Carroll wants a playoff system
USC players went nearly silent when the BCS pairings showed the Rose Bowl selected unheralded Illinois to play the Trojans on New Year's Day, so a staff member clapped and yelled in an effort to generate enthusiasm.
But USC coach Pete Carroll created enough interest on his own Sunday with his comments criticizing BCS system.
"The format doesn't allow for who's playing the best at the end of the season," Carroll said. "All playoff systems have that in mind and that is not what (the BCS) has in mind. The BCS never had that in mind."
Carroll tried without success to lobby USC up the rankings, but the Trojans fell short in the final BCS poll at No. 7. They were even leapfrogged over the weekend by Oklahoma, which defeated then top-ranked Missouri.
"It will be a really interesting offseason," Carroll said. "This is a really good illustration for continued discussions."
Carroll said he doesn't know how a playoff system would work and it's not his job to provide a solution.
"I'm not griping about it, I'm just saying how I think it should work," he said. "We can't control the BCS, so we go with what we have within our reach."
Right now, that's the Rose Bowl. Illinois was a controversial selection at least for fans who wanted a more glamorous matchup.
The Rose Bowl was not allowed to select No. 5-ranked Georgia because of a rule that protected SEC teams from being selected by someone other than the Sugar Bowl
once LSU went to the BCS title game. Florida was also not an option under that rule, which was passed when Iowa was selected in the 2003 Orange Bowl to play USC. That forced the Rose Bowl to select Oklahoma.
But the Rose Bowl selected 13th-ranked Illinois, which barely qualified for consideration by one spot, over West Virginia, Boston College, Kansas, Missouri and Hawaii.
"We looked very carefully at the quality of all the teams and the way teams ended the year and the way Illinois ended, it's a great matchup," Rose Bowl CEO Mitch Dorger said. "We've always told people there are a number of factors. No. 1 is to maintain a Big Ten-Pac 10 relationship."
Other factors include how attractive the game will be on TV and whether a team will boost ticket sales.
"We felt there would be great interest from the Chicago area and from their students," Dorger said.
The Trojans were already guarding against a possible letdown against Illinois.
Illinois coach Ron Zook went 2-10 last season and 9-3 this year, the biggest one-season improvement in Illinois history. Its biggest victory was a 28-21 victory over Ohio State last month.
"We're a lot like USC. We feel we played our best football at the end of the year."
Also: Tailback Allen Bradford and cornerback Vincent Joseph did not dress for the UCLA game because they were suspended for having too many negative points for missing class/tutoring sessions. It's the second time Joseph was suspended for a game.
Tailbacks Chauncey Washington (hip) and Joe McKnight (thigh bruise) suffered minor injuries but it did not keep them from returning and playing. Linebacker Keith Rivers' ankle sprain remains an issue and will probably limit his bowl practices.
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