Re: TROJANS HISTORIC DOMINATION OF THE PAC10 CONFERENCE
anon
On Sep 18, 6:03 pm, Sword of Troy <lsf...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Trojans' amazing run is most dominant in Pac-10 football history
>
> Washington coach Steve Sarkisian, a former USC assistant, calls
> Trojans' run of seven straight Pac-10 titles "unbelievable."
>
> By Bob Condotta
>
> Seattle Times staff reporter
>
> Pac-10's best by decade
> There's no question USC has been the team of this decade. But who were
> the best of other decades and how did their runs compare to that of
> the current Trojans?
> 1990s: Washington. Huskies captured three Pac-10 titles, more than any
> other school. UCLA won two. The Huskies' titles came consecutively at
> the beginning of the decade before probation intervened (UW did share
> a piece of the 1995 title, as well, though USC won the tiebreaker).
> 1980s: USC. Huskies fans might argue, as UW won two Pac-10 titles and
> had another year finishing second in the nation. But the Trojans won
> four Pac-10 titles, including three in a row, and had the most
> conference wins (56 to UW's 51).
> 1970s: USC. Trojans won six conference titles in a decade memorable
> for great running backs — Anthony Davis, Ricky Bell, Charles White,
> etc. USC won three in a row from 1972-74, when it went 20-0-1 in
> conference play.
> 1960s: USC. Trojans won five conference titles, including the last
> four.
> 1950s: UCLA. In a decade in which six different teams won the
> conference, Bruins won the most, three, from 1953-55.
> 1940s: USC. Trojans won four titles, including three during the
> truncated wartime era.
> 1930s: USC. Howard Jones got the USC dynasty rolling with four titles.
> 1920s: California. In the first full decade for the conference, the
> Bears were the kings, winning four titles, from 1920-23.
>
> It has to end one of these days, doesn't it?
>
> No, not the debate of Kanye's dissing of Taylor Swift, but something
> many people in these parts find even more annoying — USC's continued
> supremacy in the Pac-10.
>
> As the Trojans roll to town for Saturday's game against Washington at
> Husky Stadium, they are riding the most dominant run in the history of
> the Pac-10, if not all of college football.
>
> "Obviously what they have done, winning seven straight conference
> titles, is almost impossible," Arizona State coach Dennis Erickson
> said earlier this week.
>
> Especially in a time when parity — brought on by 85-man scholarship
> limits and other schools ramping up facilities and program
> enhancements — is supposedly the norm.
>
> In fact, there were seven different winners of the Pac-10 in the
> previous seven seasons before USC began its run in 2002.
>
> "Once upon a time, I thought parity would run rampant and continue to
> run rampant," said former UW offensive lineman Lincoln Kennedy, a
> radio host for Fox Sports.
>
> Instead, Pete Carroll arrived at USC in 2001 and a year later had the
> Trojans off on a run that has never been seen in the conference. It's
> not just seven straight titles, but also seven straight top-four
> finishes in the final polls, seven straight BCS bowls and seven
> straight 11-win seasons, each of the past two marks also NCAA records.
>
> "I think what makes this run so incredible is the fact that Carroll is
> doing all of this in an era of 85-man scholarship limitations and a
> time when kids can go to virtually anywhere and play on TV," said ESPN
> college football writer Bruce Feldman. "Twenty years ago, only a few
> schools had such reach, and with that, I think it's harder to
> stockpile talent like in the old days. Kids are so tempted to go their
> own way and not be patient and sit behind someone."
>
> The reciting of USC's dominance might strike fans of other schools as
> irritating as the incessant playing of "Tribute To Troy."
>
> But first-year UW coach Steve Sarkisian, who was offensive coordinator
> at USC seven of the past eight years, says the numbers — such as an
> 81-7 record in the past 88 games, the losses by a combined 26 points —
> might actually not be appreciated enough.
>
> "It needs to be, in my opinion, almost honored more, because it's
> unbelievable," Sarkisian said.
>
> Of course, if there's a Pac-10 school where this would happen, it
> would be USC, which has long been the winningest program in the
> conference. It has 756 all-time wins, most in the Pac-10 with UW next
> at 608, and is situated in the center of the talent-rich Los Angeles
> area.
>
> "The traditional powers, when they have the right person in place and
> everybody pulling together, they have a leg up, there is no doubt
> about that," said longtime college coach Dennis Franchione, who now
> works in media and has broadcast USC games for ESPN. "History proves
> that they are going to win when things are done the right way."
>
> They weren't for most of about two decades from the end of the first
> John Robinson era in 1981 to the beginning of the Carroll era in 2001.
>
> But veteran USC observers say Carroll — whose hiring was initially met
> with some skepticism given his lack of any college head-coaching
> experience and two firings as an NFL coach — simply understood the
> school better than any of his immediate predecessors, quickly
> reuniting the fan base and reigniting interest among local recruits.
>
> "He grasps the total program better than anyone," said Steve Bisheff,
> a longtime newspaper reporter who has covered USC for four decades and
> has a new book about the program called "Always Compete," one of
> Carroll's mantras. "It's like he has all the strengths of the great
> coaches before him. He sort of combines them all."
>
> What Carroll also did was again make USC the main destination for the
> elite L.A.-area recruits after schools such as Colorado and Nebraska
> had made inroads.
>
> Kennedy says he thinks the departure of the NFL's Rams and Raiders has
> helped. "Because there is no NFL team, they are the talk of the town,"
> he said. "Carroll has created a pro-style staff and a pro-style
> environment where all the kids come in with visions of grandeur of
> going to the next level."
>
> There's been a scandal along the way with the allegations concerning
> illegal payments to Reggie Bush, though until proven otherwise,
> nothing discredits the Carroll era.
>
> The only Pac-10 run that really compares is what USC did in the late
> 1960s and early '70s under John McKay. But the conference was just
> eight teams deep and not as competitive, and Bisheff points out that
> there were a couple of so-so years mixed in, such as consecutive four-
> loss seasons in 1970 and 1971.
>
> Observers say that consistency is forged in part by Carroll's ability
> to recruit and willingness to play young players, which helps keep the
> veterans from getting complacent while ensuring that USC has never
> really had to rebuild by depending on inexperience.
>
> "More often than not, these guys see better players in practice than
> in the games," Bisheff said.
>
> Bisheff says Carroll's ability to stockpile talent, having many
> players on the roster as reserves who would be stars at other schools
> "is maybe the biggest mystery of all." Even though some players have
> groused, and a few have left, most stay to wait their place in line.
>
> "Even being around it, I don't understand it," Bisheff said. "But he
> manages to keep it harnessed."
Fernando
This so called dominance ends TODAY!!!! Happy Halloween Trojans!!!!!!