including Oklahoma, LSU, Alabama, Missouri, Texas, Texas Tech, and Penn State.  BYU slid ahead of USC, and South Florida is knocking at the door.  This is still bad news.  But had Georgia and Florida both won, the resumes of two major challengers for a BCS title- at least in the eyes of pollsters- would have been greatly enhanced, helping them out should a stumble come later in the year.

Again, there is no upside to the Oregon State game.  USC will (and did and should) suffer greatly from it in their pursuit of a national title.  Given the strength of the SEC and Big 12 compared to the Pac-10, the Trojans are almost certain to suffer in any head-to-head comparison of one-loss teams.

But at least they had company.

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