Pete’s on the Hot Seat

Apparently Pete Carroll has already given up on the #1 ranked tailback recruit, Bryce Brown.  Well, USC has said that “they are no longer interested.”  Sort of like how I said I was no longer interested in Angelina Jolie once she got with Brad Pitt.

After USC’s win over Ohio State, everyone (well, almost everyone, more on that later) is talking about how USC is the clear #1 team and will be in the national championship game come January.  We’ve heard that before, only to have Pete Carroll screw things up.

Ohio State was clearly overrated.  They got blown out by LSU and Florida the last two years.  It would have been a disappointment for USC NOT to blow them out.  In fact, failing to score 40 points on them is practically a loss.

Sure USC gave them their most lopsided loss under Jim Tressel and held them without a touchdown for the first time in 140 games.  Big deal.  They were missing their leading rusher, Chris “Beanie” Wells, a extraordinary talented running back who surely would have won the Heisman this year if not for his unfortunate injury.

Mark Sanchez’s postgame interview with College Gameday is up at FanDome, and there are a few interesting things to note from it.

He praises the fans and the team effort, mentioning nearly all of the receivers by name. Understandable, for if it weren’t for their fantastic athletic ability, they never would have been able to score on a Buckeyes team that was obviously better coached.  They were expecting the pass and nearly stopped all four of Sanchez’s touchdown passes.

Carroll does know his players are allowed to run the ball into the endzone, right?  The Trojans had 20 less rushing yards than passing yards, and the difference would be greater if not for Joe McKnight having a few big runs.  Offense balance is key.  We got lucky.  If the Buckeyes hadn’t felt the lead was insurmountable, they would have eventually shut down our one-sided attack.