#1 Southern Cal 21, Oregon St. 27 (Final)

[Colvinnl]

In each of those games, Carroll's teams have been huge favorites to win and have had a ridiculous amount of talent relative to their opponent, yet they can't get it done. It's time to take Carroll off the coaching pedestal.

Don't forget that our coach is up on that pedestal too. So, two things. 1) We have pretty darn close to losing to some similarly over-matched teams. Close enough that we needed a little luck to get the W. 2) They have a similar W-L record to us in the past few years but on its face their Ws look more impressive. Which record would you choose? Some might take the more impressive wins.

If you could choose a) beat USC 35-3 but with a loss to Minny or b) getting embarrassed by USC and beating Minny. Which would you chose? I'd take a). We may not like Pete's style and approach, but you can't deny he isn't one of the best college coaches in the game.

 

[cincibuck]

I haven't had my morning cup of joe yet. This is a joke, right? Like some April Fools Day thing?

 

[Bucklion]

Man that 1st half was a beatdown...then a hold-on-for-dear-life 2nd half...what a game.

 

[BuckeyePride]

I haven't had my morning cup of joe yet. This is a joke, right? Like some April Fools Day thing?

Watched the whole game... USC came out flat and played that way the entire first half. I guess they didn't prepare well.

I guess they thought they can beat another OSU without much effort too.

 

[bkochmc]

Anyone else starting to think that Pete Carroll isn't anywhere near as good a coach as everyone likes to give him credit for? He's a phenomenal big game coach, but who cares? He's a terrible coach against mediocre opponents.

2006: L against Oregon St., UCLA
2007: L against Stanford
2008: L against Oregon St.

In each of those games, Carroll's teams have been huge favorites to win and have had a ridiculous amount of talent relative to their opponent, yet they can't get it done. It's time to take Carroll off the coaching pedestal.

Those same years:

2006: W against SEC (Arkansas), Big12 (Nebraska), highly ranked Notre Dame, and bowl win vs. Big10 (Michigan)
2007: W against Big12 (Nebraska), highly ranked Oregon, highly ranked Arizona St., bowl win vs. Big10 (Illinois)
2008: W against Big10 (Ohio State)

If there is one thing a college football fan should know it is that upsets are most likely to occur within the conference for two reasons:
1 - The amount of conference games played
2 - Teams in the conference know each other better than opponents in OOC games

As an Ohio State fan you have to ask yourself (and jwinslow said this earlier in the thread): If we were in USC's shoes could you handle beating the elite teams and losing to Northwestern, Minnesota, Indiana, etc. on a yearly basis? Or would you rather have it the other way around? Sure, it would be nice to win all of the games but those kinds of seasons are few and far between. Realizing this makes 2002 all that more special.

 

[Fungo Squiggly]

I owe a lot of beavers a huge apology.

I guess I should probably apologize to the Oregon State fans, too.

Delusional bastards. I've watched quite a bit of Oregon State and he's a good little back, but that's absurd. They lost to Stanford and got their teeth kicked in by Penn State, but the REAL Quizz is going to run over Maualuga, Cushing and the USC defense. Riiiiiiight.

This will be an ass-whipping.

You, sir, are a fucking idiot. Your lack of knowledge and understanding proves to me, yet again, that you are the state's leading asshole.

:p

Yes, I'm an idiot. At least I can rest a little more easily knowing that I added Jacquizz Rodgers to my fantasy team a couple weeks ago. :p

 

[osugrad21]

It's funny, a Pac 10 team losing to a Pac 10 team shouldn't decrease one's opinion of the Pac 10's relative strength compared to another conference. For example, no one is trashing the Pac 10 when Auburn loses to LSU. But, SEC fan's aren't always the brightest...

I've had that discussion so many times...when Vandy or Ole Miss knocks off a SEC big dog, that shows the overall strength of the conference. When it happens in other conferences, it shows just how weak that conference is top to bottom.

Blah.

 

[Tlangs]

I've had that discussion so many times...when Vandy or Ole Miss knocks off a SEC big dog, that shows the overall strength of the conference. When it happens in other conferences, it shows just how weak that conference is top to bottom.

Blah.

i second that.

blah

 

[buckeyes_rock]

You have got to be kidding me!

I wake up this morning to this little gem of a final score! I saw the first Beaver TD, but figured that'd be all they get. Not even sure what to say here. Wow...just wow. After losing to that team, it'll be interesting to see how far they drop in the polls. It should be quite a lot...but it won't because...well this is USC.

 

[Dryden]

Anyone else starting to think that Pete Carroll isn't anywhere near as good a coach as everyone likes to give him credit for? He's a phenomenal big game coach, but who cares? He's a terrible coach against mediocre opponents.

2006: L against Oregon St., UCLA
2007: L against Stanford
2008: L against Oregon St.

In each of those games, Carroll's teams have been huge favorites to win and have had a ridiculous amount of talent relative to their opponent, yet they can't get it done. It's time to take Carroll off the coaching pedestal.

Meh. It happens. Sometimes the players don't 'get up' for the opponent. The coaches hammer it and hammer it and hammer it into their heads, but the kids mail it in anyway. It has happened to every coach at every major college program.

What you're suggesting would imply that Pete Carroll, or any other head coach that has a roster stacked like Southern Cal's, is a failure for not going 29-0 since the title game versus Texas. Expectations at that level are absurd.

Sometimes great teams just get beat. The college football season is such a crap-shoot.

 

[Nutriaitch]

I see your point, but disagree, based on both the specifics of the game (I realize you are speaking hypothetically), and the perceived "added weight" of a conference championship game.

wasn't tyng to give the CG added weight.
Just saying that hypothetically, if that situation occured in a UM/OSU game and decided the title, would that not be just as lame as what happened last year?
Situations are identical. Just ours happens in the 13th (and final) game, y'alls happens in the 12th (and final) game.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Petey is getting the reputation of winning the BIG games but losing games they should not........

Last night is why we all love college football...........anyone can be beat on a given Saturday, or in this case a Thursday.

OSU won the turnover battle, the line of scrimmage, great punting and played with passion........Ohio State did not accomplish any of these against USC.........

The deepest and most talented USC team since Pete arrived according to the media, just lost to a team with a losing record.

 

[scarletandgrey]

Delusional bastards. I've watched quite a bit of Oregon State and he's a good little back, but that's absurd. They lost to Stanford and got their teeth kicked in by Penn State, but the REAL Quizz is going to run over Maualuga, Cushing and the USC defense. Riiiiiiight.

This will be an ass-whipping.

Whew, good thing I didn't follow this advice

 

[buckeyes_rock]

So, since USC lost to OSU, is this a get-out-of-jail-free card for Buckyle's sig? :tongue2:

I sure hope so!

 

[buckeyesin07]

Those same years:

2006: W against SEC (Arkansas), Big12 (Nebraska), highly ranked Notre Dame, and bowl win vs. Big10 (Michigan)
2007: W against Big12 (Nebraska), highly ranked Oregon, highly ranked Arizona St., bowl win vs. Big10 (Illinois)
2008: W against Big10 (Ohio State)

If you read my post, you'll see that I conceded that Carroll is a phenomenal big-game coach, so I'm not sure what you're trying to prove by citing examples that support that point. Any coach can have his team not get up for a big game now and then. However, when your teams lose to incredibly less talented opponents year in and year out, you cannot be considered one of the best coaches in the country, IMO.