Blowout Dilemma
USC coach Pete Carroll said you can't change the way you play in blowout and was mindful of last week's incident involving Washington State.
At Oregon State, Beavers QB Sean Canfield, a former starter now No. 2 because of a shoulder injury he's coming back from, threw a 39-yard pass into the end zone for the last TD in a 66-13 victory, which upset the Cougars.
Coach Paul Wulff wouldn't comment, but cornerback Romeo Pellum said of coach Mike Riley, "He has no class."
Riley said he meant no disrespect and explained that he wanted to get Canfield a couple of throws (it was midway through the fourth quarter), and the play was a corner route on which Canfield checked and went deep.
Two weeks ago, Oregon coach Mike Bellotti criticized USC when Mitch Mustain threw a 59-yard touchdown pass to David Ausberry at the end of the game.
Interesting commentary on the topic...
http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/oregonian/john_canzano/index.ssf?/base/sports/1224041112297400.xml&coll=7
Bellotti is an idiot. It's that simple. He would score 100 on USC if he thought he could. I hope Romeo Pellem was the guy that got beat on the play.
I would never EVER condemn a team for competing, let alone when they have 2nd, 3rd or 4th string players in. You are building a program and getting a look at the athletes you have in game situations. You might pair down the play book a little, maybe not try to run a flee flicker or something, but running the ball, beating the blitz, checking the route according to presnap reads and play action passes are part of football.
I will never forget when Rocket Ismail stepped out of bounds on a kick return vs. SMU when they first came back from the Death Penalty. Captain Lou Holtschz had to answer a few questions that day too. And the media was working without a spit screen or sneeze guard too.
Thanks for posting the link RTR
I'm all for putting in non-starters and letting them go all out, some may never see the field otherwise. And seriously, I'd say taking the starters out is enough of an act of mercy.
I remember coaching my son's Pop Warner team...if we were up by a certain amount, the rules said we could only run between the tackles. We did that with the second string and kept scoring. Were we supposed to tell the kids to fall down? They all deserve a chance to play, and when they do, play hard. That what everyone teaches in practice, right?
I think it was 2004 when Oklahoma blew out Texas A & M something like 77-0. Oklahoma took a knee midway through the fourth quarter when they got near the Aggies' goalline, and turned the ball over on downs.
There is nothing wrong if a team scores with the second and third string. You must compete for 60 minutes. It provides valuable game experience. However, the coach may also be cognizant that a rout of a conference foe could be used by it as motivation the following year.