Pete Carroll and USC: BCS or Bust

If you have been on the campus of the University of Southern California (USC) lately you may have noticed Pete Carroll looking confident and calm. This from a man who is as driven and passionate a coach as college football has ever seen. But who can blame him, with Heisman Trophy candidate John David Booty and quarterback with a season of starting under his belt and a bevy of tailbacks and wide receivers at his disposal? After a season that ended strong with a win over Big Ten power Michigan, USC looks to get over a season that saw them lose two games. Yes, two games!

In the land of Troy, Pete Carroll has quickly established USC as the premiere program in college football. With two Heisman Trophy winners in the last four years, USC has been the desire of every major high school football player in the country since Carroll returned to college football after coaching in the NFL. With USC, Carroll has built a program that is vaunted in every area. A defensive coach in his heart, Carroll has instilled an ethic at USC that was absent for many, many years.

Since the days of Marcus Allen, USC had been mired in mediocrity and comfortable in having winning seasons. But before that stint of fifteen years, competing for national championships and having Heisman Trophy candidates was a yearly occupation for the Los Angeles university. With Carroll, USC has a coach who is committed to winning and doing it the right way. The players know if you sign up to play for Pete Carroll you are signing up to not only win but to put the work in to do it.

That is what John David Booty knew four years ago when he graduated from high school early to attend USC. When he got there he anticipated sitting a season as Carson Palmer led USC to a national championship. What he was not prepared for was to sit an additional two seasons as Matt Leinart won his own Heisman hardware and led the Trojans to a second national championship. When Leinart's career was over, losing in the national championship game in 2006 against Vince Young and the University of Texas, the ball and the leadership of the Trojan team was a race between John David Booty and Mark Sanchez. After an intense spring battle and an injury to Sanchez, Booty emerged as the USC signal caller and proved himself as worthy of being the next great quarterback in the USC family.

In 2007, Booty will find the stable filled with talent behind him and to his sides as the Trojan offense will get up and down the field, scoring a ton of points with arguable the most skilled set of players Carroll has had since his arrival. With seven, yes seven former prep All Americans competing for the starting tailback slot Booty will be able to hand the ball off as the receiving corps learns the ropes replacing two all time greats in Steve Smith and Dwayne Jarrett. But do not expect the Trojans to miss a beat vertically, with Booty spending the spring getting Vidal Hazelton and Patrick Turner reps at receiver they will be ready to play when the season opens up Sept. 1 against Idaho.

With eighteen returning starters including ten of defense the USC Trojans appear primed for a run at the national championship. With a schedule including road games at Nebraska, Notre Dame, and Oregon the Trojans will have some work to do in order to find itself in the BCS title game in January. But there is no doubt that this team has the personnel and coaches to get the job done throughout the season.

The only read question is how soon the Trojans will get over kicker Mario Danelo. Before falling off a cliff on January 6, Danelo was Mr. Reliable for the Trojans scoring 89 points and going 15 for 16 on field goals. While his replacement will come the emotions surrounding the event are sure to have some effect on the psyche of this team. Whether his death will be a launch pad remains to be seen but Carroll will not allow his team to languish in any way because of it.

With their Dec. 1 match up against crosstown rival and national championship contender UCLA being the premiere game of the season for the Trojans do not be surprised if Pete Carroll starts USC off slowly, building momentum in anticipation for this highly touted game between two storied programs. If both teams remain undefeated, as is quite possible, this will be the national championship game. Coach Dorrell has UCLA playing at a high level and will need a win against USC to cement his name in the club of top college football coaches. But do not expect Coach Pete Carroll to make winning against USC easy. In fact, expect it to be the toughest thing Dorrell and UCLA attempt to do all year long. USC will be primed and ready every time the ball goes in the air.

Pete Carroll has built a machine on the West Coast. And this year do not expect it to stop until it arrives in New Orleans to compete in the BCS title game on January 7 of 2008. They are that good. And anything less than that would be considered a bust.