A break-up letter from the Pac-10 to USC
Posted November 2, 2009 at 11:51 pm in Columns, Featured, Sports
It’s not you, it’s me.
All right, that’s not true — it is you. But breaking up is hard to do, and I’m new at this.
Passing the torch · Oregon’s Jordan Holmes lifts LaMichael James after a touchdown in a game that saw the Ducks dethrone USC. - Dieuwertje Kast | Daily Trojan
We’ve been inseparable for what seems like forever. Whenever somebody mentioned “Pac-10,” they couldn’t help but bring up “USC.” As a perennial champion, you gave meaning to me as a conference. We had a run that could only be paralleled by Florida State and the ACC in the ’90s.
But nothing gold can stay, and I think it’s time to call it quits.
Everyone said this would be the year it would end between us. They said you were different this year and that someone would finally knock you off your pedestal. But all your buddies on campus faithfully said Pete Carroll would find a way to repeat yet again.
But it’s become blatantly clear that you’ve changed this year. And Saturday proved that beyond a reasonable doubt.
Look, I was willing to stand by you after the loss to Washington. It seemed just like any other year of our rocky relationship. Everyone said it was a disappointment, but it was nothing we hadn’t all seen before. It seemed like it would be just like last year when Oregon State caught you off guard, but you bounced back to finish the season in style.
At worst, it appeared that we were destined for another memorable New Year’s Day date at the Rose Bowl. I know the students had grown tired of them, but I’m sure they all lust for those days now.
However, these last few weeks showed us something was still wrong. And after what happened with Oregon, well, I just don’t know where we stand.
What happened on Halloween in Eugene was surreal and still hard to compute. The 27-point margin of defeat from that loss was one point more than the combined margin of all of your losses since 2004. For all of your miscues, you could always say that you were never blown out and always had kept it close.
Even more mystifying were the 391 yards rushing you gave up to the Ducks. That’s not a very USC-like performance, and there are few comparable efforts. The last time your defense looked like this was in 2005 when everyone clamored to call you the best team ever. But we learned that year that you can only go as far as your defense takes you, and that hasn’t been very far based on its performance the last three weeks.
This doesn’t have to be all bad. Remember the good times?
There was 2004, when you did the West Coast proud by running the table and winning a national championship. And who could forget all of those memorable non-conference matchups in which you more than lived up to your reputation? You helped raise my profile as a conference when I needed it most, and for that I am in your debt.
When our run first started, I needed you. People said, “The Pac-10 is at its best when USC is strong,” and you helped give West Coast football some stability. Heck, when we first started our run, you shared the title with Washington State. Look at where the Cougars are now.
We can still be friends, right? In fact, I’m still going to need you. Depending on what happens, I’ll still need you to stick up for me in the Holiday Bowl — or maybe even a BCS game, if you get your act together. Maybe a change of scenery would do you good after all those repetitive Rose Bowls.
And there’s a possibility we could find our way back together at some point. People thought our run was over after your last loss in Eugene in 2007, but somehow we found a way back together.
But for now, I hope you don’t mind if I see how things go with the Ducks. They’ve really impressed us and will probably be our representative for the Rose Bowl this year, so it’s for the best if I get to know them a little bit better. If you cross paths again, give Oregon my number and tell the Ducks we should talk.
I know this is hard after seven years. But maybe we can just consider this a break and see what happens in 2010. Maybe you’ll come back rejuvenated and that old spark will be there again.
But hey, we’ll always have Pasadena.
“Tackling Dummy” runs Tuesdays. To comment on this article, visit dailytrojan.com or email Michael at middlehu@usc.edu.
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Makes one wonder; what is going on with the offense. Barkley’s performance against Oregon State wasn’t spectacular–is it the receivers who constantly drop the passes? Is it some internal riff-raff going on with the Carrol’s coordinators? Why have we lost so many good coordinators–Chow, Zar, etc? Is Pete micro-managing?? I think all these questions deserve some consideration in the overall team’s performance.
Who cares what the little ducks think…they know what coming there way next year. Enjoy this duckies, because its the last one you will taste in a VERY long time. USC will not be this vulnerable again for the next 3 years. Just dont do a face plant and make us go to the annual big 10 beat down again…i would like to go toa nother bowl against another conf for once.
FIGHT ON!
GIles, refereeing, seriously? That’s ridiculous to mention, SC got their asse s handed to them, just accept it, no excuses!
You guys don’t sound like typical USC fans at all…except for that part after Enjoy and USC…
USC cannot be expected to dominate EVERY year. No one team completely own a conference, unless you count BSU’s dominance over the WAC, but who cares about the WAC? The fact that UO has a good team this year doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things. Remember, Oregon has an embarrassing post-season record – They didn’t win a bowl game from 2002-2007. USC can always be counted on to be a contender for the Pac-10 championship, and the national title. What other teams in the Pac-10 can you say that about?
OK then Seriously. Maybe all the other teams in the Pac-10 should just always play for second place behind your beloved Trojans. Oregon has just recently become a team that contends for the Pac-10 title in any given year. Don’t think that USC has never seen bad times. I remember some Hackett years when USC wasn’t so good. You need to take the loss and show some pride. You came to state of Oregon and got worked the last couple of years.
Enjoy your one night stand with your one hit wonder. Just remember the last time, we one uped them and you came back crying. Besides, the Refereeing wasn’t that great anyway. Too much premature flagging or not being able to flag at all.
Just a fluke year. USC NEVER comes to the state of Oregon and looses. The referees were so terrible. So terrible that they caused SC to give up over 600 yards of offense AND a buttload of points. Yes……chalk this loss up to the zebras.
STFU ….. You are a fool…..