As LSU, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida all get set to beat the crap out of each other in the coming weeks, USC coach Pete Carroll had the gall to refer to his Pac-10 slate as “ridiculously difficult” during his media conference call today. It’s a schedule so daunting that none of the nine challengers to USC’s conference crown are currently ranked in the AP top 25.
By comparison, there are three Mountain West and two WAC teams in the most recent AP poll. But Carroll knows more than I do, so let’s examine what will certainly be a daunting slate:
Oregon State: Lost to Stanford. Blown out at Penn State. Drubbed rebuilding Hawaii.
Oregon: Now playing its fifth-string quarterback, who was nearly good enough to bring Ducks back to beat Boise State.
Arizona State: Lost to UNLV. At home.
Washington State: The Cougs have lost by 63 to Cal, 26 to Oklahoma State, and 28 to Baylor. Now their top two QBs are out for the year with broken backs.
Arizona: Beat UCLA. Lost to New Mexico. They might actually not be that bad.
Washington: 2nd-ranked Oklahoma beat them by 41 points in Seattle.
California: Looked good initially, but was handled easily by mediocre Maryland.
Stanford: After last year, Trojans probably not looking past this one. Cardinal were whacked by TCU and Arizona State and lackluster in win over San Jose State.
UCLA: 59-0.
Notre Dame: Cal beat Michigan State. MSU destroyed the Domers.
Yeah, Pete, a real doozy you have to get through, there. Still, he tries to get people to buy what he’s selling, per ESPN.COM’s Ted Miller:
“We have a way we deal with our opponents and our scheduling that we have always done that has nothing to do with what everyone else thinks,” he said. “Every game for us is a championships — an enormous event and opportunity. It doesn’t matter what the setting is.”
Clearly, after last year’s embarrassment against Stanford, Carroll has to be extremely diligent in getting his players to believe that each game is going to be tough, even though every Trojan game from here on out will involve a point spread of at least three touchdowns.
At least Carroll was able to get through the entire call today, thanks to the state of Ohio not being involved.
6:54 pm on September 24th, 2008
To be fair, at least USC didn't schedule any 1-AA teams.
And I suppose it can be difficult for the Trojans, having to overcome boredom in each blowout, while not trying to get too distracted by the Song Girls.
9:19 am on September 25th, 2008
"To be fair, at least USC didn't schedule any 1-AA teams."App. St. would beat half the teams on USC's schedule.
9:21 am on September 25th, 2008
this gave me a hearty chuckle, i think it would be wise of Pete to throw in a tour of the SEC, one game a year vs. an SEC team. then he might have a clue of a tough game on the schedule. Hell, Vandy on a good day would make the boys of Troy look stupid.
9:47 am on September 25th, 2008
Half of the Pac 10 is 1-AA.
9:53 am on September 25th, 2008
USC is a really good team, but put them in the SEC and they are a 2 loss team every year.
10:53 am on September 25th, 2008
I'll agree that Southern Cal is a talented team, but for him to maintain that their conference schedule is 'difficult' is the most ridiculous thing I've heard all day. Granted it's only 10:52 AM. But that one will be hard to top. Thanks for posting, I'll pass this around.
11:26 am on September 25th, 2008
"To be fair, at least USC didn't schedule any 1-AA teams."
You mean like the Appalachian State team LSU scheduled that tore up Michigan at The Big House last season?
11:30 am on September 25th, 2008
Hey now, USC, in recent memory, has scheduled SEC teams, Auburn ('02 & '03) and Arkansas ('05 & '06), in home and home series. I believe Arkansas was the SEC West champ in '06 (beat the Hogs by 50), and Auburn was ranked #8 in '02. USC had no problem in those games. I don't think they would worry about Vandy.
Look, I am not saying that Pete's comments weren't a little over the top, but he does have to give credit to the remaining games which are all in conference. Remember, he has to play these teams every year.
12:51 pm on September 25th, 2008
Hey SEC dimwits!! u can talk crap AFTER any one of your teams beats USC but u know thats not gonna happen. and who did Tennessee lose to UCLA? you guys are overrated…2 great programs (LSU, Florida) and everyone else is overrated. btw, the Conference of Champions is still on the west coast, where are you yokels located again? we win, you LOSE. lol
9:06 pm on September 25th, 2008
Conference of champions? The PAC10 has 1.5 national titles over the past 20 years. The SEC has 6.
12:49 am on September 26th, 2008
Turns out 1-2 Oregon St. turned out to be pretty darned difficult for USC, so maybe Carroll was on to something! HAHAHA
1:30 am on September 26th, 2008
Check your history, UW went 12-0 in 91 and shared the title with Miami, also 12-0. Last I checked, UW is in the Pac 10 and 91 was within the last 20 years. Maybe not the SEC 6 you've pointed out, but if you're going to spout off 'facts' you should check them first.
Though this season the Pac 10 isn't as strong, last year it finished with 4 teams in the top 25.
9:18 am on September 26th, 2008
If carroll had ballzz, he'd have BRAGGED about his schedule instead of whining about it.
His actions is the same as posponing a debate.