On Saturday the Florida Gators demolished Troy by 50 points, 56-6. Texas whipped Wyoming, 41-10. The Oklahoma Sooners destroyed Idaho State with a vengeance, 64-0.
And in the biggest win of the week, the #3 USC Trojans topped the #8 Ohio State Buckeyes by a whopping 18-15.
It’s nothing new to Pete Carroll. This is the man who has never, in his entire coaching career, lost to a Big-10 team. And whose Trojans haven’t lost a regular season non-conference game since 2002.
That’s going on seven years without a non-conference loss. 23-0.
Pete Carroll has always said that his USC teams will “play anybody, anywhere.” Their schedules in his tenure as head coach back that up—consider these perennial powers, who have all fallen to the Trojans under Carroll: Auburn, Colorado, Notre Dame, BYU, Virginia Tech, Arkansas, Fresno State, Nebraska—and of course Ohio State.
It’s refreshing, in a time when most national contenders pat their schedules with non-conference cupcakes.
In addition to an extra W, mismatch games give Heisman candidates a canvas for drumming up award-worthy numbers. Consider how Tim Tebow and Florida started the season by playing Charleston Southern before Troy. Colt McCoy and the Texas Longhorns added Louisiana-Monroe. And Oklahoma would be feeling good about its Idaho State-Tulsa lineup, if Sam Bradford and their season hadn’t both been derailed by the BYU Cougars.
Prevailing philosophy dictates that going undefeated with an easy schedule is a more sure path to the BCS championship than playing tough games and risking a loss or two. But it’s not entirely true.
It simply can’t be said that tough non-conference schedules have ever kept the Trojans out of the championship game. In 2003, it was a Pac-10 Conference loss to Cal that squeezed AP #1 USC out of the BCS Championship. In 2008, it was the upset loss to conference opponent Oregon State that relegated Carroll’s boys to a lesser bowl.
It can be said that Carroll himself isn’t responsible for the quality of the Trojans’ opponents, since coaches don’t make the schedules. But judging by their schedules year in and year out, the philosophy must pervade the organization, and anyone who has ever doubted Carroll’s swagger on the topic should take note:
“We’ll play anybody. This is a fantastic club. I can see how some people might not want to play us.”
Pete Carroll, 2002
“I think we’re a pretty good team right now. We’ll play anybody, anywhere.”
Pete Carroll, 2006
“We will play anybody that will play us. It gives us a challenge and makes us a good football team. I don’t care if it’s the beginning of the year or the end of the year. It’s not working out that way. I take a little pride in that not a lot of teams want to play us, but I also understand why they don’t want to play us. We are not backing away from anybody.”
Pete Carroll, 2003
”We’ll play anybody, and I can’t imagine how anybody wouldn’t want us to play in their game. Although I know that some people might not want to play us.”
Pete Carroll, 2002
“I’ve always said we’ll play anybody anywhere.”
Pete Carroll, 2003
“We’ll play anybody anywhere, and I think we’ll be hard to beat.”
Pete Carroll, 2006
“We’ll play anybody, anywhere, anytime. I know this isn’t the system and we don’t get to. We wish we could keep playing. If there was a way to keep playing games and see who would win and be the last team standing, we’d love to have that opportunity.”
Pete Carroll, 2002
“We’d play into the spring if they’d let us.”
Pete Carroll, 2008
Are there any questions left after that? The Pete Carroll-ness has even rubbed off on others in the program:
“We’ve told them we were willing to play anybody.”
USC Senior Associate Athletic Director Daryl Gross, 2003
“We feel like we’d be able to play anybody and beat anybody.”
Trojans safety Taylor Mays, 2007
Last year Ohio State brought freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor to the Coliseum, and the Trojans made quick work of the Buckeyes, 35-3. This year it was USC with the freshman taking snaps, and even in the hostile environment of the Horseshoe Matt Barkley led his team to the win.
It was another Pete Carroll non-conference symphony, with Barkley conducting the orchestra and Joe McKnight playing the featured solo.
With the win, USC makes a strong case for BCS consideration come January. While there are still tough games on their schedule (at #8 Cal, at Oregon), the Trojans have leaped arguably their most difficult hurdle for the entire season. And for a team that often peaks late in the season—the USC/Carroll combo is 28-0 in the month of November—that’s downright scary for the rest of the country.
The “play anybody, anywhere” philosophy of Carroll and the Trojans presents a compelling case for the other premiere football programs in the country. Do the Florida Gators (to pick on just one of several guilty parties) really lack confidence in their players so much that they fear even a halfway-competitive non-conference schedule?
You’d never be able to prove it from a psychological standpoint, but perhaps Pete Carroll’s confidence in his players is manifest in their play on the field.
The Trojans’ perennial success is remarkable to the point that other programs may wish to adopt Carroll’s philosophy and beef up their non-conference schedules. If their team rises to the occasion to beat a high-powered opponent, that one game can quickly make them a player in the BCS discussion.
Although I wouldn’t recommend scheduling a game against USC.
It is this simple – teams that play d2 schools should not be elligable for a BCS bowl game.
I actually can’t agree with this, for two reasons.
First, it’s not a black-and-white indicator of skill level. Florida’s opponent Troy was, by my count, ranked below 18 FCS (formerly D2) teams in the RPI.
Second, this sort of rule would really hurt those FCS teams, who stand to profit financially by playing against big-name teams. That’s why they do it, for the paycheck they get… and a rule like this would effectually mean that no FBS team would ever want to play an FCS team again.
But, should they be ranked, that high after beating a high school team.
Get your asses in gear and play some competition all year instead of 4 or 5 games.
I was going to write, “Teams that play UW and WSU every year should be ineligible for bowl games.”
Then USC goes out and lays an egg with UW???
PC should want to “play anyone (good, presumably), anytime.” He can’t seem to motivate his team when they are 20+ point favorites.
FYI-Florida laid a big egg this weekend and still won.
For a guy who will play anyone, USC might want to schedule a real SEC team more than once in twenty-five years.
USC does try to schedule a “real” SEC team every season (such as Florida, LSU, Alabama), but ever since the beatdowns on Auburn and Arkansas, SEC teams stopped taking the challenge. Your argument, Bonell, is idiotic.
I am always a little shocked at football philosophy’s that work. I was reading the other day about a high school coach who does NOT punt. Every posession is 4 downs… no matter where they are on the field. 3rd down and the ball on their own ten with 10 yeards to go… they go for it. As crazy as it sounds… they have won their championship several times.