USC: The Best In The West and All Of The Rest

They're baaack!  The University of Southern California football team will soon begin their 2009 fall practice.   There will be much on the table for the 2009 team and the coaches, as well as the fans, will be looking forward to all of it.

USC is clearly the most successful football program in the history of college football. 

There is no school that has a combination of national titles, Heisman Trophy winners, overall wins, All Americans, College Hall of Fame members, longevity and NCAA records in football.

Notre Dame and USC both have seven Heisman winners, but USC has all of their winners since 1965. 

USC currently has the most NFL Hall of Fame (HOF) members.  This is notable, since some of those years came when USC had NFL HOF players.  However, the Heisman Trophy was awarded to someone who was not even drafted into the NFL. 

This season, USC will be playing for it's eighth consecutive: BCS Bowl appearance, 11 or more win seasons, and fourth or higher ranking in the final AP Poll.  The aforementioned will all be added to the NCAA records USC already has with seven consecutive seasons.

USC will also be seeking it's eighth consecutive win or share of the PAC-10 Championship.  This is also an ongoing PAC-10 record for USC. 

Those that believe that USC can't continue with their winning ways should take a deep breath and look at Pete Carroll's record at USC.  His record speaks for itself and it's loud, and clear.

Coach Carroll recruits like no other coach in the nation.  He can go into the state of Louisiana and recruit their most outstanding player.  He recruits him when USC already has four Five-Star running backs in his position. 

Pete Carroll is able to do that each year, across the nation, and he makes it work. 

Coach Carroll's method of recruiting allows USC to lose players to the NFL, but then have NFL caliber players replace them.  Many thought that losing Carson Palmer would slow USC.  It Didn't

Matt Leinart followed Palmer and so did a 34 game winning streak.  People really believed that USC would begin a slide after Matt Leinart went into the NFL.  John David Booty replaced Leinart and the winning continued. 

John David Booty was drafted into the NFL by the Vikings and the rumors began.  Some still believed that USC would begin to slide.  Mark Sanchez proved them wrong.

Mark Sanchez was drafted into the NFL and now it's time for magazine writers, TV reporters, etc., to begin their stories of how USC will now begin to lose games.  Who really believes that?

There are many at USC who believe that the Trojans have improved over last year.  Some of these people should be paid attention to.  Pete Carroll and Ken Norton, Jr. believe it.

The coaching staff has improved.  There are three well known and well respected NFL coaches that are new to the Trojan staff.  This will continue Pete Carroll's style of NFL coaching techniques.  These techniques have been very helpful to Trojans wanting to go into the NFL.

USC needs that NFL edge to keep everyone alert and competing at their highest possible level.  Players at USC know that their second and third team players have been drafted into the NFL. 

The single thing that USC must fight is complacency.  If given the chance, I would sit the players and coaches down and say, "I've seen the enemy and it is us."

It may have appeared that I was in some type of delusion glue, but not so.  There is absolutely no reason for a Pete Carroll USC team to lose a game.

Just look at his record and the team accomplishments under his guidance.  How could Stanford beat them by a point?  How about UCLA defeating them 13-9?  How about Oregon State by six points, last year? Oregon State?  Losing with that talent is inexcusable. 

I've seen the 2009 team.  I've seen some of the recruits who have reported, but it is obvious that talent will not be a problem this year.  Experience won't be a problem.  USC has the ability to place an outstanding player at each position and make it three to five deep at some.

I remember watching John McKay stock players like Mike Garrett and Sam Cunningham.  Pete Carroll has taken a few pages out of McKay's book and may have written a few of his own.

I certainly hope that 2009 is the year that the players are issued alarm clocks.