Caesar Too
Let's be clear about one thing. Any criticism regarding the Notre Dame loss also lays some blame at Pete Carroll and his poor recruiting decisions the past three years.
But also consider this when analyzing the loss (and absence of Matt Barkley). Notre Dame was without its top tailback (Armando Allen), starting quarterback (Dayne Crist), one of the nation's top tight ends (Kyle Rudolph) and a top defensive lineman (Ian Williams).
If Lane Kiffin did not beat them last night, will it be any easier the next two or three years?
Add to that list of failures, Carroll's poor choice of coaching assistants including DL coach Jethro Franklin(hired twice), WR coach John Morton, DB coach Rocky Seto, OL coach Pat Ruell, and TE coach Brendan Carroll whose inability to develop these players is now damning. It's pretty clear that once Carroll's initial hires like Pola, Chow, and Orgeron left by the end of the 2004 season the development of fundamental skills and discipline by the players deterioriated as well. Hence, the increase in penalties starting with the 2005 season and inability by players to force and capitalize upon turnovers for example. Even without the sanctions, Kiffin's staff, which overall is pretty good would have a difficult task ahead of them. With the sanctions, the goal of having USC compete for national championships, let alone Pac-12 championships is Herculean in difficulty.
we're crystal clear, wolfman!!
It's never easy. I'll stick with the Trojans!
I look for an 8 year streak of wins by Notre Dame, just as a new 8 game winning streak will begin next Saturday. GO BRUINS!!!!
scott, you truely are an football idiot...
plain and simple
Tough loss... but I think we're better off with Kiffin than Carroll. Look at many of the powerhouse teams of the last decade - Florida, Texas, USC - you can only stay at the top for so long. Its really a cycle in College Football - SC's on the down side, but will come back. Its easier to rise with a new and energized coach, than one that is use to winning and stuck in their ways.
It's fair to criticize Carroll for some deficient recruiting the past 3 years. Because of that, USC lacks talent and depth in some key areas. Because of that USC isn't a better team.
However, the game Saturday was between two mediocre teams. Both teams played well on D and poorly on O most of the game. The difference was that the Domers were able to put together a few successful drives among their offensive struggles. USC wasn't able to put together a single decent offensive drive that wasn't stopped by poor execution and/or mistakes. Hard to blame Carroll for that. JMO.
Were the D's that good or the O's that bad?
Yes, Kyle Rudolph is truly "one of the nation's best tight ends". He was 29th in receiving yards last year and he was on a streak of 7 catches for 41 yards in his last 3 games before getting hurt. His career is basically one huge game against Michigan... that they lost. Armando Allen's zero 100 yard games and 2 TD's are equally intimidating.
This is nearly as tired as you arguing that SC should have picked up Gerhart as the 5th RB in one recruiting class. Look at SC's roster and count the guys that are going to end up in the NFL. Outside of the LB's & kickers, every group has NFL talent. The fact is they played the first half like Mustain was a true freshman and the game winning pass drilled Ronald Johnson in the chest. It is pretty comical that your ex-girlfriend like criticisms of Pete Carroll have now turned to the "he couldn't recruit" card. After "he can't recruit" I think the only one you have left is his winless record against teams from Texas in National Championship games.
Just out of curiosity, what specific players do you think SC passed on that would have made a difference for this year? I would love to see a future post about this. Do you think they should have given Te'o's buddy a full ride as a package deal?
He was a shitty coach, a shitty recruiter, picked shitty assistants, and produced one of the greatest nine year runs in CFB history. What a guy. But, he didn't go up in the stands at away games and ask the parents of the players...how can you afford to come to these games?