Hail Caesar!

SEATTLE.CAESAR

This is a familiar image for USC fans. But Pete Carroll is bound for the Super Bowl instead of winning a national title. It sort of reminds one of how far USC is now from being the team the dominated college football. Whether you blame Carroll or not for the NCAA sanctions, it was a magical ride when he was here and this reminds everyone what used to be. Dean Rutz/The Seattle Times

46 thoughts on “Hail Caesar!

  1. In retrospect, it was virtuous circle of a number of factors, and certainly PC’s ability and personality were among the leading factors.

    The sanctions will end. That does not mean that all the other factors will fall into place.

    IMHO, the biggest changes are outside of USC: Pac-12 parity, because of the TV money; early departures, which hit a new record annually since 1994; social media, which allows the recruits to be in continuous contact with one another, and is changing how they perceive their choice of college; the newer approaches to offensive football, which may have rendered USC’s traditional approach less effective.

    As far as I can see, the “winning business”, as Haden calls it, is getting harder.

    • I don’t know – everyone seems fixated on the new offenses but yesterday both SEA and SFO seemed old school (running game) and the way SFO horribly used the clock and that last play was telling regardless of the poor officiating at the other end (fumble wrongly awarded to SEA). Both teams made some great passes but SEA Marshawn Lynch was the difference – a literal truck.

      Get a corps of solid running backs and just replicate what great teams do – chew up the clock and wear the defensive line out. USC football.

      • Harbaugh needs to settle down emotions. Kaepernick forces plays too many times and doesn’t pay attention to the clock or his receivers. Several other players are constantly looking to fight and the commentators were complaining about it at Carolina.

        • Cowherd made note of the physical exhaustion SFO faced being on the road 5 of the last 6 weeks as a major factor. Undoubtedly it was but then again that’s why you always want home field advantage – Kapernick seemed decidedly gun shy to use his arm – game over.

  2. So pensive Scottie! So wistful! Those were the best of times. Oh, with an institution as powerful as SC, the best of times should grace us every year. Woe is me to have not achieved the promised land in this prior annum.

    It was a great run, Scottie – 2 national titles, 7 straight Pac-10 titles. Then the guy simply ran out out of steam on the field and, almost as importantly, in recruiting. He was looking for the exit, and he found it. The NCAA screwed us, and then died on us before we could smash Miami’s behavior in his face. But that’s all part of the game. We’ve got a new start, and let’s roll with it. Judge the new regime by the measurables in recruiting and on the field. Don’t pine over your former love – Pete will always hold a special place in our hearts, Scottie, but life moves on. Buck up, soldier. Get that pen ready for the signing period and spring practice. Do your job and describe the experiences for us – more of that, a little less of Kiffin, EPL, etc, and we’re good.

  3. Cheat Carroll never won any BCS titles at U$C, though, so what are you talking about, Scott?

  4. Caesar is just gravy training off Jim Mora Jr’s talent and the foundation he left!

    • You really think Jim Mora has benefited Pete Carroll? Who do you think you’re kidding? Are you OK? I’m worried about you. lol.

      • Wooden never had the ba))s to coach in the NBA – he and his patented ‘soft boiled egg breakfast diet’ and the placing dimes on the upper rim – nah not Tom Hanks character in Toy Story – unlike Pete Carroll, not him not ever – never – no just haunt Pauley year-after-year and never get truly challenged

    • The talent on that team is not the talent that Mora Jr. had. Carroll came in and pretty much did a complete roster overhaul. Nice try but Mora Jr. is not on the same level as Coach Carroll.

    • If you mean Brandon Mebane, Jon Ryan and Red Bryant, sure, however they were there with Mike Holmgren.

      Everyone other player was acquired by Carroll and Schneider

  5. We don’t blame Pete for those stupid sanctions … SEC does much worse. We blame Pete for creating Dumb and Dumber ( Kiffin and Suckisian ) which is a ‘ death penalty’ in itself.

    • Replacing Norm Chow with those two suck ups after our wonderful Orange Bowl win over Oklahoma was his worst mistake at USC, besides forcing Spauling and Yogi on us..

  6. Well, if you can’t celebrate the current program you might as well remember when… SC —> Yesterday U!

  7. I have to say I’m personally surprised by PC’s success at Seatle. He is certainly responsible for a great run at SC which may go down as the most dominant ever. However, his last season at SC showed PC suffering from group think by surrounding himself with weak assistants and him getting schematically exposed. It seemed like the clock had struck midnight on PC’s run. His first year at Seatle did little to change my mind. However, just a few years later PC is on top of the football world. Surprised and impressed.

  8. Wow, some really good stuff today, and on Wolf’s blog of all things, except for a couple of SUCLA dregs’ usual idiot postings. “Only a man with no envy is a free man.”.

    The cameras were all over Carroll and “Hardball”, and guess who had a calm, pleasing expression the entire game, and guess who had teenage girl-like temper tantrums?

    Of course, no one remembers who came in second place in the NFL, and Manning is favored to win over the less reliable Wilson.

      • I don’t agree and I am no fan of Harbaugh. I watched him as the game wound down – he was upset but i didn’t see any excessive whining. Pete was pointedly committed to spending more than the obligatory 0.5 seconds in the post-game handshake and i noted Harbaugh listened rather than ‘pull away’ also the brief post-game interview Harbaugh gave was reasonable considering he’d just lost such a close match.

  9. The flip side is that Mr Dominant can claim ZERO BCS titles ON THE FIELD while several other schools won several during the same period!!

    And one of his paper champeeeenships years show Zero wins!!!

    Which brings us to the fact Petey left souther cal with more severe sanctions than Pen State!!!

    His legacy turns out to be one of missed opportunities and scandal…. And the loss to Texas, the ultimate kick to the crotch!!!

    All those seasons Petey choked against OR st, UCLA, Stanford costing him all those trips to BCS champeenships !!!

  10. Anyone who blames Carroll for the sanctions is a fool. He didn’t force the Griffins to take money from an old high school buddy, he didn’t force them to live rent-free in a house they didn’t own, and he didn’t tell Reggie to be dumb enough not to pay the fools off. Pete might not be perfect, but he wasn’t a cheater and he didn’t screw SC over. Paul Dee, Lloyd Lake, and the Griffins did enough of that themselves.

  11. PC is a monster at building talent and creating a winning atmosphere!
    FIGHT ON PC and SC-HAWKS!

  12. This Pete-Love is surprising from some of the SC faithful.
    Pete screwed your pooch and ran from town like a little girl leaving you the NCAA tab to pay.
    Yet for some that don’t care how it gets done, he is a “winner”. No surprise that even at the pro level his team leads the sport in penalties and PED suspensions. By the way, that Seattle DB that did the very brief rant after the game is just the kind of sub-human I expect to see Pete employ and praise.

  13. Must be hard to watch the only coach who has brought SC consistent success in the past 20 years doing well somewhere other than pUSC. But hey, the good news is that you guys now have 7-Win Sarkiffian, who boasts a WORSE P12 record than Karl Dorrell!

    • Dude, you post the same lame shlt! You make a fool of yourself every time you open your mouth!

    • Nice name. Bet you are tired of them renting it out to some other schools every Jan. 1st. Then why not rent it out every New Years, they won’t be using it. Have to win conference first.

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