WARM UP THE TRUCK.
EDSBS: Coach Carroll, you’re known for your innovative practice techniques. Explain a few of them to us.
Pete Carroll: Lemme just say that I’m jacked to talk with you, Orson. Just psyched and jacked and excited to do it.
EDSBS: Of course you are.
PC: Of course I am. We use a variety of techniques. I like to keep things hopping, so we move POP POP POP from drill to drill, emphasizing competition at every position. The best players play at USC, regardless of age. We compete. We drive. We win. That’s what we do.
EDSBS: And by drive you mean…
PC: We get the running backs to drive trucks during practice. Full-size Toyota Tundras, actually, the official truck of USC athletics. We’re jacked to have them on board with us.
EDSBS: You’re fucking with me, right? You’re totally fucking with me, Pete.
PC: Nope, no fucking with going on here. We line them up in the backfield, hand off through the window, and then have the running back place the ball in one of the Tundra’s ample cup holders. Seriously, those things will hold a pony keg of beer. Not that we endorse drinking pony kegs of beer while driving here at USC.
EDSBS: Of course not.
PC: But it keeps some of the wear and tear off our backs while encouraging our lineman to move quickly and make big holes for our backs at the same time.
EDSBS: And that means you have men going up against trucks. On the football field.
PC: Yeah, it’s awesome. Just awesome. Rey’s only totalled two this season, though. He’s hoping to get to four or five before the UCLA game.
EDSBS: And you haven’t lost a lineman to…um…being hit by a truck yet?
PC: Well, I’m not saying that! (Laughs.) But, you know: omelets, eggs. Only the fittest survive here at USC. We compete. And sometimes run over our lineman with the full force of a beautiful yet rugged 2008 Toyota Tundra full-size pickup.
EDSBS: And this…works?
PC: Oh, hell yes. Did you see what happened to Nebraska Saturday night?
Filed under: Big 12 Conference, Blog Buddies, Coaches, the BCS, scandals, arrests, and other eccentri, College football, Pacific 10 Conference by Orson Swindle
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42
Albino: As a long time USC fan I know your pain. I remember a loss to Memphis and escaping with a tie against San Diego State. I also remember thinking during the days when Miami and Nebraska were dominating, that USC might be a good again, but we would never rise up to past levels of greatness. But things do cycle around for most programs.
Nebraska will win more MNC’s down the road. And I see this last game as a situation where USC was on and everything came together rather than Nebraska being a weak opponent. And while the pictures above do look bad, there were some plays where the Nebraska DL got some good penetration
Greg Robinson? Isn’t he a GENIUS? After all, he has two SUPER BOWL RINGS!
Comment by oc phil — September 19, 2007 @ 11:09 am
41
OC Phil:
We may be better than we’ve been; however, we’ve set the bar pretty high for ourselves, and the national media’s been going along for the ride. Further, we’ve had at least one game where we’ve had our doors blown clean off every year since Kevin Cosgrove came aboard with Callahan:
04: 70-10 @ Texas Tech
05: 41-15 @ Kansas (!)
06: 41-29 @ Ok. State (trust me, we got our doors blown off)
07: 49-31 at home to USC. The worst beating we got at home since KSU stomped us 38-9; after all, it was 42-10 and 49-17 late in the game.
Another part of the semi-unrealistic expectations we have are thanks to Bob Stoops, Jim Tressel, and Urban Meyer, all of which manage to win NC’s in their second years. The fact that those teams were completely stacked with talent (thanks, John Blake, John Cooper, and [Name Redacted]!) whereas Nebraska had glorified walk-ons and zero QB’s is ignored. Willingham made a similar transition in offensive scheme at Notre Dame, and got fired for it because his first season was magical, with every conceivable bounce going his way. Greg Robinson at Suckracuse… well, I hope he knows a good realtor.
If it weren’t for Cheeseburger Charlie absolutely stinking up the join in South Bend, Callahan would be getting even more heat than he likely deserves.
Comment by Albino Tornado — September 19, 2007 @ 8:36 am
40
if pete saw this he’d be all like HOLY FREE DARKO then he’d laugh.
Comment by matt — September 18, 2007 @ 11:41 pm
39
Ay caramba! I saw the game but those holes captured in still photos are just unbelievable. In some of the shots on Corn Nation, it’s hard not to think the ball was snapped as the Nebraska players were still running out to get lined up. Actually, that might have helped them, since they would have at least been in motion.
Comment by Defender90 — September 18, 2007 @ 11:00 pm
38
‘Hey Stafon, just run towards the S, stay between the U & the K and you should be fine.’
Have the sons of Bruce Matthews, Brad Budde, Anthony Munoz and Don Mosebar matriculated to ‘SC recently? It feels like 1979 again.
Comment by SeaTrojan — September 18, 2007 @ 5:26 pm
37
#31 Pete’s “We are going to run every down” command didn’t come at the start of the game, it was during the long timeout when the player was hurt on the kickoff. That was the drive that was 100% run.
USC was behind at the time, thanks partly to the fact that both Nebraska scoring drives were kept alive by USC penalties on 3rd or 4th down.
I understand how the Nebraska fans are upset the the program is not back to where it has been. But I still see Nebraska as a quality team. At this point I’d rank them #2 in the Big 12 and by the end of the year they could have a legitimate shot at Oklahoma should the two teams meet in the Big 12 championship game.
Comment by oc phil — September 18, 2007 @ 4:55 pm
36
#20 - The answer is, “Ignite the atmosphere, as well as any upholstered goods in a five mile radius of the stadium.”
Comment by Hokie Andrew — September 18, 2007 @ 4:08 pm
35
Sorry Phil, Rob is the unoriginal bastage.
Comment by AustinHusker — September 18, 2007 @ 3:41 pm
34
Props to Phil on originality. Blackskirts…zzz.
Sadly, USC did make the Husker D look like a bunch of dress-wearing bitches.
Comment by AustinHusker — September 18, 2007 @ 3:40 pm
33
First it’s houses for their families…now it’s new full-size trucks.
I’m tellin ya, life must be good for SoCal tailbacks…
Comment by Slacker — September 18, 2007 @ 2:53 pm
32
As an owner of a 2007 Toyota Tundra, it will certainly truck somebody*
*-except of course, Tray Blackmon
Comment by James — September 18, 2007 @ 2:30 pm
31
OC Phil:
1. Nebraska’s front seven got brickfaced by USC’s OL all night. No question.
2. Nebraska missed two tackles at the point of attack on those first two runs. One by the SS, one by an all-american candidate corner where he flat put his head down and whiffed.
3. USC did not run the ball until they scored — their first TD (of their 7) was on a 6 yard or so in route. After 3 runs. Two of which were for 40+. After pinning them on their own 4. Dammit.
Kevin Cosgrove (Nebraska’s DC, late of Wisconsin) is every bit as popular here now as Craig Bohl in 2001/2002.
Orson, you know that line you have about never forgetting your first prison rape? Thanks for the reminder. I’ll have to go get some more liquor now.
Comment by Albino Tornado — September 18, 2007 @ 1:45 pm
30
#24 Very true but it is not a new phenomenon. The success of guys like Marcus Allen, Charles White, Ricky Bell and the rest was very much helped by running behind some great offensive linemen like Anthony Munoz. You don’t get to be known as “Tailback U” if you are not really “Offensive Line U”.
Comment by oc phil — September 18, 2007 @ 1:31 pm
29
Miami used to do this, but they used vintage Cadillacs and got tired of players landing ON THE TRUNK…
….ON THE TRUNK????
Comment by macker — September 18, 2007 @ 1:18 pm
28
I love how the USC detractors are going to use how Nebraska gave up 236 yards rushing to wake forest so 313 yards isn’t a big deal. 236 is bad, but did you actually see the way USC was rushing against nebraska? They could have rushed for over 500 if they had wanted to. I am not exaggerating either. PC called off the dogs, and to say he didn’t is just ignorance.
Comment by Andy — September 18, 2007 @ 1:07 pm
27
Cue Denny Green…They are what we thought they were! If you want to crown ‘em, then crown their ass, but they are what we thought they were! One of the greatest rants ever.
How long til the WWL starts crowning USC? I’ll never forget the endless adoration just a couple of years ago, comparing them to all time college football teams, before they had even won the MNC. Oops.
Comment by Palouse — September 18, 2007 @ 12:34 pm
26
Can the Heisman be splitt 5 ways??
It should be!
Comment by shovel pass — September 18, 2007 @ 12:33 pm