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Blog: It's Not UCLA's Fault They're Pac-12 South "Champs"

by Rahshaun Haylock

The Pac-10 certainly wanted to create some attention for their conference when they decided to expand, becoming the Pac-12 and adding a conference championship game for football.

The attention is coming. However, more like backlash.

The conference's worst nightmare is about 60 minutes away from taking place.

It's bad enough that they'll parade a 6-6 team, UCLA, onto the field Friday evening as it's south representative in the conference's first title game on a national television.

But could you imagine a 30+ point underdog pulling off the shocker in Eugene and advancing to the Rose Bowl?

The 7-6 Bruins would be Pac-12 Champs?

It's highly unlikely, but it's about 60 minutes away from taken place.

This is no mid-major winning its conference tournament and crashing the NCAA Tournament. This, on so many levels, represents what's wrong with the NCAA.

A lot of the anger is being thrown at the direction of Rick Neuheisel and his Bruins. It's not their fault they're in this position. With the current rules, the Bruins are simply the beneficiary of a messed up system.

In any normal year, USC would be playing Oregon on Friday and all the discussion would be about how great a matchup this is for the conference and college football.

Instead THESE Trojans, who played their final game of the 2011 season last Saturday, are paying for the acts of the previous regime. The doings of an athletic director, head coach, and running back that aren't even around anymore.

It's nothing like NCAA penalties -- wipe out past records like they "never happened" and make 18-21 year olds pay for things the university did when they were middle schoolers --because somehow Robert Woods had something to do with Reggie Bush receiving improper benefits right?

You can blame Neuheisel and the Bruins for a lot of things –lackluster performances on national TV, getting blown out 50-0 by their crosstown rivals, playing with a lack of fire, or wearing those hideous all-white uniforms last Saturday –but being Pac-12 South "Champs" is not their fault.

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