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Posted by DontBendDontBreak | Filed under PAC-10 Failures
We’ve been inactive for quite awhile. Some might have taken that as a sign that we were content with the job Pete Carroll was doing. Far from it, as the season is about to come to an end in just the way we predicted, with USC lined up to play in its fourth consecutive Rose Bowl, against a pushover Big 10 team, this particular one being led by a man who’s likely to coach from home.
So no, we’re not happy. We’ve just been biding our time watching the coaching carousel spin round and round, hoping the administration would be smart enough to tell Carroll his ride is over instead of allowing him to continue reaching for that elusive brass ring that he will never grasp.
Perhaps once the year is done and USC finishes the season ranked third or lower for the third consecutive year, the powers that be will finally find us a suitable replacement. Problem is, they’re slipping away. Already the two potential replacements we mentioned here have been snatched away. And what’s worse, candidates within our own ranks are fleeing the mire that is USC football to pursue success and other institutions.
Texas was smart in naming Will Muschamp the eventually successor to Mack Brown. By doing so they are securing their status as one of the top defensive teams in the nation. Muschamp will continue to put together strong defensive teams whose opponents average less than 20 points per game against them.
USC should have followed their lead with Steve Sarkisian, the man truly responsible for the performance of the Trojan offense this season. Instead, he’s going to be the next head coach of the Washington Huskies, a team that he’s sure to have an immediate impact on. I’m almost certain they’ll be a better team next season.
Now free from the iron grip of Carroll, Sarkisian can run his offense the way he sees fit. And with a weapon like Jake Locker, his potential play calls increase exponentially, since he’ll have the added option of calling quarterback draws on third and long.
They could become the team to beat. Or at least the team to lose to.
Let me explain. With the loss to Oregon State, I thought perhaps Carroll had finally chosen the right PAC-10 team to lose to. They had the potential to take USC’s place in the Rose Bowl, giving the Trojans the chance to play a real opponent in an actual BCS bowl.
Now, I’m not saying he purposefully lost to the Beavers. What I am saying is that he’s a man that knows his limitations. He himself states that his goal every year is the Rose Bowl, which is really just a way of saying that he’s going to lose one or two games every year and keep the Trojans out of the national championship.
Even as early as last summer, Carroll was calling the Oregon State game a “potential trap game.” But losing to Oregon State was the wrong decision.
Clearly, we should have lost to Oregon instead. The Ducks are a high-powered offensive team, racking up 65 points against the Beavers. A loss to them wouldn’t look so bad at this point. Instead, USC held them to 10 points, not only taking away any chance for them to win but also making them look pathetic in the process, thus causing the win to look far less impressive.
I’ll stop before I start sounding like a conspiracy theorist. I’m sure the truth of it is just that Carroll’s bad coaching caught up to him. Hopefully he can manage against a depleted ucla team tomorrow. Though he’s not doing himself any favors by giving up timeouts.
But more on that later. Now that we’re back, we plan to stick around. The next time we’re gone for two months will be the day that Pete Carroll suddenly becomes a great college football coach.
Tags: Mack Brown, Oregon, Oregon State, Steve Sarkisian, Texas, ucla, Washington, Will Muschamp