Solich was 58-19 at Nebraska. Was one goal line fumble at Texas in '99 from playing for the NC, backed into it two years later. But ultimately several things stuck out, first the 60-3 run preceeding his tenure, the debacle at Colorado in 2001, a 7-7 season the next year (the first time time they won less than 9 games since the 60's) and even when he righted the ship (somewhat going 9-3), met the demands of the AD by firing a bunch of long time assistants, the 3 big time games on the 2003 schedule were big losses @ Missouri (first since 1978), @ Texas and at home vs Kstate (Sproles El Roberson team). He also had was the first coach to lose to Kstate since 1969. I guess they were too many firsts to overcome. Using some hindsight, the 2001 team that played in the National Title was coached/OC'd by Solich and DC'd by Craig Bohl. Two guys that we look to as pretty good coaches. The grass is always greener, right?
Solich was 58-19 at Nebraska. Was one goal line fumble at Texas in '99 from playing for the NC, backed into it two years later. But ultimately several things stuck out, first the 60-3 run preceeding his tenure, the debacle at Colorado in 2001, a 7-7 season the next year (the first time time they won less than 9 games since the 60's) and even when he righted the ship (somewhat going 9-3), met the demands of the AD by firing a bunch of long time assistants, the 3 big time games on the 2003 schedule were big losses @ Missouri (first since 1978), @ Texas and at home vs Kstate (Sproles El Roberson team). He also had was the first coach to lose to Kstate since 1969. I guess they were too many firsts to overcome. Using some hindsight, the 2001 team that played in the National Title was coached/OC'd by Solich and DC'd by Craig Bohl. Two guys that we look to as pretty good coaches. The grass is always greener, right?
There's an old saying on Broadway, "That sure is going to be a tough-act to follow"; Head-coaching in college football is no exception. (8 & 3 or Heaven forbid 7 & 4) seasons don't hack-it now-days when a new coach replaces a "legend", Here are a few "tough acts" that had to be followed that comes to mind: There are more. Not in any particular order:
1. Tom Osborne at Nebraska.
2. Bud Wilkinson at Oklahoma.
3. Paul Bryant-Alabama
4. Bobby Bowden-FSU
5. Terry Donahue-UCLA
6. Hayden Frye-Iowa
7. Don James-Washington
8. Vince Dooley-Georgia
9. Bo Schembeckler- Michigan
10. George Welch-Navy
11. Lavelle Edwards-BYU
Other "tough-acts" that are building on the horizon: Nick Saban-Alabama and Urban Meyer-Ohio State (if he would ever stay-put long enough).
In all facets of life, once you've reached the mountain-top.....there's only one way you can go unless you end-up going to the "Great Beyond".
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY Guys...................
1. Tom Osborne at Nebraska.
2. Bud Wilkinson at Oklahoma.
3. Paul Bryant-Alabama
4. Bobby Bowden-FSU
5. Terry Donahue-UCLA
6. Hayden Frye-Iowa
7. Don James-Washington
8. Vince Dooley-Georgia
9. Bo Schembeckler- Michigan
10. George Welch-Navy
11. Lavelle Edwards-BYU
Other "tough-acts" that are building on the horizon: Nick Saban-Alabama and Urban Meyer-Ohio State (if he would ever stay-put long enough).
In all facets of life, once you've reached the mountain-top.....there's only one way you can go unless you end-up going to the "Great Beyond".
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY Guys...................
You do realize that Sark took over a UW program that had been run into the ground by previous coaching staffs. He had to rebuild that thing from the ground up and would have been much better sooner had he not let DC Nick Holt run his defense. His offenses were very productive, but their early defenses could stop a pee-wee football team from moving the ball. He'll have SC back on top of the college football world in no time. Way too much money (remember they are a private school and don't have to report how much money they have) and as previous folks have said, they have so many recruits in the So Cal area, it allows them to cherry pick out of state talent whenever or wherever they want. I guarantee you, it won't take him very long to get them back rolling again
Ditto that WinOne
Oh yes... his old buddy Nick Holt from his glory days at USC. What a complete jerk. You would figure that anyone would improve on Ty Willingham's 0-12 low point in UW's history. Even Holt. A friend of mine that coaches Pop Warner had the privilege of attending a few of these coaching clinics Sark was putting on for the locals. Their consensus of opinion about Holt was exactly as I said it was... he's a complete jerk -- big mistake on Sarkisian's part to invite him to be a part of his coaching staff. Believe it or not, at one point he was the highest paid AC in the country.
However IMHO Sarkisian totally redeemed himself when he hired Justin Wilcox away from Boise. But what a thankless job Wilcox was confronted with when he arrived in Seattle. Now he has it to do all over again, but not quite as horrible of a situation as he had it at UW now that Sarkisian brought Wilcox with him to to LA to be USC's DC. That was a good move.
Oh yes... his old buddy Nick Holt from his glory days at USC. What a complete jerk. You would figure that anyone would improve on Ty Willingham's 0-12 low point in UW's history. Even Holt. A friend of mine that coaches Pop Warner had the privilege of attending a few of these coaching clinics Sark was putting on for the locals. Their consensus of opinion about Holt was exactly as I said it was... he's a complete jerk -- big mistake on Sarkisian's part to invite him to be a part of his coaching staff. Believe it or not, at one point he was the highest paid AC in the country.
However IMHO Sarkisian totally redeemed himself when he hired Justin Wilcox away from Boise. But what a thankless job Wilcox was confronted with when he arrived in Seattle. Now he has it to do all over again, but not quite as horrible of a situation as he had it at UW now that Sarkisian brought Wilcox with him to to LA to be USC's DC. That was a good move.
This is an excellent read from some knowledgeable posters...damn good information.
I go back to my take on Southern Cal in the first post. I believe (barring a bunch of injuries) this year's team will challenge for the Pac-12 South. Talent is there, just not a ton of depth. 14 starters return off a team that won 10 games last year during a tumultuous season. Eight starters are back on a defense that will be damn good, especially the defensive line. The D-line may just be the best in the league.
Six starters return on a new no-huddle offense that will be fast paced, totally different from 2013 under Kiffin. The big question here is how fast the offensive line can jell. Guess we will find out early as the Trojans travel to Stanford the second game of the season.
Like I said, talent is available, just need to avoid a slew of injuries and have a few young players step up.
2014 Schedule: Fresno St....@Stanford....@Boston College....Oregon St....Arizona St....@Arizona....Colorado...@Utah....@Wash St....Cal....@UCLA....Notre Dame
I go back to my take on Southern Cal in the first post. I believe (barring a bunch of injuries) this year's team will challenge for the Pac-12 South. Talent is there, just not a ton of depth. 14 starters return off a team that won 10 games last year during a tumultuous season. Eight starters are back on a defense that will be damn good, especially the defensive line. The D-line may just be the best in the league.
Six starters return on a new no-huddle offense that will be fast paced, totally different from 2013 under Kiffin. The big question here is how fast the offensive line can jell. Guess we will find out early as the Trojans travel to Stanford the second game of the season.
Like I said, talent is available, just need to avoid a slew of injuries and have a few young players step up.
2014 Schedule: Fresno St....@Stanford....@Boston College....Oregon St....Arizona St....@Arizona....Colorado...@Utah....@Wash St....Cal....@UCLA....Notre Dame
Your optimism is refreshing and noted and I'm sure would be welcome to any USC fan cloverleaf.
I think it would be an unusual occurrence if that winds up being the case my friend.
I can't think of a single season when their defense actually remained in tact, and that includes
2006 when they last made it into the NC game. Too bad but I believe it's true. It seems that
year after year the decimated defense sitting on the bench has served them well as an excuse
for falling short. I hate to be a naysayer here but I believe the usual case is that USC's defense
plays hurt way too much and they are forced to dip into their reserves and they pay for it.
Maybe Sark's drills in practice won't be so risky. Let's see what their roster looks like in November
when they are in the final stretch. I actually feel like hiding my eyes from it. Kind of strange.
I think it would be an unusual occurrence if that winds up being the case my friend.
I can't think of a single season when their defense actually remained in tact, and that includes
2006 when they last made it into the NC game. Too bad but I believe it's true. It seems that
year after year the decimated defense sitting on the bench has served them well as an excuse
for falling short. I hate to be a naysayer here but I believe the usual case is that USC's defense
plays hurt way too much and they are forced to dip into their reserves and they pay for it.
Maybe Sark's drills in practice won't be so risky. Let's see what their roster looks like in November
when they are in the final stretch. I actually feel like hiding my eyes from it. Kind of strange.
The man Wilcox will be replacing as USC's DC is Clancy Pendergast, formerly Cal's DC when Tedford was on his final legs at Cal. Despite Tedford's woes, Pendergast ran that defense as though it was a part of a well oiled and polished machine. He made his rounds in the NFL among other things as a former DC for the Arizona Cardinals and Kansas City Chiefs. When he arrived at So. Cal. the difference he made was obvious. (He's the man that replaced Monte Kiffin.) He is known best for his 5-2 defensive scheme and was instrumental in Orgeron's success closing out the 2013 season.
The last I heard, he was unemployed. No news about him this year that I can see. He could be an ideal fit at Arizona under Rich Rod. Just sayin' because that's where he played his college ball. In any event, anyone looking for a pretty sharp DC has him to consider and he could easily end up being a great find. There aren't many available out there with his abilities.
Good point newbie but a couple things you dont mention. ASU, Stan, and UCLA were all on the road. The game @ ASU was the 4th in a stretch that saw them beat Zona, lose 31-24 @ Stanford where the game was in the balance down to the last minute and they got absolutely hosed by the refs, then hosted Oregon, their bitter rival which it was a 31-24 game going to the 4th quarter. They then limped into Tempe to play my Devils off two emotional losses and my devils had a layup the previous week against Colo. Also if you remember the UCLA game Price got knocked out of the game (down 7pts) before half and QB Miles finished it up and was very impressive. UW will benefit from that this year.
Sark has developed players. And think about what HC Orgeron did with the talent at SC after Baby Kiff got the axe. They are a good PK away from beating ND on the road (10-14) and the unexplainable loss with to WSU when Kiffin was coaching where the WSU TD was a pick 6. They are thin, however there is a ton of talent returning. Not sure if you are a UW fan or what but I'll go on record here and say that within 3 years SC is hoisting crystal with Sark as the coach. I'm not sure if you realize how bad his defenses were @UW under DC Holt. i don't think you can blame that on Sark. When you as a HC/OC put up 56 points and 700 yards of offense and lose by 11 points to Baylor in a bowl, Sorry, you can't blame the offense. Think of how efficient Price was, now give him 5 star talent to coach like he had with Linehart and Palmer. And I would not be surprised if you don't see Coach O come back into the fold next year which will only help boost recruiting.
of course, we'll see how the schedule/season unfolds.
Welcome to the forum
WinOne!!
Huge difference in the defensive talent at USC and Washington. Yes, I agree Sark was responsible for his recruits...but he couldn't match Southern Cal player for player in Seattle. Kinda like asking Ole Miss to match up player for player with Alabama on defense. Ain't going to happen with a good recruiting coach.
I like this Trojan team....not saying they will win the conference because my dollar is on cross-town rival UCLA but barring a bunch of injuries...USC will be tough to beat.
My take and welcome yours......................
I like this Trojan team....not saying they will win the conference because my dollar is on cross-town rival UCLA but barring a bunch of injuries...USC will be tough to beat.
My take and welcome yours......................
I will be in Vegas in August for a conference and I will probably place a couple hundred on SC to win the PAC12. My thoughts are
1) Not sold on Oregon and Helfrich. It could have been first year ineptitude but he's not Chip Kelly
2) I like HC Shaw at Stanford however I dont trust his QB after seeing the Rose Bowl last year and they've lost a ton on defense
3) As you stated, UCLA is the play, however...will they protect QB Hundley. I think SC will be equally as talented as them and better defensively
4) Wildcard might be UW. The cupboard is not bare at all and I think their OL/DL will be top 4 in the conference. And they have a ton of skill players returning
You being as SEC guy will appreciate this. I ran into Houston Nutt a couple weekends ago in the mall. He's pretty funny guy and it was a chance meeting. I remember him from recruiting a couple kids locally when he was at Arkansas and he was alway extremely nice to me and my coaches when he'd come down to watch our 7on camps. He has moved to the Dallas area.
He's not very high on your Tide this year. It might be the year that all those losses defensively, and at QB catch up them them. Along with them seeing more and more spread offenses in the SEC.
He's not very high on your Tide this year. It might be the year that all those losses defensively, and at QB catch up them them. Along with them seeing more and more spread offenses in the SEC.
I've never met coach Nutt. Truth is, not a big fan. He had some success at Arkansas and had a chance to do good things there in Fayetteville. He and his staff got lazy with recruiting and that will kill you in the SEC. Also, ran Gus Malzahn off after one year and we all know how that's turned out.
He's like a lot of coaches...once Ole Miss stops paying him...he will look for another coaching job.
He's like a lot of coaches...once Ole Miss stops paying him...he will look for another coaching job.
WinOne...I think the book is also still out on Sarkasian too. I'm still not completely sold on him. I look for the OL to be the strongest part of the Bruins. Remember, they had to endure a lot of injuries on the OL last year. And pretty much everybody who played and filled in are returning...
The "Battle of Los Angeles" appears to be a possible battle of the south to decide who goes to the CCG and who stays home. As far as which coach gets my nod as the better man in his position I'd have to hand it to Mora. If Oregon stumbles earlier in the year at the Rose Bowl, I would say that the rematch won't be so easy for the Bruins, but that is just one scenario. On the other hand, if USC happens to get there, they could pose more of a problem for the Ducks than UCLA in that spot... just because they have had their way in the past with Oregon -- not so recently with the same powerful stranglehold as before because the Ducks have been taking them much much more seriously of late.
I don't see how anyone can tell at this point what to make of Helfrich. 11-2 in his first try with his only 2 losses coming when his star QB was playing with a sore knee and OBVIOUSLY off his game should be no reflection on Helfrich, not when his offense is geared so much to his QBs game.
I know there are a few self styled brainiacs in here that would think I just gave him a screamingly good endorsement. But that's how some here think as if they are able to read between the lines when I really meant it just like I said it. The jury is out on Helfrich until he proves or can't prove that he has what it takes to continue on with Kelly's success. About the only thing to his detriment is that he isn't the kind of personality that woos the press the way Kelly could. That could possibly be a quality that makes suckers out of a few that jump to conclusions. Give it time, we'll all know soon enough.
There's some credence to WinOne's words, but USC has owned the Bruins for so long, I can't imagine that one or even a couple of wins could balance things out. That is their biggest obstacle against winning the conference -- not the only obstacle, but probably the biggest. Another could be (as GS pointed out) Sarkisian has not proven much of anything since he started his head coaching career.
Better get this out of the way right now I'm also an ASU fan, and have followed the PAC closely for 30+ years!
2 teams I'm not buying are USC and UW.
It's all about transitions.
Sark is installing a HUNH offense with spread elements. He simply doesn't have the right roster to run this scheme. On D they are on their 3rd Dcoord in 3 years. I see a lot of inexplicable cluelessness pervading this team, combine that with the depth problem, along with the usual injury attrition and it's not a pretty picture.
UW has similar situation issues with their third offense in 3 years. Losing players like Price, Sankey and Seferian-Jenkins has to hurt in an offensive minded conference! A very favorable schedule mitigates all this, but I still think they struggle against the better teams.
I expect ASU to be fine, the O will rival or exceed the potency of the ducks, and the D will be measurably faster, bigger, Ionger and stronger. There's 3 early season games against cupcakes to get up the learning curve. ASU also has a schematic advantage over their division foes!
2 teams I'm not buying are USC and UW.
It's all about transitions.
Sark is installing a HUNH offense with spread elements. He simply doesn't have the right roster to run this scheme. On D they are on their 3rd Dcoord in 3 years. I see a lot of inexplicable cluelessness pervading this team, combine that with the depth problem, along with the usual injury attrition and it's not a pretty picture.
UW has similar situation issues with their third offense in 3 years. Losing players like Price, Sankey and Seferian-Jenkins has to hurt in an offensive minded conference! A very favorable schedule mitigates all this, but I still think they struggle against the better teams.
I expect ASU to be fine, the O will rival or exceed the potency of the ducks, and the D will be measurably faster, bigger, Ionger and stronger. There's 3 early season games against cupcakes to get up the learning curve. ASU also has a schematic advantage over their division foes!
Stew, I'm not as knowledgeable as you guys out west regarding the Pac Conference teams but football is football and I look for potential on defense before anything else. I like this USC team mainly because eight regulars return on a defense that was pretty damn good last year. The D was in the nation's top 25 in eight statistical categories during 2013. All-American tackle Leonard Williams is the leader and he has plenty of talent around him.
On offense, the line needs to improve over last year but there are two quality RB's, a decent QB and wide receiver Nelson Agholor who is a burner. Sarks is an offensive man so I'm sure his attention will be on that side of the ball.
The second game at Stanford will tell us a lot about the Trojans.............
On offense, the line needs to improve over last year but there are two quality RB's, a decent QB and wide receiver Nelson Agholor who is a burner. Sarks is an offensive man so I'm sure his attention will be on that side of the ball.
The second game at Stanford will tell us a lot about the Trojans.............
