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| To say Utah dominated Georgia Tech in the 2005 Emerald Bowl would be an understatement. Utah held the lead for the entire game and never let up, shutting the Yellow Jackets out in the second half. Utah also exhausted Tech's vaunted D, racking up 550 total yards and giving the Jackets its worst bowl loss in program history. The Utes won 38-10.
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| Saturday, May 13, 2006 |
| Miamization of USC football? |
Yes this is a Utah Utes blog, however I feel that just talking Utah football -- especially in the spring and summer months -- can get a bit old. So I'm going to venture outside the safe confines of Utah football and pay our brothers to the west a visit.
Unless you're a recluse, most already should know the problems facing USC. It all really began in January of 2006 when the Trojans lost to an underdog Texas team in the national championship game. Even if you didn't buy the hype, the way USC lost left many fans scratching their heads and many pundits questioning their "greatest team ever" mantra. Who knew, back then anyway, that this would begin the unraveling of a possible football giant.
The national championship loss stung, but it wasn't that bad. USC still had a fantastic season, finished the year ranked 2nd in the country and produced the Heisman Trophy winner for the second straight year. Fans were optimistic that, even without Bush, the team could produce yet another great season and the loss to Texas was quickly becoming a distant memory. Then something funny happened by way of a Yahoo! sports columnist -- Reggie Bush might have broken NCAA rules. At first it seemed minor, mostly involving his parents and a sports agent. Then, as most scandals do, it unfolded into something much bigger. This violation got so big that many questioned whether it would cost Bush the Heisman, or worse, USC their 2004 national championship.
It seemed the once strong dynasty that had been USC football was crumbling from within. If the NCAA does come down hard on Bush, which has been speculated, it could devastate a Trojan program already reeling from an unexpected loss in the national championship game. And what's left standing may just be a shell of what once was. A strong giant, fretted by scandal, left to rebuild and retool from the ground up. While it's likely USC will rebound from these problems, at what level and timeframe they do it in is unknown. What we do know is that college football can change at a whim and a once strong program could be passed by another. Just ask Miami, they're proof of this.
While Miami was never embroiled in a scandal that could have cost them their national championship in 2001, their rise and eventual fall is dramatic. And though the fall hasn't been as tough for the Hurricanes as it was for say Nebraska, it was tough none the less, especially for the fans to accept. Mostly because Hurricane football, though always strong, was at the top of their game in 2000. Butch Davis had built a solid team that went 11-1 and won the Big East. Parlaying that into a gig with the NFL, the Hurricanes looked to their own offensive coordinator in their hire, Larry Coker.
Larry Coker overtook a great Miami football team and made it even greater in his first season. The 'Canes won their first national championship in 10 years, finished undefeated and Coker looked like the perfect replacement for Hurricane football. The team, which was dominate the year before, looked even more dominate in Coker's first season. And his second looked even better, as Miami opened up 12-0 (Coker was 24-0 as head coach -- Miami was on a 34 game winning streak) and then went out and was stunned by an underrated, underdog Ohio State team.
Was that loss to Ohio State the downfall of Miami's dynasty? Probably not, as they went 11-2 the very next year, including finishing the season ranked 5th in both major polls. But it showed that the program was not invincible to losing. That's important, because Miami has yet to sniff the success they had in '01 and '02. But beyond that, the Hurricanes faced even a bigger blow as they left the weaker Big East for the more dominate ACC. It's no coincidence that the Hurricanes have failed to win 10-games since leaving the Big East at the end of the '03 season. Both in 2004 and 2005 Miami finished the year 9-3, including a blowout bowl loss to LSU to end last season.
So how does that compare to USC and what USC has done? Well on the surface it may not seem like the two have anything in common. Miami dominated prior to Coker, while USC struggled prior to Carroll. Miami had no real scandals that shook the foundation of their program over the past few years, while the same can't be said for USC. And most importantly, Miami changed conferences while USC still remains in the Pacific Ten.
Yet USC, like Miami, lost in a national championship game they were heavily favored to win. Like Miami, USC was coming in on the heels of an undefeated season the year before, one where they won the national championship. Like Miami, USC was talked about as being the best ever prior to the big game. Now while we can't tell where USC will go from here, sometimes looking to the past gives us an idea. What did Miami in was not only the fact they changed conferences, but that they made critical mistakes when it came to preserving their dynasty. As I said earlier, a program can always revert to the middle of the pack at any given time. In fact, historically that has been the trend. Nebraska, Oklahoma, Miami, Florida State, Florida and even USC, have suffered through this over the years. Football is fickle and as easily as a dynasty can start, it can just as easily end.
USC's downfall may not stem from that of Miami's, but the eventual outcome could be the same. The Trojans aren't invincible and Pete Carroll can be beat. If the Trojans are forced to forfeit the entire 2004 and 2005 seasons, their dynasty may just be over and USC may find itself in Miami's shoes. |
posted by Psycho Zombie From Outer Space @ 4:23 PM   |
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Record: 7-5 (4-4)
Next Game: UCLA, 9-2-2006
Previous Game: 38-10 Win over Georgia Tech (Emerald Bowl)
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