These guys can’t be serious. They need to get out more...
Is coach Pete Carroll to blame for his inability to win in the clutch? If Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops gets trashed for his inability to win a bowl game … what about Carroll?
2005: With what many were calling one of the greatest college football teams ever*, USC lost the Rose Bowl to Texas, 41-38. Both teams were unbeaten, but the Trojans were 7-point favorites.
2006: With two weeks to prepare for unranked Oregon State (4-3), previously-unbeaten No. 3 USC lost, 33-31.
2006: With a berth in the National Title game on the line, No. 2 USC lost to unranked 6-5 UCLA, 13-9.
2007: Facing an unranked 1-3 Stanford team at home as 41-point favorites, No. 2 USC lost, 24-23.
2008: Two weeks to prepare for 1-2 unranked Oregon State. Went in as 24.5-point underdogs and ranked No. 1. Lost, 27-21.
Aside from the obvious, and its clear that these couldn't see it if it was standing right in front of them, most people don't rail against Stoops for losing conference games. They beat on him because he can't win bowl his games...you know like Notre Dame. Pete Carroll is hardly a choke artist...you know 6 straight Pac-10 titles, 6 straight 11 win seasons and I lost count of how many top 4 finishes.
Yes SC has had some slip ups in games that they should have won but for the most part when he gets SC on the national stage he comes through with flying colors.
Nothing would have made me happier than to see SC beat Texas in the Rose Bowl, if SC beats ucla in 06 or beats Stanford in 07 where those games had national championship implications...that would have put SC in the BCS title game 4 years in a row.Any other program close to doing that? Close but no cigar...but a choke artist? Not likely and I can think of about 115 other D-1 programs that would love to be in that position.
Have some of our losses been bitter? Yes, they have, but outside the Texas game which most think is the greatest CFB game in recent memory SC has demolished just about every out of conference foe on the national stage. I am fine with a healthy debate about why Pete Carroll has lost some of these games but he is hardly a choke artist and his overall record bares that out.
Come on guys, you can do better than that.
