The USC Trojans of 2003-05 were touted as one of the great dynasties in NCAA history, right up until the loss to Texas in the 2006 Rose Bowl.

 

They were certainly a great, talented and exciting team. But even before the loss to Texas, they were never one of the greatest. Not even close.

 

This myth shuttered in its final death throes Saturday afternoon, skewered by the stinging indictment of its talent from NFL evaluators. USC's top players all tumbled down the NFL draft board. Pre-draft "pundits" and college football poets all proclaimed Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart and LenDale White to be one of the great offensive trios in the history of the game. NFL teams were not so impressed.

 

The Cold, Hard Football Facts were, of course, onto the myth of USC's power even before the Rose Bowl.

 

Five USC players were selected in the first 45 picks of the 2006 NFL draft. It's certainly an impressive feat. But it's not enough to distinguish USC from any of the other great teams in college football history. In fact, it's not even enough to distinguish USC from any of the great programs of 2005.

 

But that shouldn't come as a surprise. After all, USC also failed to distinguish itself from other great teams on the football field.

 

The belief that USC was one of the all-time great teams was perpetuated by its history as one of college football's premier glamour programs and by its location in trendy La-La Land. USC players were known around town for partying with Hollywood starlets as much as they were known for their on-field exploits.

 

The Hollywood hype reached its orgasmic glory in the days leading up to the 2006 Rose Bowl, held in USC's own backyard. The Trojans were hailed as an unstoppable juggernaut that would roll to their third straight national championship.

 

No team in history has ever won three straight national titles. The "pundits" cited this opportunity as proof that USC stood among the all-time greats. But the claim was disingenuous from the beginning. The Malibu mudslide of inarguable analysis called the Cold, Hard Football Facts reveals that USC never won a single unanimous national title.

 

... went 12-1 and won, at best, a split national title. USC was named national champion by the Associated Press. But the "official" NCAA title, the BCS championship, went to Nick Saban's 13-1 LSU Tigers.

 

USC had an easy road to its 12-1 campaign, with just one game against a Top 25 team before beating No. 4 Michigan, 28-14, in the 2004 Rose Bowl.

 

LSU beat five Top 25 teams, including a pair of victories over No. 11 Georgia (the second a 34-13 win in the SEC title game in Atlanta) and a 21-14 win over No. 2 Oklahoma in the 2004 Sugar Bowl.

 

We'll never know if USC was the best team in football in 2003 because it never faced the battle-tested, BCS champion Bayou Bengals of LSU.

 

.... could lay claim as one of the all-time great single-season teams. They went 13-0 and punctuated the season with a 55-19 rout of Oklahoma in the 2005 Orange Bowl. USC claimed the "official" NCAA title, the BCS championship. But this, too, was a disputed championship, as Auburn rolled through a brutal 13-0 campaign in the toughest conference in college football, the SEC.

 

While USC manhandled opponents by a margin of 496-169, Auburn rumbled over its opponents by a combined score of 417-147.

 

USC's season was highlighted by wins over No. 7 California (23-17), No. 19 Arizona State (45-7) and No. 3 Oklahoma.

 

Auburn's season was highlighted by wins over No. 4 LSU (10-9), No. 5 Georgia (24-6), at No. 8 Tennessee (34-10), No. 15 Tennessee again in the SEC title game (38-28) and No. 10 Virginia Tech (16-13) in the 2005 Sugar Bowl.

 

We'll never know if USC was the best team in football in 2004 because it never faced the battle-tested War Eagles of Auburn.

 

... romped through the regular season with a sparkling 12-0 record and an offense that averaged 50 points per game. But they struggled against the two best teams they faced all season: No. 9 Notre Dame, a controversial 34-31 squeaker, and in the 41-38 Rose Bowl loss to Texas.

 

In its 39-game run from 2003 to 2005, USC played

To put it most succinctly, it's hard to place USC among the all-time great teams when it never won a single undisputed national title.

 

The myth of the 2003-05 Trojans as one of the all-time greats ended for all practical purposes with their 41-38 loss to Texas in the Rose Bowl (a loss the Cold, Hard Football Facts confidently predicted, fully aware of the USC myth).

 

However, USC proponents kept alive the notion that it offered one of the greatest collections of talent ever fielded by a college team.

 

That myth ended Saturday, on Day One of the 2006 NFL draft.

 

Every single one of USC's big-three talents tumbled down the draft board.

 

Running back Reggie Bush, the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner, was the consensus No. 1 pick. He went No. 2.

 

Quarterback Matt Leinart, the 2004 Heisman Trophy winner, was expected by many to be the No. 1 pick in the 2005 draft. He went No. 10 in 2006, the second quarterback taken in the draft (Vince Young of Texas went with the No. 3 pick). You could almost see the blood drain from Leinart's face when he was passed over by Tennessee with the third pick and by the Jets with the fourth pick.

 

They were the only two USC players taken in the first round.

 

Running back LenDale White, the NCAA's leading scorer in 2005, was projected by almost every pundit as a first-round pick. He fell to the middle of the second round, and was taken by Tennessee with the 45th overall pick.

 

USC actually had five players selected in the first 45 picks. Offensive tackle Winston Justice went to Philly with the 39th overall pick. Guard Taitsui Lutui went to Cardinals with the 41st overall pick. Both were projected as earlier picks by multiple "pundits."

 

That's two first-round picks out of USC and five players among the first 45. It's quite impressive. But it's hardly enough to distinguish USC's talent from that of other great teams of the past. In fact, it doesn't even separate USC from contemporary teams.

 

Just two years ago, Miami sent six first-round draft picks into the NFL. This year alone, Florida State had four players selected in the first round. Ohio State had five.

 

USC was a great team with great talent over the past several seasons. They were an exciting team to watch, and they put up some impressive numbers.

 

But the Trojans were never as good as the Hollywood hype machine made them out to be. Teams in places like Baton Rouge and the Plains of Alabama simply don't get that kind of press. The other thing they didn't get is a chance to put USC to the test. But Texas did, and it ended badly for USC.

 

The NFL's talent evaluators spoke with their picks and their wallets on Saturday. They kicked USC's players down the NFL draft ladder and stomped on the carcass of a bloated NCAA dynasty.