Trojans have final hurdle to clear to reach BCS
PASADENA, Calif. – Coach Pete Carroll takes pride in being distinct. The same can be said for Southern California’s football team, which during the past five years has produced one of the great runs in college history.
“We are trying not to be normal,” Carroll said. “We are trying to do this in a different fashion.”
The No. 2 Trojans almost surely will lock up a third straight appearance in the BCS title game by beating crosstown rival UCLA today at the Rose Bowl.
“We are trying to find a different way to maintain a focus that separates us,” Carroll said. “We work really hard to control what we can in the present and leave what’s happened in the past out of our conversation.”
Carroll, for example, tries to make practice enjoyable, running with the players, throwing passes, and keeping everyone loose.
“The way Pete Carroll coaches, we could be 12-0 and if it wasn’t fun, that wouldn’t be enough,” senior center Ryan Kalil said.
The approach is so successful the Trojans get just about every top player they recruit, enabling them to keep winning. USC (10-1, 7-1 Pac-10) is 55-3 since the middle of the 2002 season, with the three losses by a total of eight points.
Consider the last five years:
“The Trojans finished the 2002 season by beating No. 3 Iowa 38-17 in the Orange Bowl, leaving many believing they were the nation’s best team at season’s end.
“They were bypassed for the BCS title game following the 2003 season despite being ranked No. 1. They beat Michigan 28-14 in the Rose Bowl, resulting in a piece of the national championship.
“They dominated Oklahoma 55-19 in the BCS title game following the 2004 season and lost to Texas 41-38 in a classic national championship game last year.
The Trojans had a 31-28 record in the five years before Carroll was hired, and went 6-6 in his first season. They’re 58-5 since.
The Bruins (6-5, 4-4 Pac-10), have done an exceptional job on defense in their last two games – a 25-7 victory over Oregon State and a 24-12 triumph over Arizona State.
Coach Karl Dorrell decided Wednesday that Patrick Cowan, who has started UCLA’s last six games at quarterback, would get the call against the Trojans rather than Ben Olson, who started the first five games but hasn’t played since tearing a knee ligament Oct. 7.