No, that’s not a Rose Bowl prediction. Instead, it’s the number of top high school recruits from the Class of 2006 that have verbally committed to Texas and USC. Not only does USC lag far behind Texas but a host of other schools as well. Right now, Pete Carroll, usually a recruiting genius, is being badly trounced by his Rose Bowl counterpart, Mac Brown. Of the 25 recruits that Brown has amassed there are 3 five-star, 13 four-star, 7 three-star and 2 two-star athletes. Carroll, on the other hand, has received commitments from 3 five-star, 3 four-star, and a three-star recruit. While Texas ranks number one in national recruiting, USC is a dismal twenty-fourth.

What may hurt USC even more is the fact that perennial rival, Notre Dame, snatched the Trojan’s top prospect right out of their own backyard, six-foot six tight end, Konrad Reuland, from Mission Viejo, California. That’s got to hurt, especially since the Irish rank fourth in the nation behind Texas, Georgia and Florida with 26 commits including Reuland and one other five-star recruit, James Aldridge, an Indiana running back, 10 four-star, 12 three-star and 2 two-star recruits. I’m sure Charlie Weis chuckled when he got the word from Reuland if he didn’t emit an all-out belly laugh. Considering the size of Charlie’s waist, I suspect folks could hear it all the way over in Indianapolis.

As for Texas’ top opponent, Oklahoma, they rank eighth with 8 four-star, 7 three-star and 2 two-star recruits. Oklahoma State ranks 18^th and Texas Tech 20^th. In the Pac-10, UCLA at number ten and Arizona at nineteen rank ahead of USC.

If USC hopes to salvage a BSC ranking in the future, they have got to get cracking. This weekend would be an ideal time to lay it on thick and heavy. This is the last recruiting weekend before the Rose Bowl, and of the ten recruits paying a visit to the Trojan campus, eight remain uncommitted. And what a group they are! The upper echelon of high school players including 5 five-star and 3 four-star recruits, ranging from 1 – 27 in national rank. Wow!

Of course, we are only talking about verbal commits here. Any of these recruits could change their mind by National Signing Day, February 6, when they are allowed to start signing letters of intent. But the problem for USC is that they need to get strong verbal commits this weekend because Pete Carroll’s staff will only have a month after the Rose Bowl to reel in more top prospects. Should USC have a poor showing against Texas on January 4, it could be a very difficult month indeed for Carroll and his staff.