When Does Pete Caroll Get Held Accountable?

Nobody can deny that ever since Pete Carroll took over for Paul Hackett as head coach at USC, the Trojans have been the premier program in the country. Every year, they are loaded with talent and every year many get drafted to the NFL. Guys like Kaluka Maiava and Matt Cassel didn't even play much at USC, and they still got drafted.

Every year, people think USC will be down because of the players they lose. Instead, the guys that replace them are just as good—if not better—and USC is still a power. Nobody can deny Carroll's ability to find talent in recruiting and develop it.

You would think with talent like that, the Trojans would have ruled the decade in terms of national championships. Surprisingly, that is not the case at all. Do you know how many national championships they actually have won? That depends on the poll. According to the AP it is two, but according to the BCS it is only one.

To be fair, the one year was an epic loss to Texas and two years earlier Oklahoma had no right going to the title game over USC. Having said that, LSU and Florida both have more BCS titles than the program with the most talent.

How does that happen? Well, what do Stanford, Oregon, Oregon State, UCLA, and Washington all have in common? Those are teams that don't have the same talent as USC, but have still beaten them and cost them a trip to the BCS title game.

How do I know those teams are less talented than USC? We know USC's record over Notre Dame. The Irish beat the UCLA team that knocked off the Trojans. The Stanford team that beat USC lost to a 3-9 Notre Dame team. Notre Dame also beat Washington this year.

It seems like a tradition for USC to beat the better teams they face, and make a statement in doing so. Then they screw themselves by losing to a team who shouldn't even be on the same field as them.

I have to admit that in previous years it made me chuckle a bit. However, after their Halloween debacle in Oregon, I am not laughing at all. This loss not only ended USC's hopes of contending for a national championship, but it might have knocked Notre Dame out of the BCS picture.

The Irish would have jumped a few more spots this week if USC had won. Now, their last-second loss to the Trojans doesn't look as impressive to computers. I am not knocking Oregon. They are a fine team, but USC should not lose by 27 points to a team that lost to a WAC team.

Based on all this, can we really say Carroll gets the most out of his players? Sure, he has recruited them and developed them. However, how is continually losing to teams that you have no business losing to getting the most out of them? Are they taking teams too lightly?

Whether they are looking past weaker teams or not, the reality is that since Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush have left, USC has underachieved under Carroll.

I find it a little amazing that Carroll has been immune to criticism for the most part. Charlie Weis gets attacked after close wins, and Carroll has gotten a free pass after upset losses. Other than the Syracuse game, I don't remember Notre Dame losing to a team that it clearly outmatched talent-wise under Weis.

I am not suggesting that Carroll be fired by any means. I am just saying stop giving him a free pass and start holding him accountable.