A little bit more on the Miles comments

by Paragon SC on Jul 10, 2007 9:16 AM PDT in USC Football

By now we are all aware of the idiocy that spews from the mouth LSU coach Les Miles but there is a little more to follow up with in regards to scheduling.

From Matt Hayes at the SportingNews:

I will never be a guy who rips a coach for speaking his mind. Even after what Les Miles said about the Pac-10 vs. the SEC. Let's just call it his Jim Delany moment.

How about foot-in-mouth disease.

I'm a fan of Miles; what he has accomplished at LSU in just two seasons shouldn't be overlooked. But he just gave his team a big, fat blanket statement to back up for the remainder of the season. I'm not going to disagree and say the SEC isn't the better conference. It was last year, and will be again this season. But I certainly won't take shots at Cal and UCLA -- or Oregon and Oregon State, for that matter.

No matter what you think of those teams -- and I'm sure SEC snobs now are piping up about Tennessee's beatdown of Cal last season -- it's a different game when you're playing teams on a yearly basis, and when teams know your personnel and strengths and weaknesses.

The fact is all conferences have their bottom feeders but even in-conference foes can give the favorites a hard time. It's just silly to overlook a conference rival like SC did against both Oregon St. and ucla. To me its further proof that Miles is talking out of his ass when the bottom feeders of the SEC have been know to give the top teams a hard time.

Schlabach also has his take on scheduling:

Southern California might be poised to win its third national championship in five seasons. Florida State and Miami are ready to rebound, and South Carolina might be ready to break through in the SEC. But which team's schedule might preclude it from reaching those goals? ESPN.com takes a look at college football's most difficult schedules in 2007.

[...]4. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: The Trojans greatly benefited from playing most of the Pac-10 Conference's most talented teams at home last season. But the schedule flips in 2007 with USC traveling to Oregon, Cal and Arizona State. The Trojans also have a pair of marquee nonconference games: at Nebraska on Sept. 15 and at Notre Dame on Oct. 20. Southern California's most difficult stretch begins Oct. 20, when the Trojans play four of five games away from home.

Nonconference opponents: Idaho (home), Nebraska (road), Notre Dame (road)
Toughest game: at Nebraska, Sept. 15
Easiest game: vs. Stanford, Oct. 6

Once again, Pete Carroll's anytime, anyplace, anywhere mentality will pay dividends if SC can get through the season unscathed. There are no cupcakes outside of Stanford and that is a mandatory game because they are in conference. Miles has some cupcakes on his OOC schedule so he should keep his mouth shut.

Also, SC plays every team in conference where the SEC doesn't. If LSU is so badass then drop the cup cakes and put the rest of the SEC on the schedule and show us how tough you really are, otherwise pipe down and worry about your own team.

Or, as Phil Jackson once said of Jeff VanGundy during their war of words in the 90's..."another worm is on the hook"!

0 recs | Comment 18 comments

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Idaho

While i agree completely that USC's schedule is not the cakewalk Les Miles would love people to believe, in the interest of fairness you can't state that Stanford is the only cupcake. The season opener against Idaho, at home, is not exactly a team that strikes fear into anyone.

Still, it's a D-1A team, something which many SEC teams are unfamiliar with outside of their conference games. I'm sure many SEC teams, if given the option, would replace one conference game per season with another D-1AA team.

by jaredobr on Jul 11, 2007 9:46 AM PDT 0 recs

i understand your point

Idaho was for when Nick Holt left to coach them. Idaho wanted out when Holt came back to SC but SC couldn't find a suitable replacement, i believe they wanted Hawaii but June Jones wouldn't take it especially after SC demolished them a few years ago and I would take Idaho over Stanford any day of the week.

by Paragon SC on Jul 11, 2007 2:07 PM PDT up 0 recs

Actually, that'd be a good game

I'd take Idaho by 4. But only this year.

btw, Paragon, shoot me an email when you have a chance. I won't be able to respond til after work today around 9, but then I can help you out (sorry its taken so long to get around to it)

Fight on!!! Beat the Vandals!!!

by USCLink on Jul 11, 2007 2:41 PM PDT up 0 recs

Oh, now you've done it

Jim Harbaugh is gonna call you up and give you an earful for that one.

by Boy Howdy on Jul 11, 2007 4:43 PM PDT up 0 recs

One thing worth pointing out

Is that Idaho is an anomaly. They're on the schedule as a favor to Nick Holt, and wouldn't let us opt in. Compare to past years OOC schedules:

@Ark, vs. Neb, vs. ND.
vs. Ark, @Hawaii (suck it June Jones), @ND, Fresno State
ND, neutral (@)Va. Tech, Colorado state, @BYU
@aub, BYU, Hawaii, @ND
Aub, @Colorado, K. State, ND

Then look at the future:

@Neb, Idaho (cupcake), @ND
tOSU, @Virginia, ND
@tOSU, ND, San Jose State (not a cupcake, but not a great team)
@Hawaii, Virginia, ND, (likely to add another game b/c of hawaii exemption)
@ND, TBD, TBD

In those 10 years of schedules, I would argue there is only 1 OOC cupcake, that being Idaho this year, and even that comes with qualifications that explain why we're actually playing them.

Just my 2 cents

Fight on!!! Beat the Vandals!!!

by USCLink on Jul 11, 2007 9:57 AM PDT 0 recs

There's a huge built in advantage

You get to play Notre Dame every year.

by SuperBruinMan on Jul 11, 2007 1:30 PM PDT up 0 recs

So we paly 10 teams each year

with 2 open slots. 9 conference + ND. That's a rivalry that's been around since the 30's...

I fail to see how that undermines my argument.

Fight on!!! Beat the Vandals!!!

by USCLink on Jul 11, 2007 1:42 PM PDT up 0 recs

Ahem

I think that SuperBruinMan is having a little fun at Notre Dame's expense, in re: the cupcake issue.

by DC Trojan on Jul 11, 2007 8:51 PM PDT up 0 recs

Sorry

I'm not that bright, and its been a long day.

Fight on!!! Beat the Vandals!!!

by USCLink on Jul 11, 2007 11:35 PM PDT up 0 recs

The question is:

Would Middle Tennessee beat Stanford. Is their Div II cupcake better than our conference cupcake?

by frak on Jul 11, 2007 4:23 PM PDT 0 recs

Welcome to the junk we have to hear all the time.

It's just a matter of time before Leslie heads back to his alma mater of Michigan. Then Pete can wax him in the Rose Bowl. Your boys seem pretty good at that.

by Mike P on Jul 11, 2007 5:04 PM PDT 0 recs

While I love our non-conference schedule and Pete

Carroll's "anytime, anywhere" mentality, it just doesn't work for everyone else. In most cases, money and favors influence non-conference scheduling. Sure, a team won't schedule 3 non-conference beasts per year, for obvious reasons, like losing. But more often, you see coaches returning favors through scheduling. Pete Carroll and Mike garrett probably scheduled Idaho when Nick Holt was there and was probably a favor. I know it sounds like bullshit, but its true.

If someone helped you get a job sometime along the road, you'll return the favor. If USC travels to Idaho, their stadium will sell out, they'll get TV exposure (not like Idaho is a hotspot for recruits), but more than anything, they'll generate revenue for the team and the school. And that, my friends, is what its all about. While I hate LSU and schools who refuse to play us, we all need to understand that its not always about making the most attractive game and making the most difficult schedule.

http://uscsportstalk.blogspot.com/

by joey on Jul 11, 2007 7:39 PM PDT 0 recs

Idaho was definitely a favor

Pete Carroll and Mike garrett probably scheduled Idaho when Nick Holt was there and was probably a favor. I know it sounds like bullshit, but its true.

Yeah, I don't think there's even a question as to why they did it. We were pretty open about wanting to get out of that game once he left, but we couldn't make it work.

by Boy Howdy on Jul 12, 2007 10:43 AM PDT up 0 recs

I realize that..

The question is does Les realize that.

Also, Pete, and Garrett did schedule Idaho as a favor to Nick Holt.

by frak on Jul 11, 2007 7:52 PM PDT 0 recs

Les Miles

has said some pretty stupid things, and I know he realizes how non-conference scheduling works. He is just looking for an excuse to inflate his conference and speak what has been on the minds of many LSU fans. And cover his ass, because he knows they will lose at least one game. While I would love to face LSU in the BCS championship, I think LSU will drop one game. I don't know the LSU program, so I can't say why LSU would schedule D-1AA teams, but lets not rule out a favor or two going on. Or lets speak the minds of Pac-10 fans, they are fuckin scared to step on the field with a legit BCS opponent.

Not like we owe Kiffin any favors (ahem...4th and 2 and no Reggie), but Carroll should grant him a favor and schedule the Oakland Raiders. Since, USC is good enough to be playing in the NFC West.

http://uscsportstalk.blogspot.com/

by joey on Jul 11, 2007 8:11 PM PDT 0 recs

Les Miles

has written a check with his mouth that his coordinators and players are going to have to cash with their ass.

In answer to one of the questions about cupcakes, I think LSU has to play one of the directional Louisiana schools (UL-Lafayette, UL-Monrow, LA Tech) under pressure from of all places the state legislature. Back about 15 years ago in the Curley Hallman era, LSU sucked so bad that revenues were down. Beer distributors even commented on the severe drop in sales. Maybe like the Paul Hackett years? ANyway, under pressure from the Legislature, as well as supporters of the "smaller" LA schools, powers that be at LSU made a gentleman's agreement to schedule the in-state schools, and keep the cash inside the state. Remember, this was also when the state was in recovery from the oil bust. That's why there's one serving of cupcakes on the menu for LSU. The others such as Middle Tennessee State, I do not know.

When we play in the MNC game, since it is in New Orleans (where John David Booty has had some of his best games), who gets to be the designated home team?

by Southern Papa on Jul 12, 2007 6:41 AM PDT 0 recs

college football for economic subsidy?

I love it. I am warming to this curious bayou state all the time.

by DC Trojan on Jul 12, 2007 1:28 PM PDT up 0 recs

LSU home game

I hear that Louisiana players that go to schools out of state get death threats, so I don't know if Booty has any fans back there. I'm sure McKnight will get his share of boos as well, so I'm thinking that the crowd will probably be a more LSU friendly bunch. I'm not sure how they decide who gets to be the home team. Maybe its the team with the higher BCS score.

USC's 2 BCS championship games were both home games for our opposition. The crowd at the Orange Bowl, and the Rose Bowl was at least 60% OU, and Texas. We outdrew Michigan both times at the Rose Bowl, and our Orange Bowl game against Iowa had more Hawkeye fans.

by frak on Jul 12, 2007 9:11 AM PDT 0 recs