ESPN college football analyst Beano Cook said that John McKay was the funniest coach in the history of college football and McKay was the best “game coach” in history.
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ESPN college football analyst Beano Cook said that John McKay was the funniest coach in the history of college football and McKay was the best “game coach” in history.
And the greatest coach at USC in the modern era
Coach, what did you think about your team’s execution.
McKay: I’m all for it
How important is emotion in a football player?
McKay: My wife Corky is very emotional, but she can’t play football worth a darn.
McKay: Boys, there are 400 million Chinese who don’t know that we just got beat.
Why do you have O.J. carry the ball 30 to 40 times?
McKay: Well, the ball isn’t that heavy
etc etc
Jeezzz, I agree with goo goo AGAIN.
During the week of an away game at Stanford, Stanford Coach Jack Christionsen told Bay Area reporters incredibly inflamatory things about Coach McKay. When LA reporters expected to hear an inflamatory response from Coach McKay, Coach told them a comment his father made when Coach was growing up in the back hills of West Virginia. “Son,if you ever get in a pissing contest with a Skunk, you will lose every time.” The Point: Don’t ever waist your time arguing with an S.O.B.
Beano is right on the money. Pete Carrol may have been lucky enough to break .500 with McKay’s level of talent from 1962 to 1971, during which time McKay’s Trojans won 2 NCs. Coach McKay’s 1972 Trojan Varsity was the greatest college football team of all time.
The names and magical accomplishments of John McKay and Pete Maravich are never meantioned on ESPN, FOX Sports…… Why is that ?
McKay had horses; he used to stockpile 125 or so players, even if many had no chance to see the field, for the sole purpose of keeping them out of the hands of Washington and ucla.
McKay won 4 national titles, but luck was with him in 3 of those 4. 1972 there was not one close game, even hammering the then-great ND and Ohio State.
But the 1962 team almost gave it up to the unbelievable comeback of Vanderkelen and Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl, 42-37 after leading 42-14.
The 1967 team could have, maybe should have, lost to Gary Beban’s ucla but for All-American Andrusyshun (spelling?) missing an extra point and I believe 2 field goal attempts (21-20 SC due to O.J.’s 64-yarder)
And of course 1974, trailing hated-rival ND 24-0 at one point, and then in a game that seemed as if the crowd noise was coming from they sky, 55 straight points…and then in a seemingly forgotten game, except in my mind, the 18-17 Rose Bowl victory over Ohio State, where with only a couple minutes to go it was Haden to McKay Jr. to close to 17-16, and then a 2-pointer, where true to his name Sheldon Diggs was able to dig out the Haden low throw for the National Championship
Sorry, but I just wax poetic when it comes to mythical SC football.
After 16 seasons of building on Hendersons early success, Howard Jones had established Southern California as a regional power and led the Trojans to national prominence. Overall, Joness teams won 75 percent of their games. They went 8-6-1 against Cal, 8-7-1 against Stanford, 6-8-1 against Notre Dame, and 5-0-2 against UCLA. In the process, Jones engineered five great seasons: 1928, 1931, 1932, 1938, and 1939.
Like Howard Joness Trojans in the 1920s and 1930s, McKays Trojans won 75 percent of their games. McKays Trojans went 7-4-0 against UCLA, 8-6-2 against Notre Dame, won the Pac-8 outright eight times, and went 5-3 in the Rose Bowl. McKay achieved his goals, and he engineered six great seasons: 1962, 1964, 1967, 1969, 1972, and 1974.
If not for the sanctions, Carroll would have eclipsed them both even though he stayed only half the time of each. As such, I think he ranks somewhere between those legends just above and Cravath and Robinson just below.
People need to get over this whole myth that the 1972 team was the “best in the history of college football”. The main source of that “fact” was an opinion spoken by Keith Jackson. The 1972 team was a great team, but not the best ever. You would think the “best ever” would hold quite a few records, no? Either in football stats or measure of talent (HOFs, draft picks, pro bowls, etc). Well the 1972 team doesnt hold any.
If people would actually do some research, there have been many analysis done to compare teams from different years and different eras, which result in a ranking. Of all the work Ive seen, the 1972 team has never been #1. The highest Ive seen them ranked is 8th.
Most USC fans simply believe USC is best because thats where they went, and since they went there, USC is best. Period. Youll never convice them otherwise. That, and thier idea of objective research is reading the USC media guide with C&G colored glass while jerking off!!
USC’89
I’ve seen the 1972 Trojan Football Team considered to be the Best Ever many times in many polls and the spoken opinion of people paid to know. The only other team in contention from what I’ve seen and heard is a mid-90″s Nebraska team, a D-1A school that year in and year out played a miserably weak schedule, by design.
I have followed college football intently since 1957 and have seen enough of the 1972 Trojans to deem them the Best since 1957. You might say I am an “eye witness” to their overwhelming efficiency. Does the word “eye witness” bother you ?
Let me ask you this. Who is your Best of All Time ?
Regarding the 1962 team which nearly blew a seemingly insurmountable lead at the Rose Bowl to Wisconsin, they came close to an upset at the Coliseum that same year to Navy.
SC won 13 to 6, but Navy, behind Roger Staubach, came down to about the one yard line, when Navy fullback Donnelly crashed into the endzone for the apparent TD, except that he lost the ball at the goal.
Thankfully, there was no replay because it looked like he actually crossed the plane of the goal. That was late in the 4th quarter.
Give Rick Neuheisel one more #1 ranked recruiting class and the 2 year extention of Coach Chow and the greatest team in the history of football will be playing home games in the Rose Bowl in 2011. Count on it!
The football monopoly in Los Angeles is OVER! Truer words were never spoken. Malcolm Jones will follow in Troy Aikman’s footsteps and be UCLA’s next great Heisman Trophy winner!
I have seen 1971 Nebraska, 1972 USC, 1995 Nebraska, 2001 Miami, and even 2005 Texas all rated the Best of All Time in various opinion polls. Nebraska’s closest game that year was the Pac 10’s Washington State Cougars. They won by 14. Interestingly, USC beat WSU by 12 in 1995.
And until then UCLA Dynasty, you’ll have to endure a few more 8th place finishes in the conference. On the bright side, 8th place won’t be so bad when there are 12 teams in the Pac.
Did Beano mention what went wrong with his “3 Heismans for Ron Powlus” campaign?
bRuin Dynasty,
Keep dreaming and get your fact right. Troy Aikman did not win the Heisman. He placed 3rd in 1988.
Mention USC to a Bruin and they get angry; mention UCLA to a Trojan and they laugh.
Rodney Peete was a MUCH better college quarterback than Troy Aikman. Much better.
@USC’89: That’s good criticism. But calling it “considered one of the greatest teams in college football history” is accurate, no?
Hey ucla, westwood and bruin Robs – Please fill us in on the ucla football history over the last 85 years or so…What, I din’t hear you. Taste that!!
Ruin Dynasty?! What dynasty? And check your facts with rivals and scout. ‘Another’ #1 recruiting class? the fuclans haven’t had any. Their best class was this season and it was ranked 3rd in the Pac 10 behind the true dynasty and Stanford. 8th place is going look really good when two more teams join the conference. Dream on, ruins.
I still say “UCLA Dynasty” is someone doing a performance art stunt to parody the UCLA trolls — check out those overheated boasts and the inaccurate statement re: Aikman.
Sam Gilbert, is that you? You’ve been quiet lately.
Trojan 70 and all the rest of you chumps, here is just a portion of UCLA’s glorious football history, from Wikipedia…
In 1954 the Bruins were picked to finish no higher than 10th in the Pac 10. UCLAs coach, however, had the talents of Howard “Hopalong” Cassady, and a historic goal-line stand against Michigan propelled UCLA to a perfect season. UCLAs coach led the powerhouse Bruins to a shared national championship (his first and the team’s second). In 1955 the team again won the Pac 10, set an attendance record, and won in Ann Arbor for the first time in 18 years, while Hopalong Cassady was securing the Heisman Trophy. UCLA passed only three times against Michigan (the sole reception was the only completion in the final three games of the year), leading to characterization of UCLAs coach’ style of offensive play as “three yards and a cloud of dust”.
In 1957 UCLA won all of its remaining games after an opening loss to claim the Pac 10 championship, win the Rose Bowl over Oregon, and share a national championship title with Auburn, for which UCLAs coach was named Coach of the Year.
In 1961 the team went undefeated to be named national champions by the FWAA but a growing conflict between academics and athletics over UCLA’s reputation as a “football school” resulted in a faculty council vote to decline an invitation to the Rose Bowl, resulting in much public protest and debate. Over the next 6 seasons UCLA finished no higher than 2nd, and had a losing season in 1966, and public speculation that UCLAs coach would be replaced as coach grew to its highest point since 1953.
In 1968 UCLA defeated the number one-ranked Purdue Boilermakers and continued to an undefeated season including a 50-14 rout of Michigan and a Rose Bowl victory over the USC Trojans that resulted in the national championship. The Class of 1970 became known as the “super sophomores” in 1968, and might have gone on to three consecutive national championships except for what may have been the bitterest loss in Bruin history. The winning streak reached 22 games as UCLA traveled to Michigan. The Bruins were 17-point favorites but directed by first-year coach Bo Schembechler, Michigan shocked the Bruins in a 24-12 upset.
The 1969 loss to Michigan initiated what came to be known as “The Ten Year War,” in which the rivalry, which pitted some of UCLAs and UMs strongest teams ever, rose to the uppermost level of all sports and the competition between Schembechler and UCLAs coach became legendary. Four times between 1970 and 1975, UCLA and Michigan were both ranked in the top five of the AP Poll before their matchup. UCLAs coach had the upper hand during the first part of the war, in which UCLA won the conference championship and went to the Rose Bowl four straight years, while Michigan won the final three.
Archie Griffin came to UCLA in 1972, set a new Bruin single-game rushing record and led the team in rushing for the season. The following season UCLAs coach installed an I formation attack with Griffin at tailback and the Bruins went undefeated with a powerful offense and equally impenetrable defense, the only blemish on their record a 10-10 tie with Michigan.
Taste it!
Opinions are like a**holes, everybody has one. The problem with these blogs is that these fools think that by them writing something, it makes it a fact.
I always enjoy mention of Troy Aikman’s college career because it typically leads to conversations of his match-ups with Rodney Peete. But I can’t take credit for UCLA Dynasty. This is my first time even reading the Beano thread.
@WESTWOOD ROB: Um…well…about the glorious UCLA football history you posted…um…you do realized that “Ohio State” and “Buckeyes” were replaced by “UCLA” and “Bruins,” right? Was your post a joke designed to show what a glorious history in college football really looks like and that UCLA doesn’t have one?
Westwood Rob………..come on, my ADHD won’t allow me to read such a long post.
Westwood Boob forgot to mention Fucla winning TWENTY, yes, TWENTY games IN A ROW and DID NOT with the national championship in football. ROFLMAO This is UNHEARD OF.
WESTWOOD BOOB, Please stay off the SC Blogs and go troll your own site withe the othe Gutties ……..Ucla is still a joke despite what happens with the Trojans this season……..wait, I hear your mother calling you to get out of the basement and go have your hot chocolate now……..