There’s no sense in beating around the bush with this one. Pete Carroll has been both an ace recruiter and a prolific winner of games since he got to USC.
After going 7-6 in his first year, he has run off six consecutive seasons with two or fewer losses for a combined record of 69-8 (.896). Adding that first year on only brings him down to 76-14 (.844), still an outstanding mark.
There are those who keep meticulous details of the arrests, scandals, and other malfeasance that have gone on at USC this decade alongside all that winning. Through it all, Carroll has been the amazing Teflon coach, since very little seems to stick to him.
Plus, few have questioned the way he disciplines his players to the same degree that guys like Bobby Bowden and Bob Stoops have been scrutinized in the past.
Carroll has had a large built-in advantage when it comes to recruiting though: He coaches at USC, the only traditional national-title contender west of the Great Plains.
In 1984, BYU won the championship, in 1990, Colorado (AP and Coaches’ champs) split it with Georgia Tech (UPI poll champs), and in 1991, Washington (Coaches’ champ) split the title with Miami, FL (AP champ).
Before that, you have to go back to UCLA in 1954 to find a team other than USC located west of the Great Plains that won a national championship. Talented west-coast athletes that want to compete for a college championship without going too far from home have only one choice: USC.
Combine that with the fact that California is along with Texas and Florida one of the three best talent-producing states, and you have a formula for great success.
Anyway, let’s take a look at his record.
His one neutral site game against Virginia Tech in 2004 has been counted as a road game since it was played in FedEx Field, the home field of the Washington Redskins. That was done because it was Carroll’s one and only one neutral site game and singling it out would have served no purpose.
| Site | Wins | Losses | Totals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 39 | 3 | 42 |
| Away | 32 | 9 | 41 |
| Bowls | 5 | 2 | 7 |
| Totals | 76 | 14 | 90 |
As you would expect, Carroll is excellent, no matter where he plays. The 39-3 (.929) home mark is certainly impressive. It is behind Stoops’ 53-2 (.963) home record, but from a winning percentage standpoint, it is on par with Steve Spurrier’s home mark while at Florida (68-5, .932).
It's also worth noting that the home and away game totals are nearly identical. It reflects a greater willingness on Carroll's part to go on the road in the non-conference schedule than other coaches who have a lot more total home games than road games.
16 comments Last one added 12 months ago — Leave a Comment
Paul Peszko 12 months ago
Great article, David. You really researched the heck out of it. It's definitely my pick of the day, even though today is nearly over. BTW, I have to agree. USC's run will most likely continue as long as Pete Carroll is at the helm.
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David Wunderlich 12 months ago
Thanks, Paul. GOod to hear from a USC guy that I didn't mess this one up.
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James Doker 12 months ago
Another great article. I too was immediately struck by the balance between home and away games. I imagine that reduces their revenue from ticket sales, since they don't have one or two cash cow games to start the season. They've definitely done a good job getting marquee national nonconference games each year, so I'm certainly not complaining.
Carroll is a great coach, and he's also pretty funny:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOEpzuVi7Kc
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Ryan 12 months ago
Good article... Carroll is a phenomenal coach who deserves a lot of credit for bringing that program out of mediocrity
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Lisa Horne 12 months ago
Yeah! I loved it. (Of course) After meeting PC and talking to him personally, I can tell you the cheerleader persona is no act. He really LOVES college football. It's not an act, despite what some say.
What strikes me as remarkable is that I think he has only lost to one non-conference team during regular season- K-State. While the Pac-10 may be top heavy, you cannot deny that the Pac-10 champ has beaten some rather very good teams on the road in hostile venues- Va Tech (which was really a home field advantage for the Hokies in the BCA game), at Arkansas, at Nebraska (a night game in Lincoln!) and at Auburn. This year he opens the season at Virginia.
For those who say USC plays in a weak conference, consider this- except for the one K-State game, all of his losses have been to Pac-10 conference foes, not teams from other conferences. Amazing.
Thanks for the great read...I would love for you to do an article on Gary Pinkel!
This gets my POTD...tomorrow...I already voted today! Thanks for the great read!
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David Wunderlich 12 months ago
That's true, though USC has had the amazing ability to catch non-conference teams in non-peak years. Only K-State, VT, and Notre Dame's overrated '05 and '06 teams were first tier. USC's average margin of victory in those games was just 6.75, closer than his overall margin of victory for first tier opponents (16).
Those Auburn teams it beat were 9-4 and 8-5, and the games were played before Tommy Tuberville's transformation into a great coach*. The Arkansas teams were 4-7 and 10-4 (admittedly, a peak year by UAF standards). The Nebraska teams were coached by Bill Callahan (forever an asterisk in Nebraska's record books to explain the past couple years) and went 9-5 and 5-7.
Thanks for the comments, and I'll try to get something up on Pinkel before the week is out.
*http://bleacherreport.com/articles/29683-a-tale-of-two-tommys-tuberville-at-auburn-and-bowden-at-clemson
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Andrew Mayon 12 months ago
Nice research. You would probably also find that USC has played the most BCS schools in that same period, meaning they didn't load up on Patsies for a Paycheck.
"That's true, though USC has had the amazing ability to catch non-conference teams in non-peak years."
Certainly that isn't something USC "plans" for, and NOBODY would mistake scheduling Notre Dame, Nebraska, Auburn, Virginia Tech (not to mention Ohio State, Virginia, or Boston College) for The Citadel, Louisiana Monroe, Louisiana Tech, Florida Atlantic, etc.
Also, including this year's Virginia game, Pete's Trojans have opened the season on the road 5 of 8 games, including three that were over 2,500 miles from home (Virginia Tech, Hawaii, Virginia) and the other two (Arkansas and Auburn) were over 1,500 miles away.
Finally, and this was not mentioned, the MOST AMAZING stat of the Pete Carroll era, only ONE game has USC lost by more than 7 points (Notre Dame 2001 by 11). That means the Trojans were in a position to WIN every game but one. Considering the number of ranked teams the Trojans have played, and the number of road games it has played, to have only ONE game lost by over a TD is just astounding. I dare say there is no other coach in America that can make this claim since 2001.
Thanks for your time and obvious hard work into producing this article
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David Wunderlich 12 months ago
The intent to schedule tough non-conference games is clearly there. Can't fault him for that.
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Tim Pollock 12 months ago
Good stuff again, David.
I'd like to see SpurDog's FL days vs. SC days.
I'd like a Fulmer one, too.
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David Wunderlich 12 months ago
Thanks, Tim. I'll put those on the list.
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Edmon 12 months ago
Pete Carroll is the best "big game" coach in college football. No one gets their team prepared for a big game like him.
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BabyTate 12 months ago
Yeah, outside of Texas, it's the little ones that have given him trouble.
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USCfbfan USCfbfan 12 months ago
Pets the man, king of LA
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USCfbfan USCfbfan 12 months ago
Pete is the man
spelling
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BabyTate 12 months ago
I'm sure as a Gator fan you didn't mean to disrespect Spurrier's run in the 90s but it does come across that way.
During a six season period of 91-96, while Spurrier was on his tear through the SEC and won the national championship, Alabama was his public enemy #1. During those six seasons Alabama won 63 and lost 11, an 85% winning percentage. The Tide also won a national championship in 1992.
Of the 11 Tide losses in those 6 seasons, 4 of them were to Spurrier's Gators.
You say that Spurrier's record in the 90s was helped by lean years from LSU and Georgia. Well, let's compare what he faced in Alabama with what Georgia and LSU have offered against each other in these past six seasons of wonderful success.
From 2002 through 2007 both LSU and Georgia are 64-15, both 81%.
Therefore, the opponent Spurrier had to defeat during his SEC run is more powerful and had a better record than either Georgia or LSU during their glory days of the past six seasons. And, let's tell the truth, Alabama is a far more storied and successful program than LSU or Georgia. In short, Spurrier became the man because he beat the man.
So, all the credit to Spurrier, and a dose of reality to those who think the past six seasons of LSU and Ga are the strongest era ever for the SEC.
Pete Carroll is the big bossman out west, where you point out only 3 teams beside Sou Cal have won a natl title in the past 50 years. But Steve Spurrier in the 1990s SEC was complete master of all he surveyed year after year in the most powerful league in the country.
Let us give Spurrier all the respect.
See, this is what happens when you put a little common sense to just numbers. You can't measure will, you can't measure love, all you can do is admire it.
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David Wunderlich 12 months ago
I meant no disrespect to Spurrier. He dominated a tough conference using a completely different system than had ever been used in it. However, UGA and LSU were down for several of the years. Tennessee made up for that in many ways, but the conference was not as tough then as it is now.
In my estimation, you can't dominate that much for that long without at least some help from your opponents.
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