Remember that old joke in Hollywood with the punchline of “if you can fake sincerity,” you’ve got it made? We seem to have found the culprit of that joke, and damned if it isn’t Southern California’s prolific coach, Pete Carroll. He has to be faking, right? Nobody, but nobody can match his passion and calmed admiration for his own team, right?

(Only at USC is this a good idea in the middle of the football season.)

Well, yes and no. It turns out that some can match it - they just so happen to be his subordinates. Thus, with USC preparing for Notre Dame in - arguably - the Trojans’ most critical matchup of the year (and certainly Notre Dame’s most important), Carroll and the USC coaches marked the occasion by, errr, slip-and-sliding on the wet Los Angeles turf. Damn your self-assured person, sir. Damn it. At the very least, we have video after the break.

Per the ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER:

After the final play in the “team” period of practice Wednesday, Carroll gathered up the Trojans and sent them scurrying to a side field, hooting and hollering.

The players lined up on either side of the near sideline, forming a human water slide through which offensive line coach Pat Ruel and defensive line coach Jethro Franklin hurtled their soon-to-be-soaked bodies.

Video? Hell yes, video:

(Video via DR. SATURDAY)

The best part about this, undoubtedly, is the players’ investment in the entire display, running after their coach with the exuberance usually reserved for the mentally unstable.

At the very least, what it all accomplishes is the idea that Notre Dame must win the game this weekend - or, that is to say, USC will not beat themselves with overthought or any other self-destructive tendencies in big games. After all, if their composure in the lead-up is any indication, not only would USC not blow the game, but they probably wouldn’t even know where to begin.