Owning the Rose Bowl is getting old
By Joe K
Spring football is a time where coaches begin dusting off the ‘ol playbooks, players start strapping on their practice gear, and fans begin reading about the upcoming season. Generally, it’s an exciting time for all college football fans, as spring practice provides a temporary escape for those longing for the gridiron clashes that autumn brings. On the downside, coaches tend to repeat an inordinate number of cliches regarding next year’s team. “We just got to keep taking it one day at a time,” and “we just need to keep improving,” are simply two of the numerous cliches that are echoed by coaches during interviews.
Even members of the Trojan faithful will admit that Pete Carroll is not immune to the cliche syndrome either. Even with his staggering success at USC, an 88-15 record and seven consecutive Pac-10 titles, Captain ComPete likes to sound off cliches too. “Always compete” and “Win forever” are just two of the many little phrases that he likes. Heck, if its really good, you can even make a cool t-shirt out of it.
While I understand that cliches will always be a part of sports, just as boredom is a part of Italian operas, one particular Carrollism is starting to bug me. “Own the Rose Bowl.”
Yes, as harmless as it sounds, “own the Rose Bowl,” just bothers me. It’s like something scrathcing my back that won’t go away. It’s that raccoon, which keeps steeling the ripe fruits from the garden. “Own the Rose Bowl,” is officially my pest.
For those unaware, the gist of the phrase is that USC can not control earning a bid to the BCS national titles games. Therefore, they can only worry about beating UCLA, who plays in the Rose Bowl, and winning the Pac-10 championship, which gurantees a birth in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day. Thus by accomplishing both, they would “own the Rose Bowl.” The phrase suggests that even if USC does everything in its power to post the best possible record, than they can’t go to the national title game.
Well, as Mike Gundy put it, that’s not true. If USC does post the best possible record, goes undefeated, than they will more likely than not be playing the BCS title game. The two years in which USC posted undefeated regular season records, 2004 and 2005, they appeared in the title game. In the other six seasons in which they failed to post a zero in the loss column, the Trojans were not playing in the big game. I’m no mathematician, just ask any of my former teachers, but when the Trojans go undefeated they play in the title games 100% of the time.
The problem I have with this cute little phrase is that it suggests that even if USC finishes with the best possible record, they have no control over whether they will earn a bid in the BCS national championship game. But they do have control. Not complete control but a lot of control.
Non-BCS teams such as Boise State and Utah should be the ones taking up this phrase, as they are the ones who have no control over their BCS bowl arrangements. In 2006, BSU did everything possible, posting an undefeated record, but they were shut out of the national title game and forced to play in the Fiesta Bowl. This past season, Utah finished with a perfect mark, but like Boise State, they too were shut out of the title game and relegated to another bowl. Both the Broncos and Utes did everything that was asked of them, and were not give the opportunity to play for a national championship.
Despite claiming to own the Rose Bowl these past few years, USC has not done everything that has been asked of them to warrant serious consideration for the national championship. In 2006, they were upset by double-digit underdogs, Oregon State and UCLA, which cost them a spot in the national title game against Ohio State. After watching the Buckeyes getting manhandled by Florida, maybe the Trojans could have one it all? In 2007, the Trojans again stumbled and ended up playing in the Rose Bowl, not the BCS title game. In October, they lost to forty point underdog, Stanford, and they fell to the Oregon Ducks on the road later that same month. Last season, the Trojans stumbled once again, losing to Oregon State in Corvallis after they had nearly two weeks to prepare.
So when Carroll tells the players, fans, and media, that the goal is to the “own the Rose Bowl,” how can we be sure that this is what he actually believes? Are we to believe that Rose Bowls, not national championships is the goal for this program? It seems as if this whole Rose Bowl serves as an excuse for not playing in the championship and makes the entire Bowl Championship Series the scapegoat. Personally, I don’t like it one bit.