“I want to win everything we’re doing. So whether it’s Notre Dame or UCLA or Cal or Stanford, they all mean the same. I know not everybody wants to hear that, but if you’re truly a competitor, I don’t pick and choose which games I’m going to get up for. I don’t pick and choose which games I’m going to prepare our players better for. I do it every single week and I will never waver off that.”
— USC coach Steve Sarkisian
This idiot was hired because ” he knew what USC is all about ” Well, it seems this IDIOT doesn’t get what USC is all about.
What a fool.
uh-oh, wrong answer, Siete…..Ay Caramba!!
careful getting on the next bus, Hermano!!
#OhNoHeDint!
So Chuckie, did you see where Sark mentioned post-game that Shaw’s time was limited because he wasn’t in game shape? Your buddies need to learn something about football before commenting on this blog that Shaw was going to save the day.
as you recall, i agreed with your comment that Shaw was not in game shape (an obvious point, simply “working out” does not create “game speed” timing in any sport). i believe it was a trOXan that then said i was a fool because i never played football (not true) and told you that you didn’t know what you were talking about…..but he was no friend of Buckets!!
#WasntCadre
I recall. I have it framed on my wall as the only time we’ve agreed.
Perhaps I am dating myself somewhat but…
Only Mighty Mouse can ‘save the day’.
Sark prepares his team the best he can every week – where’s the problem with that Scottie? If he said he prepared more for UCLA then by inference he would prepare less for Cal – do we really want a coach that takes some teams lightly?
By the way, this is the same answer Pete Carroll would give to the same question.
I think you are correct, Helen.
IMHO, you don’t even have to go all the way to Carroll. Jim Mora said the same thing yesterday and all week beforehand. He didn’t get criticized for it. I don’t think Mora cares any more about the SC game than any other game. Heck, his daughter is a freshman at SC. If he was as invested in the rivalry as the alumni are, then his daughter would not be at SC.
One of the criticisms of us Bruins is that we are Trojan-centric. It is a fair criticism. The professional way of approaching it is to treat it like any other game. If I was an SC fan, I would be a lot more upset by how the team played and how they were coached than I would be about a comment to the press. Press conferences are coach-speak. The are seldom provide any real insight.
That’s what’s unusual about Mora. He actually does provide insight when talking to the press. He’s revealed a lot, to anybody who’s paying any attention. The guy’s emotions are always near the top and he’s not afraid to share. Very confident.
And if Mora had lost his first two games to USC, he’d taylor his quotes accordingly. Sark is more of a robot. You’re gonna hear what your gonna hear. With Sark it’s a script. With Mora it’s a mission.
Yet, there are Bruin fans that have been very critical of Mora because of the losses to Oregon and to Utah. Several were calling for the heads of the OC and the DC. Fans spout off.
One thing that stood out to me at the game was how deep the Trojan safeties played. The middle of the field looked wide open. I am not a football expert, but it seemed that some of the formations had 1 extremely deep safety. On the 57-yard TD play, people criticize McQuay. However, he started so deep that the receiver had tons of open space and a full head of steam. It just took one simple move and he was gone. I don’t know if it was because he was out of position or if the scheme was bad.
ucla was specifically ready for USC and especially it’s shaky o-line and #22. Sark approached the game like he was playing CU at home. When it was over, Sark had to be hugely grateful Mora didn’t try to lay 60 on him. What are friends for?
I think Mora is a decent guy who likes Sark a lot. Plus, it looked like the only way SC could get back in the game would be another pick-6 or some other big momentum changer. Handley almost game you another one to start the 2nd half. Once it was 38-14, it was ball control time.
I also think SC would be better with JuJu playing safety. He could be an elite safety. He doesn’t jump out at you as a receiver like Lee did.
Wouldn’t have made any diff if SC had 6-picked the 2H Hundley throw either. Truth be told, USC’s players never thought they would win this game. Oh, they thought they did. But not really. Reminded me of the days USC used to lose to Holtz all the time. It didn’t matter who we had, we couldn’t be that skinny lisper. He had us jinxed practically, until we finally took him down at the end. There’s a huge difference in sport between thinking you can win and knowing you will win.
Not a fan of Lou Holtzhhh. Most guys that announce try to at least hide their bias or at least handle it with some humor. See Jason Sehorn and Charles Arbuckle as a Trojan and Bruin that do a good job. Lou doesn’t even try.
The real issue is, if we didn’t have the sanctions, would we have been pressured to take the Kiffer in the first place??? It was all a rush job. Carroll was suddenly, unexpectedly gone, about 3 weeks max before LOI Day. Garrett took the only guy who wanted the job and would leave his big-time team in the lurch right before LOI Day – the Kiffer.
Garrett screwed up bad. He was too worried about the signing class. But the real problem was the NCAA sanctions were LOOMING. Not announced yet, but four (that’s right, four) years in the making. People were scared. Coaches didn’t know what SC would be hit with and didn’t want the job until there was some certainty. Then, certainty turned out to be a complete nightmare.
But actually, Kiffin wasn’t a bad interim coach. He signed some good talent and one year won ten games. But he was never gonna be the permanent solution because he’s no leader. The other big problem was the lack of good available coaching candidates last year. Sark, an average coach, kind of won by default.
Our numbers are hurting USC a lot. That’s why #22 is on the field…and only why. We are actually below average in the trenches. No experience or excellence there except for Williams. But a great coach could have still won at least 10 games this season and beaten ucla.
A great coach at USC now cold also easily take down this ND team at the Coliseum. With Sark, your guess is as good as mine. We could win. We could lose. Maybe after last week, we’ll be “shamed” into winning. Interesting concept. I really don’t like our DC, Wilcox, another Sark buddy who can’t stop anybody who’s any good.
In a strange way, it may actually help in recruiting. If I was Iman Marshall, for instance, and saw how your safeties played, I would see an immediate opportunity. So, for those wanting to play immediately, SC definitely has some holes to fill. I fully expect both schools to sign 2 great classes.
Even with all the resources SC has, identifying a great coach is not easy. That is why I don’t fully agree with your position (if I understand it correctly) that SC will be back strong very soon. I think it is an open question. I look at the post-Robinson I hires and only Carroll stands out. I look at the post-Wooden hires at UCLA and see Harrick with 1 Title and Howland with 3 Final 4’s…then he loses his mojo. Alabama struggled until they hired Saban. SC will be back strong. The question is when and how strong. Carroll-strong might be a bit too much to expect.
I thought Sark would be better than he has turned out. After the ucla shellacking, I’m pretty worried. Lots of people buy into his excuses, all of which are well-worn. He’ll recruit okay, so if we have to switch in a couple of years, we’ll be fine. Haden will be gone and there will be even more pressure to get the hire right.
I don’t think anyone will ever match Carroll. Even Carroll couldn’t match Carroll now because the Pac-12 is simply better.
The fact that SC will sign such a terrific class in view of its mediocre team shows how easy it is to build the program. Sark will either transform himself or it’s adios. Either way, we’ll be okay. But the next coach has gotta be a worldbeater. No programs can be great without those guys. That’s just the way it is. No worldbeater coach, no greatness.
And that is the conundrum. Identifying a world-beater….or convincing an existing, proven world-beater to leave a good situation to come to SC. SC gives a coach everything he needs to succeed but it isn’t a gimme. And, the alumni can be hostile if you don’t win.
I saw a lot of that with UCLA BB. Many of the fans at Pauley were ignorant about BB. But like a lot of dumb people, they were very loud.
It’s not that hard. Urban Meyer is a world beater, Lane Kiffin isn’t. We could have gone after Meyer, got Jerry Buss, Roski and the other millionaire alums to chip in and offered Meyer $10+ million a year and he would have come. Yet we took Lane. It’s like you f uclans years ago snubbing Denny Crum for Gene Bartow. Bad AD = bad hires.
JD Morgan snubbed Crum because he didn’t like him. And later, Pete Dalis messed up when word leaked out that he had Rick Pitino lined up and he had to stick with Steve Lavin.
I realize money is not object at SC for football. Still don’t think you could lure Meyer or Saban. And now, you don’t have Jerry Buss. You have Jimmy Buss. That hasn’t worked out too well for the Lakers.
***JD Morgan snubbed Crum because he didn’t like him.***
‘Veddy In-tare-esting’. My usually reliable
UCLA hoops contacts assured me that it was Denny who turned down the offer. I
never thought to verify that with Gary (50-8) as he had just taken the reins from Clean Gene (52-9) and had bigger fish to fry, beyond our occasional lunch
get-togethers. Both coaches were victimized by the stacked deck they inherited…too close to taking over for ‘The Man’.
Brown (42-17), an excellent coach, but a
bit of a flakey nomad, received mixed reactions before he somewhat predictably
vacated the coop. Then came the Bruins worst nightmare(s)…Farmer (61-23) for three and Walt (77-47) for four. Both fantastic players in their day, especially
multiple AA Hazzard who played with Stumpy and my bud Slaughter, but absolute busts as coaches.
Then came 8 years of ‘Jimbo’ , whose team got the 1 and only NC since Big John. It would have been zip except for Ed O who should have gotten the credit for being coach, as opposed to Herrick. Then
came Lav, my Chatty Cathy buddy at several Say No’s. Effectiveness as a coach? I will leave that call to the posters over on bz.
You know the rest…but just think what could have been.
Contained in the section on AD’s in the
Miller’s Analogy test (the test qualifies one for grad school) is the following item:
JD is to UCLA basketball as MG (Napoleon) is to.. (USC football sanctions)
.
conundrums?
We ain’t no stinkin’ conundrums! Be apprised, your crass sexual innuendo will be reported to the moderator. Even the Cadre would not stoop so low.
You would want to play safety for a coach where you stand 20 yards back from the line and start running backwards? I wouldn’t. It reminds me of how we misused Darnell Bing.
OK mouthy, so you had to go and remind me. Not cool! The only negative I have about PC was this particular time frame, as his intensity seemed to be somewhat on the wane. To say that Bing was misused qualifies for understatement of the year award. If I just had a nickel for each time I screamed at the tube because Darnell was not in view, it would have paid for my wasted TV upgrade to a larger screen under the guise of now being able to see ALL of our players. At least that is what I tried to tell the house mate…who didn’t buy it.
Good stuff, J.B.! A while back, one of Larry Smith’s Trojan teams jumped on one of Lou Holtz’s Notre Dame teams early, only to lose in the 4th quarter. After the game somebody asked Holtz what he was thinking when USC scored so quickly in the first quarter and he said “I was thinking I’ve been here BEFORE.” This team needs to come from behind JUST ONCE in a game that matters to develop that feeling that “we’ve been here before.” Only then will they understand the difference between thinking they can win and KNOWING they can win..
I agree with you that Mora could have ramped up the score and throttled usc, but he chose to mainly run out the clock once the game was out of reach in the 3rd quarter. Mora and UCLA showed a lot of class and respect towards Sark. I was at the game and I don’t know if sc fans were just stunned, or what, but a lot of fans seemed ambivalent…like they had already resigned themselves to a loss even before the first snap.
Outside of normal fan craziness approaching game day, there was never any reason for followers of USC football to think we would beat ucla. Pipedream city. The elements just weren’t there. Even against CAL, we couldn’t run at all. How were we supposed to run against a healthy, rested ucla team at home?
You thought SUCC would win, didn’t you Stinky.
SUCC was just the first game of a five game winning streak goal UCLA wants to execute.
It’s a fact that every trojan fan whose predictions I read stated that usc would beat Ucla, and, in most cases, by more than 10 pts. Perhaps fans with doubts about their team kept their anticipated scores to themselves.
Either way, to their credit, I saw some sc players give if their all, but, alas, it proved to be too little.
I read no ucla posts predicting a ucla loss. Even I posted SC would win 38-35. That was my hope, not anything I ever believed. So, while the result was not unexpected, I was shocked that SC’s receivers couldn’t get any separation and I didn’t expect CK to be under constant harassment either. I thought the Trojans would lose a tight game. At least we found out how far off we are to being any good. That’s the only positive for a USC guy like me. Maybe now the coaches will address weaknesses in a more diligent manner. Probably not, but the clock is officially ticking on Sark. That may ultimately all USC took away from this game.
The difference between Carroll and Sark is that Carroll prepared his team well and got his players ready to play against anybody whether it’s ND, Boston College, Ohio State, or Hawaii. Do you honestly think Sark has shown that he can have his team motivated, manage the game, be able to call the right plays at the right time, make adjustments in game or during half time? He thinks him hating to lose to anybody justifies the lack of effort and ability on his part. SC doesn’t deserve a coach who says that he’s going keep the status quo after suffering the worst loss of the season to a rival.
Well, if you remember Carroll’s teams would loose to a big underdog once per year. Many of those teams should have gone undefeated, but lost focus for one game.
The bottom line on Sark has yet to be determined. Give him 2 years to get the squad back to full strength and then decide if the coaching is not good enough. How many times did we see Leon McQuay out of position or take a bad angle? Is that bad coaching or Leon being a dum dum?
Hilary/Helen stop ignoring me – who’s going the win the game?
So Hilary/Helen who’s going to win the game?
For this reason alone Sark should be fired pronto! I mean, wasn’t he hired because he supposedly understands what it means to be a Trojan?? It’s NOT that he can pick and choose who he can better prepare for. He can’t prepare, period! He just completely lacks at every aspects of coaching, i.e. being able to motivate his players, in game adjustments, playcalling (4th and 2 Soma run?!? and not kicking field goals), most importantly not realizing how bad he is as a coach. He’s basically saying he won’t change. He’ll continue to suck at it and be ok with it, which is NOT acceptable.
you’ve got it all wrong – Sark DOES understand what it means to be a trogan. When SC’s not cheating, they’re average. Has always been this way. Every great SC run was followed by big sanctions for cheating. Don’t worry though – he’ll start cheating just like Kiff did.
Every time you spout off about cheating, you demean Wooden, your hero and one of the NCAA’s all-time winningest cheaters who loved looking the other way every day. I’m sure this won’t stop you. It just makes me laugh though.
Where did Wooden put CHEAT on his success pyramid? Personally, I think it should be at the bottom between LOYALTY and COOPERATION. It was very foundational for him.
Sanction U ain’t in Westwood!
Stinky, could you please submit some evidence that Wooden cheated. It’s one thing to say UCLA cheated and another to provide evidence of such cheating.
We know SUCC FB was cheating because SUCC got caught and paid the NCAA price. Who is the only Heisman Trophy winner to forfeit it for any reason – R. Bush, SUCC hero/cheat.
As far as I know UCLA’s BB NC’s were contested and won against NCAA tournament competition.
So Stinky if you have evidence of Wooden engaged in BB cheating, by all means, present it forthwith.
Do your own work. If you honestly don’t know what I know, it wouldn’t surprise me. Sad to say uclaownszilch, but it doesn’t matter to me what you think, even though any fool knows numerous ucla players were on the long term take under Wooden.
Rest in peace. Sam Gilbert never lived and Bill Walton (a pretty sharp guy actually), among others, never squawked. The rich bruin basketballers never had to even drop a dime to arrange for any secret abortions. The fetuses just simply vanished through prayer.
Typical SUCCster, chuck mud on a wall and whatever doesn’t succumb to gravity must be true.
You’re the one claiming Wooden/UCLA cheated and in same breathe you’re claiming your information is secret.
You sound like a four year old denying, to his mother, he had anything to do with the missing cookies, even though cookie crumbs covered is face.
The Wooden cheating info is all public knowledge Troll. None of it is secret, all the more amazing that you don’t believe it exists. You’re not worth the time anymore Troll. Happy holidays.
See now you’re putting words in my mouth. I didn’t say it didn’t exist; I’m simply saying Jack, since you claim Wooden/UCLA cheated, kindly back up your accusation with a soupcon of proof.
Says the three time loser
Jack, at some point I’d love to sit down with you over your beverage of choice and have a discussion about Wooden. I knew the man, and had the chance to work with him. Lots of layers to his reign in Westwood, Sam Gilbert, etc.
Don’t get me wrong. I still classify him as a great coach, just not a perfect man. I’m sure it would have been amazing to know him. Being around “great” people in the eyes of the public can be a real eye opener. But Wooden’s accomplishments are totally stunning even in view of the heavily masked reality of some “facts.” Not unusual, by the way. In a TMZ world, Wooden would have had a much more difficult time, but so would everyone else from that era. Wooden still stands out as a phenomenal sportsman.
I was a counselor at the Wooden BB camp in high school and our family was acquainted with him. I also know some of those that played for him. He was not “sainted” until later in life, long after his coaching career was over.
I read the Seth Davis book which I would recommend. It is a pretty balanced picture of a highly complex yet simple man at the same time. The Sam Gilbert stuff was interesting. Gilbert wasn’t around much until Abdul-Jabbar arrived. It was reported in the book that many of the players didn’t have much money (some things never change) and they had friends that were football players at SC that were taken care of and that they wanted similar treatment. Enter Sam Gilbert. Wooden never liked Gilbert and talked to JD Morgan and Morgan told Wooden on more than one occasion, that he would take care of the matter. However, Morgan was afraid that he might die “accidentally” and did not act. Knowing what we now know about Gilbert, it is surprising that there wasn’t a gambling scandal associated with that man.
SC had plenty of stuff going on with the FB program in those days. The Trojans have always had generous alumni. It was a different time and a different NCAA. That’s why it is stupid to go that far back in time.
SC’s recent troubles are more on Mike Garrett than Pete Carroll, IMHO. Garrett handled everything poorly and has some responsibility for how long things drug on. I think most teams in the SEC do worse stuff than SC. As did Ohio State and North Carolina. But SC didn’t get nailed harshly simply because they were SC. Garrett totally ticked them off.
If the infamous emails are ever released, God help the NCAA in the public’s eyes. So disappointing that even now, there’s a chance the NCAA could keep them hidden – through legal means. The mere fact that is still possible in today’s world is a shocking endorsement of legalized corruption.
Garrett’s pissing people off is no excuse for the corrupt activities of the NCAA. Wish I were an ORE fan. I’d be singing the praises of the almighty, just and fair and forgiving NCAA.
Please, let the emails be released.
The way they handled the Shabazz Muhammad case was enlightening about the NCAA. There was a passenger who overheard an investigator on the phone, either in an airport or on the plane, saying how they were going to get this kid. They had clearly made up their mind ahead of time.
But Garrett truly screwed the pooch. Nobody (outside Trojan land) wants to hear that everybody is jealous and just wants to be a Trojan. Idiotic comment and definitely not true. As the old saying goes, “’tis better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt.”
Nobody I know who is a Trojan supports Garrett’s behavior or statements or ever has. But the whole idea of a just and respectable judicial body (in American jurisprudence at least) is founded upon the notion of unbiased decision-making. That’s oath driven, core-required, fundamental, and obligatory in nature.
The NCAA shouldn’t be letting people off because they like them, but they are, in spite of some very bad factual settings and egregiously poor behavior and actions. That’s just as bad as what happened to USC. “I like you, therefore, we’ll overlook all this. Consider yourself lucky.”
You can criticize Garrett all you want. Point taken.
But the NCAA is horrifically corrupt and should have no jurisdiction to wield the power it has in an arbitrary, capricious and in the NCAA’s case, malicious manner.
If the emails ever get released, we’ll see just how judicial the NCAA really was. Recent PSU developments have shed some light into their thinking process.
No argument about the NCAA nor the points you have made. My point about Garrett is about how to handle a crisis. The fact that the world (or the NCAA) isn’t fair is not news. It is important how you respond in a crisis. We see how companies handle bad news, recalls, scandals, etc. Sometimes, the information is unfair and unbalanced. You have to have a strategy to deal with it and gain public support. Garrett failed in that endeavor. It takes some nuance and some skill.
However, I don’t think SC is totally blameless. There was some stuff going on but the severity of the penalties was out of line with what other schools received.
Based on what happened to other schools, USC should have lost about five scholarships. So losing 30 was way more than simply “out of line.” If you really think the NCAA was simply “out-of-line,” then you’re a bad as they are.
By the way, I know for a fact that ucla players have received money during the last six years (while still playing games) from agents which completely violates NCAA rules. You guys are as dirty as anybody, on an on-and-off basis depending on your players, and always have been.
Sorry if “out of line” wasn’t a strong enough term for you. The NCAA has morphed into a group with no transparency, no due process, no right to confront your accuser and all sorts of extra legal activities. Forgive me if my terms are wrong. I am not an attorney.
And, if Reggie Bush had paid off his agent, I doubt any of this would have happened. Not sure about your claim about UCLA players with agents, but wouldn’t be shocked by anything involving an agent. They must feel the investment is worth it with some players. Somebody has to figure out a way to pay some of these kids or reform the system. The SEC seems to find a way.
I would find it hard to believe that the Kentucky BB program is a clean program. Way too much money floating around these days.
Nobody is clean. The NCAA just imperiously decides who they want to hammer, who they want to let go, and how badly do they want to express their mandate based on whatever purposes.
You still don’t get it about the NCAA ProbyU. If they wanted to dock you 30 rides at any time, they could have.
It’s not just no transparency and no due process. It’s about absolute malicious corruption, manufacturing evidence to fit hidden objectives.There’s a large difference I’m speaking towards that you’re not getting.
No sense going on about this, really. You and I just aren’t in a position to ever bridge our gap. We simply don’t see things the same way, never will quite obviously.
I come here to speak with USC people. If I wanted to argue with ucla guys, I’d be on your board. Let’s give it a rest. I don’t really care what any of you bruin dudes think anyway.
Okay, Jack. I do respect your opinion.
I am not one who has intimate knowledge of the NCAA machinations. You probably have more information on the topic than me. I don’t feel like we were having an argument. From my end, it felt like a discussion.
Have a good evening.
They were that bad and they were cheating?
Stuff going on? Ok boyo state such – aside from a crummy foolish kid, his equally corrupt parents what else?
You want to talk about real corruption? No you don’t – you never have and like all that go to bel-air tech you never shall – that’s right slick – Wooden.
Never played the man just had all his spear carriers and flunkies at the NCAA and the 4th estate make sure nothing untoward was ever said about him.
The most unreported scandal in the history of collegiate athletics – Wooden
Read above, Soviet. Don’t get too excited here.
Just wondering as an aside. Will you be attending Mass again and singing in the choir? Or will the ND game count as attending Mass. Our pastor is an SC guy, which doesn’t always sit well with the parish. Shouldn’t a Catholic pastor support ND?
I’ll be at mass – I never miss regardless of when a game kicks off i.e. last week saw the tail end of the 1st half per the impending massacre at the Rose Bowl. One guy, who ushers, is never there if it conflicts with the Irish – he’ll be absent this Saturday.
As to your second query – why? A long long time ago I was at the memorable annihilation in 1966,0 – 51, a week after Norman Dow took USC down. We saw a priest sitting in our section and some began to rib him good naturedly that he was on the wrong side I still remember him saying bluntly “No I’m not!”
Yawn, Otis.
ucla has always had generous football alumni too. I have first hand knowledge, and I happen to like all involved. We laugh about it now and eyes are rolled. People do what they got to do. Few get caught.
Yes they have. However, the Trojans were paid more!
Just like bruin hoopsters commanded far greater measure.
Is that a free market analysis?
Well stated although any reference to John Wooden is silly.
I never use the “Wooden was dirty” argument because John McKay was just as dirty at the same time and it was all documented in the NCAA probation sanctions of 1982-85.Best to call it a draw and remember that both won multiple titles.
Speaking of cheating, I recollect SUCLA bRuins were playing beside themselves in football when its players were stealing parking spaces from the hapless handicapped some years ago. LMFAO!!!
I remember. It was surprising that a bunch of handicapped football players could beat SC back then.
Pete Carroll would say, “I realize there’s more pressure to beat your rivals, but we prepare just as hard for every game. We’re always competing.”
Regardless, Pete could say what he wanted and we’d swallow it. He won NCs, Rose Bowls, Cotton Bowls, Orange Bowls, beat up on his rivals EVERY year, big-time. When you do that, it’s easy to talk.
Sark should try to be quiet. Until he proves he can beat anybody with a pulse on the field without some luck, he should quit trying to give his philosophy on how to win, which in his career, he’s only done enough of to merit the nickname “Seven Win Sark.”
Also, I wish he’d figure out a way not to make our snap count so predictable that Kessler has to duck before anything else.
Hey, didn’t Little Petey Pom-Pom choke the Tixis game away and didn’t he also choke away a possible NC shot to UCLA 13 – 9.
Little Petey was human and he didn’t know squat about SUCC’s lack of Institutional Control, he just instigated it.
It’s rather obvious you’re gravely fixated with the word, SUCC. Can I assume that’s the behavior you’re obssessed with at all times?
Exactly!
Yes, Jack. “Predictable” is the word that perfectly sums up the playcalling of Sark. It seems that none of his called plays are fooling any opponent. Yep, they’re reading him like an open book. lol. As a matter of fact, I must say he’s THE most predictable playcaller I have seen in quite a while.
ONE would have to be devoid of any emotion to not have some things not more urgent/important than others;of course you prepare for each task to win or complete,but humans have a natural state in their being that cannot be denied;some things are more important;I guess he is just defensive as one would expect;I hope no one really thinks he is ambivalent to winning,he wants to win,he and his staff try their hardest;they just don’t prepare the team in practice well enough;you will not play football better than you practice;it is more than going through motions,it is physical violence under control;you must inflict your will on the rival,even your teammate;you must clash.They prepare in a way that does not allow them to inflict their will on the other team;ucla linemen moved SC lineman ,why???
Pat Haden picked a winner, didn’t he ? We are in for mediocrity for the next three years….TRUST! Sark= Ted Tollner Jr.
“Names and logos don’t mean anything. You don’t beat someone just because of your name and logo.”
Larry Smith 1992
Pete Carroll 2003 on the UCLA game
“I don’t mind that it’s different from other weeks. There is just a special aspect to it that makes it cool. For the players, the one thing that they are reminded that they represent a great deal. They are representing a lot of people who love this university and love this rivalry that have been here before. They are those people. It’s why they call it a rivalry. The emotion will be intense. I hope our atmosphere is always intense. I don’t know want our guys to play a whole lot better than they have in the last couple of weeks because that means they have been holding back. I’m hoping that we play well enough to win. All of these games have importance. To go to the Coliseum with the crowd that is going to be there and walking through the stadium, it’s really special. It’s a once in a lifetime thing.”
I think USC lost because at critical positions UCLA is better. Tuerk was getting stood up. The young freshman o-line were slower than the UCLA d-line. McQuay and back line were getting beat big time.
I actually felt sorry for McQuay. I haven’t paid much attention to him as I don’t watch a lot of SC football, but the poor kid got worked on Saturday.
I agree. He didn’t know he was being visited by the grim reaper during that first half. Not sure if he has the ability to fix his game.
Sark, here is my suggestion for you for next Sunday: “A true competitor plans to win by implementing excellence in all phases of winning, competing, and implementation of the plan for a competitive win. That is how you have to compete, week to week, every week, to plan to excel, to excel at competing, to compete to win, and to win with a winning plan for excellence, when you have implemented that plan like a true competitor.”
I will give you that one for free, but next season I will charge.
What does everyone expect !!! Seven hit the Lotto when he walked into Pete Carroll’s office and Norm Chow took him under his wing. He never had to go through the rigors of coaching in High School/ JC/ D2. Nope, he was handed the key to the Kingdom (SC)!! And now he will BS his way through and make everyone think he is big time. PH should have at least glanced at the resumes of coaches Saban, Meyer, Carroll, Helfrich and Graham . There he would have found that a coach of character, maturity and experience doesn’t hit the Lotto! He has to endure the process of the trade. Isn’t PH a Rhoades scholar ? Maybe we need an AD with some street smarts and common sense !!
CEO was sure bet compared to Seven, he was 7-2 in the storm known as LAST YEAR. Instead we get Seven plus a loss to Boston College. Oh by the way, add Coach Addazio to the experienced coaches above. Seven can ask him how to prepare a team.
I’m just baffled that USC fans are so shocked that they are sitting ugly at 7 wins when they hired a dude with the nickname “Seven Win Sark.”
STOP WITH THE PETE CARROLL RETREADS! IT’S NOT WORKING TROJANS!
ah, 7-win-steve is up to his old tricks…. If steve looses to ND, will Haden let him go 1/2 through next season?
Hopefully. In the parking lot? No. Sark’s too nice a guy for that. Wait until he gets back to HH, calmly walk into Sark’s office with his favorite cocktail on ice and say, “The party’s over, turn out the lights…I told you, regardless of the circumstances, you have to beat the rivals, even though you think all games are the same. Better luck with that concept next time Sark…”
I would guess Sark gets at least 3 years….2 more…to get the program going. He is a nice guy and doesn’t tick people off like Kiffin. Terry Donahue was a nice guy and lasted 20 years winning 7 to 8 games a year on average. I don’t see that happening at SC. It wouldn’t happen at UCLA again either. Times have changed.
My four years at UCLA were well-timed (81-85), as the Bruins won three Rose Bowls when I was a student. We began to take them for granted. As Twain said, youth is wasted on the young.
Hopefully SC will have a new AD next season.
I’ve read all of the comments below from some actual USC football fans and the other moron trolls who like to stir things up and wanted to give my humble opinion.
First, let me point out that I actually did go to SC and have a degree from the school. I got to experience the joy of two great winning seasons in 1988 and 1989 along with two Pac-10 Championships and two Rose Bowl appearances. So I understand the expectations.
Anyone expecting Steve Sarkisian to be fired better think again. He is our coach for at least one and maybe two more seasons. He needs to be given a chance to prove himself. Yes the results are not what we hoped for so far but the sanctions are a factor. We don’t have as much talent as Oregon and UCLA because we have fewer players than those teams. Given a chance to get a full 25 man recruiting class and have regular competitive hard hitting practices, we have a chance to get to that level again.
I not going to not support him and the football team because of one loss to UCLA or the other 3 losses we’ve had.
I was not happy with the way we played Saturday but I really believe that we prepared as best as we could and got soundly beaten by a better team. That happens in football. Do you dwell on it? No, you figure out what the hell happened and try to correct the mistakes and be ready for each game. We lost the game because of turnovers and not playing well defensively against a good QB and a good offensive ball club. We need to get the offensive line playing better for our next game against ND.
I think people on this website need to just chill. Football is only a game. All of us alumni want the football team to win but were always going to be proud alumni whether or not the team wins.
Now all you trolls can start bashing my comments.
Finally someone grounded in reality – would you be interested in taking over this blog?
That’s funny coming from you. Don’t you mean body.
It amazes me how quickly people on this blog jump off the bandwagon. Either you stick with the team through thick and thin or you’re a fair weather fan. I’m also amazed how much people will bash the team. Yes they didn’t play well and got beat but they did the best they could that night. Yes they could have played better and should have played better but they didn’t. So move on and get over it.
Also if UCLA is so good why do the trolls hang out here? Shouldn’t they be on the UCLA blog?
Hopefully I’m not a troll (though my wife might have an opinion on that). To answer your question, at least from my perspective: I hang out on both boards. Frankly, for whatever reason, there’s a lot more interaction on this board. Won’t bore you with my list of reasons.
As long as we all respect each other’s opinions and comments, I’m fine with it. It is certain posters who just want to trash everything USC fans write that I have a problem with. I don’t think I need to list their names.
I have tremendous respect for UCLA and wish them the best of luck against Stanford.
We should do a troll exchange. If you could remove some of the worst offenders from Wang’s blog, that would be awesome and I’d buy you lunch at the La Valencia.
The problem Encinitas is that “nobody hand with da Wang.”
Wang is boring and Wolf is a moron. But at least Wolf generates conversation. You just need to wade through the “shallow” water and occasionally find a worthwhile exchange.
They did the best they could? They got blown out in the 3rd quarter and ran the clock out for the f uclans in the 4th quarter. They even wasted a time out on a two point conversion. That was not the best they could do.
don’t even say that JOKINGLY…..
Yawn.
So who wins the NC game troll?
La Jolla you’re one of the few realist. Well Said!!! Sark isn’t going anywhere for the next 2-3 seasons. I posted the Bama comparison because a friend from Tuscolusa mentioned the difficulties of the 2002 scholarship reductions. He said those were dark difficult days. Alabama boosters and Bama admin said the sanctions were painful.
Look I had a bad supervisor (we thought) so we replaced him with a proven leader. We thought the new guy was going to change everything and make us a better organization. Look we still had major problems. The employees or team dynamics was the problem.. I bet if you ask SC players who was at fault, they might blame themselves. How many players said I wished I played better for Coach O, Coach Carrol, Kiffy, or Sark.
As you know we cant fire the 50 employees it easier to fire the coach/leader. Someone’s head has to roll. But of course we have a kind society don’t hurt their feelings. We had an explosive team meeting and it got better.
yes Ucla played better in tackling, running, and passing. it was simple and they did it as a team. Awesome celebration for Ucla but watch out they might lose to Stanford a team Sc beat. I like Ucla and I don’t trust these guys either.
Good Luck Ucla
A Realist? Now that’s funny.
We’re not asking them to be “better” prepared Sark. We just want you to field a team that is properly prepared. The team you fielded on Saturday was not prepared mentally, emotionally, or physically. You’ve done nothing in your career to indicate that you’re capable of preparing a team for big time college football. You’re Lane Kiffin with a better personality and less aggression.
100+
For someone who has been around Socal all those years supposedly should know that is a quote that gets you fired!
I hope that doesn’t happen because another five years of 6 and 7 win season for you will be sweet!
Time to focus on your BIG game Notre Dame.
Remember, your other bail out position is that UCLA is not really that big of a game. If you lose to The Domers, then you have REAL problems
Stevoreenie, you almost brought a tear to my eye.