See, this is where you always lose credibility. You'll never give 'SC an ounce of respect no matter what they do. There's simply no upside for 'SC where you're concerned on the forum. If they win, then that's what they were suppose to do. If they lose, then all hell breaks loose and you can say "see, I told you so". Smart strategy because you'll never technically look wrong even when they win. But what do you actually have to gain from all of this? Do you not enjoy the overall college football experience? I sure as hell do, win or lose for 'SC, I'm still going to be just as pumped for the next weekend.
Look, I realize it's a cruel world we live in, but at the same time understand that funny business goes on EVERYWHERE. You act as if every other program in the country is picking daises, but I know you're not stupid enough to think that such prior dynasties like FSU, Miami, Notre Dame, Nebraska, etc. didn't exactly come without their own price tag. Does that make what happens in college football right? Of course not, but unfortunately it's the nature of the beast, we're talking major TV and BC$ dollars at stake here for these programs.
USC got caught red handed and the NCAA has turned a total blind eye. Let alone they don't ever bother to delve into anything other than Reggie Bush (which was just the tip of the iceberg)
And the nerve of Bozo the Carroll to act as if he had no idea this stuff was going on with Reggie. That's an insult to everyone's intelligence.
whor, FSU got caught with 80 something students over 10 different sports cheating in a Music Appreciation course. Not only that I can tell you certain things about classes there from experience.
In lower level classes that have prominent football players, there is a significant amount of "group" work. The group is never picked by yourself but assigned and the top of the class always gets assigned with the athletes. In your "group" work, how much do you think the athletes contribute? Not a damn bit.
Secondly, I made a bullshit excuse to join an upper level Sports Management course (I was a Poly Sci/IA major, normally not allowed in) because in part I wanted to see what the classes were like. Biggest joke of a class I have taken since high school. First day of class, professor immediately cancels all Thursday classes. Then the syllabus comes out, 40% is a PP presentation that takes 5 minutes, 40% is end of class quizzes that are one or two questions on the most basic things, and 20% is attendance. Ridiculous.
I assume the same shit goes on other places but I can share about FSU from what I have seen personally.
Eh, thanks I guess, but it's really not as 'easy' as it looks for Carroll, even despite being in a hotbed recruiting area. The only reason it appears that way is because he's single-handedly rebuilt the program from bottom up in such a dominating fashion that everyone's come to expect only the best. It's simply the nature of the beast when you're on top. There's really nowhere for him to go but down.
That being said, Carroll has never and will never be considered an X's and O's guy, but rather a general manager type who's relied heavily upon for his eye on talent and being a motivating, cohesive force and face for the program. This makes his coaching staff decisions all the MORE critical and it's time for him to exercise his control and get rid of Sarkisian before any more years are wasted. Sarkisian is obviously sticking around in the hope of becoming HC one day, but if push comes to shove, I'd rather have neither Carroll or Sarkisian if Carroll somehow lets some misguided loyalty prevent him from firing Sarkisian. It's time for him to listen to the boosters, as they've been calling for his head for a while now.
Throwing passes during PAT & GO during warmups, staging fictitous suicides of players, racing against Will Ferrell in the pool, don't make a coach a master motivator. This whole notion that Carroll is a good motivator is a joke. I know college and NFL are different, but NFL players would laugh in his face. And now it's become a pattern or bugaboo that he frequently doesn't have his team ready to play. And his timeout strategy tonite was laughable. He is supposedly this defensive guru but his defense looked tonite like they didn't even know who OSU's frosh RB was. Blitzing like mad doesn't make one a good defensive stategist (unlss you are Jim Johnson of the Eagles). Nor does going for every 4th down against lesser teams. People are blinded by records, but Mike Riley always has been FAR the superior coach to Bozo the Carroll
Well, like I said earlier, I have a hard time turning my back on him simply because I remember how awful it use to feel in Trojan land knowing they were capable of so much more. UCLA was going for 5 in a row when I was in school, things were grim.
That being said, his act does get a bit tired and he's definitely bought into the Hollywood image, almost to the point where he's become a caricature of himself at times. The letdowns in conference against inferior opponents are always tough to swallow, then again, I always try and keep in mind that these are just kids, so much younger than myself, and the toughest challenge in the world is to get them motivated not only week in and week out against their opponent, but in practice too. While I commend Carroll's strategy of making practices an open competition, I've always believed that it takes too much out of the kids in the long term. I respect his motto that playing time must be earned regardless of who you are, but I think it fosters an atmosphere which is just too intense over the long haul. These guys are on tilt 24/7 and it's next to impossible to maintain that, you're going to eventually crack. USC has essentially become their own worst enemy and it catches-up to them every once in a while on the field.
