Coaches' Corner
An NFL assistant coach called me to offer his opinions after watching the USC-Oregon State game.
``USC does some unusual things. They have their outside linebacker line up inside the No. 3 receiver, not outside like you are supposed to, which means you can get outflanked by the receiver
``It's almost like they're saying, we're better than you and we'll rely on our athletic ability.
``They also align the free safety right in the middle of the field, so the quarterback knows if they are in zone or man-to-man coverage. And they can't have an 8-man box with their formation, only a 7-man, if they need to stop the run.
``It's like they're saying, `Our athletes are just better than you.' ''
Those statements are right. USC does some unusual things. But 9 out of 10 times it works for them...they utilize their resources (their outstanding talent) to their advantage. Relying on their athletic ability and overall athleticism typically works in SC's favor. It's obviously an effective strategy. The problem that I have is they need to adjust when necessary. Against the Beavers, their athleticism wasn't getting the job done. In certain formations they were getting outflanked, which created an advantage for OSU.
Let me see, how many games has Carroll now lost at SC since 2002?--
2002 2
2003 1
2004 0
2005 1
2006 2
2007 2
2008 1
Well, it looks as if the coaches have a handle on how to use their talent. So I think we should let the record speak for itself, and graciously accept the fact that it is nearly impossible to have a perfect record in college football.
It really doesn't work. USC's offense has been driving this ship. You might also like to count the recruiting class ranks which read more like 1,1,1,1,1,1... Then measure that with the recruiting classes with the PX (which may be underrated but aren't THAT underrated- they average somewhere around 25 I'm sure if to give a wildly generous estimate. And USC tends to actually enroll far more than they recruit (since we don't have to gamble on athletes with poor grades as much) and our NCAA statistics say they stick around for much longer than the average (which is good both for having athletes available and that they are getting an education.)Point is, we stack them up so deep and especially in the Norm Chow era (and even the offense he set in place for an extra year) we were so potent offensively- and the O actually protected the D by keeping our opponents O off the field and giving better field position. Sark can't do that and PC isn't a good defensive coach- but he's a great HEAD coach if he let's his ego get out of the way.
Ego's gone wild.