Questions about the Washington kickoff time and Norm Chow in this segment.
Q: Hashi said:
One of the early warning signs for the UW game was the fact that the team did not arrive in Seattle until nearly 5 pm on Friday, for a 12:30 pm game on Saturday. It just seems like that’s not a lot of time to adjust to the travel and mentally prepare for a game.
Considering in the 2003 loss to Cal (the team complained it spent too long in a cramped locker room) and last year’s Oregon St. (Thursday game, a day that seems to always have upsets), could 3 of the famous USC ‘gags’ have travel logistics factored into their flat performances? Shouldn’t this be more of a focus with NCAA teams (a la Cal making sure to leave earlier for their game against Minnesota)?
A: Perhaps. On the other hand, how many times has USC flown into a city at 5 p.m. and won the game the next day at 12:30 p.m. and no one thinks it’s an issue. Pete Carroll’s a pretty meticulous person and changes things if he believes they affect the team. So if he thought flying in at 5 p.m. cost USC, he would change. But USC always gets into Pac-10 cities around 4-5 p.m. on Fridays.
Q: Trojan Conquest said:
You have stated that without Chow the Trojans won’t win another national title. Is this really fair since the only times SC has only been undefeated in the regular season is 2004 (with Chow) and 2005 (without Chow)? With the BCS system the only way to be almost sure of being invited to the title game is to go undefeated. Also SC lost early games with Chow (not counting first year of 2001). 2002 losses to Kansas State and Washington State, and 2003 to Cal. I think the difference has been no big game difference makers like Bush and Leinart. Maybe Barkley will make the difference in the years ahead?
A: Reggie Bush was a huge difference maker. But you did not mention that USC won the national title in 2003 (the AP portion). And they lost to Cal when Bush and LenDale White barely played because they were true freshmen. USC has not even won an AP title since Chow left. And I believe they would have beaten Texas with Chow instead of Lane Kiffin calling plays.