Los Angeles – Pete Carroll says it is hard to describe and define how his five editions of USC Trojans have impacted the program.
Hey, Coach, I am happy to help.
Basically, for the previous 20 years, USC had slithered into oblivion.
We know that Carroll is 54-9 at USC, has won 34 straight, 45 of 46 and seeks an astonishing third consecutive national title tonight when his team confronts Texas in the Rose Bowl.
But in its five pre-Carroll seasons USC slogged to records of 5-7, 6-6, 8-5, 6-5 and 6-6.
It had not won a national championship since 1978.
It had not featured a Heisman Trophy winner since 1981 (Marcus Allen).
Carroll has produced three in the past four years.
Carroll’s first season was not a hint of things to come. He was 6-6 and lost 10-6 to Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl.
His elegant recruiting and coaching have created a college football beast. Ted Tollner and Larry Smith and Paul Hackett were among the coaches to recently precede Carroll. None could cut it. Carroll used energy and charisma to bring elite players to USC. And that is the origin of it, inserting weapons, explosiveness, character and competitors into the fold.
That is what makes this Rose Bowl special. USC and Texas all season long have clearly presented more of those ingredients than all other teams.
This game could give us the NFL draft’s first three picks. In USC quarterback Matt Leinart and running back Reggie Bush and Texas quarterback Vince Young, the game offers college football’s top trio.
Leinart, a senior, will be in the draft. Bush, a junior, is expected to enter. Young, a junior, has indicated he will remain at Texas for another season, but we shall see. I say he makes the leap.
And if he does, I believe Young should be the draft’s first pick. Bush won the Heisman this season, Leinart won it last season, but Young will give an NFL team the biggest boost. His mobility, arm and will make him perfectly suited for the NFL’s offensive-minded game. His decision-making and accuracy are solid. He places pressure on defenses both on the edges and in the pocket and his running skills are divine. He is 6-feet-5. He is the quarterback model for the NFL’s present and future.
Encompassing NFL scouts will dissect this game. That is the beauty of it. With all three players sharing the field in the same skirmish, scouts will enjoy the chance to see how all three handle the pressure and the opportunity. This one game, more than most, will color the draft incalculably.
And USC loves that.
“You can’t get a big enough game for us,” Carroll said.
And I love that.
Carroll has built a team, a program, that does not shrink. They create the hype. Then they embrace it.
That kind of haughtiness is hard to come by in any sport.
His team has routinely turned confidence and trust into performance.
We have seen big games turn into busts. We saw Oklahoma crumple against USC in the national title game last season in a 55-19 loss. Texas has too much of what USC has to allow that.
Carroll was talking about how he game-plans and schemes and then watches his players use improvisation. The best teams, the best players take each play and then mark it with their skills, their read.
Carroll was talking about Bush when he said: “Every once in a while he sees something no one else sees and he gets to places nobody else can get to.”
This Rose Bowl, on both sides, will have plenty of that from a variety of players familiar and unfamiliar.
Carroll calls it “a fortunate moment in our fortunate lives.”
He is right.
Championship games can deliver that best.
Especially this one.
Staff writer Thomas George can be reached at 303-820-1994 or tgeorge@denverpost.com.
