Carroll wonders what Harbaugh’s deal is
With 6:37 remaining in the fourth quarter, Stanford scored its seventh touchdown of the game to take a demanding 48-21 lead over the Trojans that all but assured a victory.
That’s when Cardinal coach Jim Harbaugh decided to go for a two-point conversion attempt that would give his team an even 50 points against the Trojans’ once-daunting defense.
Deal breaker · Pete Carroll questioned Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh about his surprising decision to go for two late in the game, sources said. - Young Kim | Daily Trojan
The play was stuffed at the line of scrimmage, but USC players and coaches were still upset. It appeared as though Stanford was trying to show the Trojans up on its home turf.
After the game, USC coach Pete Carroll met Harbaugh at midfield to shake his hand, and, according to sources near the exchange, the conversation went as follows:
“What’s your deal? What’s your deal?” Carroll asked.
“What’s your deal?” Harbaugh replied.
And the conversation ended.
USC senior safety Taylor Mays refused to comment about the two-point conversion attempt but was seen walking toward Stanford’s bench and glaring at Harbaugh immediately following the play.
After the game, both coaches tried to downplay the two-point attempt for the media.
“I thought it was an opportunity, the way we were coming off the ball, the way our players were playing — that it was the right thing to do,” Harbaugh said.
When asked about the play, Carroll responded, “I’m wondering just like you.
“In that situation, they get to do whatever they want. Sometimes, you make the decision for your own team’s sake.”
Really, MaxTrojan? I mean, really? I thought your comments were part of some performance art piece, but now I’m starting to think that you are really serious. Is this the kind of thug mentality bred into students and fans over at ‘SC?
I think the fans should be asking PC “What’s your deal”? With undoubtedly one of the best recruiting and talent pools in the nation, why didn’t the Trojans even look competitive against Stanford?
Stanford had its day, and now they lost to CAL, a team which USC slaughtered. These things even out. Harbaugh acted the part of jerk. USC will be right there again next year. Stanford is nothing and will be nothing in the college football universe. Harbaugh will take his act to Michigan at some point,and the Stanford tree will dance around in a tizzy just as their band does. I was delighted they lost to Cal. Fame is fleeting, huh, Mr. Harbaugh.
Thank you Stanford for finally bringing this point up! What Goes Around Comes Around PC!!!
What was Harbaugh’s deal? The scoreboard.
Go daily trojan, it’s funny how you complain with a myopic opinion of Jim Harbaugh’s 2 pt conversion, yet you fail to see how SC ran the scores in the high 60 ranges with other schools in the past. Or how USC loves to do cheap onside kicks to weaker teams coming into the Coliseum. I have also witnessed plenty of cheap late hits and deliberate helmet-to-helmet hits from SC’s safeties in the past. And I’m not talking about the taylor “thug” mays hit on that Penn State player in the Rose Bowl. I’ve seen other hard hits to other football players visiting the Coliseum in teh past. What goes around comes around. This is good karma to pete carroll. Also good karma for him being a dick to Norm Chow and booting him out of his coaching team because Chow was getting all the credit in the past, not pete boy.
Philly Cardinal, you’re so right on the money about USC’s “academic excellence” being a big misnomer. As a matter of fact, I attended USC for the first two years of my undergraduate career before transferring to NWU because I just could not stand the boisterour, rowdy and unfriendly students in my dormitory at SC. They would come home drunk, puke all over the hallways, place trash in front of my dorm room door, etc. I had it with these “trojans”. Lived in Marks Tower then lived in the unit near the VKC dining hall. Still the same crap the second year. The guys next to me would blast their music like jerks, turn their TV volume up at night so I couldn’t sleep, etc. USC’s “academic excellence” is totally over-rated compared to the likes of Stanford, Cornell, NWU, and even UCLA.
Rich, don’t even base your opnion of a school on the US news college ranking. Sc is notorious for tweaking the incoming class’ SAT/ACT scores just to look better than UCLA or some other colleges ranked in the 40s. While SC has climbed a bit over the past few years in terms of improvement, there is still a LONG WAY to go before SC becomes a real academic powerhouse like Stanford, the Ivy leages, the UC’s and my alma mater NWU.
Trojanmax, wow, you are really off your medication or what?! You want to severely injure Stanfords football players all because of the 2 pt conversion attempt? You know, the Trojans always had things their way from 2002 up until this year. All their way with cheap on-side kicks against weaker teams that played in the Coliseum (i.e. Washington State this year, Hawaii back in 2003) as well as excessive celebration on the sideline (i.e. 2009 Rosebowl VS Penn State) without getting penalized for it. How about that face mask penalty from taylor “thug” mays against James Rodgers this year?
anyhow, college football is college football. Same for NFL football. You have to work hard to score points, and you have to work hard to prevent the other team from scoring points. So what if Jim Harbaugh wanted to do a 2 pt conversion? If the trojans didn’t want that to happen, then work your butts off to prevent that from happening!
What goes around come around. If pete carroll cannot take it like a man, he shouldn’t dish off pain and suffering by being a jerk to other football programs that visit the LA Coliseum.
Both of my brothers-in-law went to Stanford. So did my mother-in law. My father-in-law, now deceased, was also a professor there for many years.
I am therefore very used to the Northern California “Stanford arrogance”. After attending Saturday’s game, that arrogance reached new heights, not only with Harbaugh’s two point conversion attempt with a 27 point lead, but also the tasteless and totally classless half-time show by the Stanford band and its repeated references to ONE former alumnus ( I was waiting to have them mention O.J. as well, but they were fixated on Francis). Granted, the Stanford band has a reputation for irreverence and I have seen them perform many times. However, this time they clearly overstepped the boundaries of common decency on USC’s Homecoming Day with many families and small children in attendance.
Needless to say, my husband’s family was embarrassed on Saturday for their alma mater.
Where Stanford goes from here, who knows. But on Saturday, they somehow managed to make themselves look like amateurs out there amid a studly effort. Reminds me of the kid who goes around the dorm showing off a hickey when he finally got laid. Embarrassing, especially for an athletic program that was once among the country’s elite.
PhillyCardinal – USC is ranked in the top 30 University’s in the country, and is about a 10th of a point behind stanford in incoming freshman gpa. and our students have actually kissed a member of the opposite gender. stop being a loser.
Be real. SC is improving academically, but they are not even close to Stanford or UCLA for that matter. Whole different league, but hopefully with the next Pres after Sample leaves they will continue to improve.
PC has run up the score…but he did it with back ups, and he would have never gone for a 2 pt conversion in a blow out. thats little jimmy taking running up the score to the next level. Stanford will have good seasons here and there, but will not be able to sustain a team every year that can beat USC. little Jimmy will lose this battle in the end…and he will look stupid. I for one am not worried….everyone goes through down times…and i say if a team can run it up on us, then have at it. but you will pay as you will see little jimmy pay. He is stupid to get into this personal battle with PC.
FIGHT ON!!
Yes Alex,
A team of revenge and hearts of fury for payback.
All teams play for payback. Line backers that put a hurting on people every Saturday and scare them ..YES !!
We had them last year, check it out man. and NO, Coach Carroll has never gone for a 2 point conversion in the 4th at 48 to 21. Are you insane..lol
YOU know something I don’t??
Show me specifically where he ever did that and then ran his mouth all cocky at the end of the game in the face of another coach “Whats your deal?”
and NO, he did not deserve that and I resent you saying but after 7 years, he may have needed that. wake up call.
HI Doug,
heard and understand. Maybe my statement in that regard sounded a little over the top and a little harsher then I intended. lol…I am miffed with the way and manner Harbaugh chose to conduct himself in behavior and comment acheiving a dominating win which is every bit his job and right. Something he could have achieved without…..we can all agree………..I will retract such confessed pleasures then in light of your point.
However, when we do play them again and if in the coarse of clean Trojan fury (meaning legal hits), some may need “assistance” like Penn State’s Elwood did in last season’s Rose Bowl, Letssay there is nothing wrong with that and I keep my comments regarding those specific issues to myself…. lol
……………….and maybe somebody can “accidentally”knock a Stanford RB out of bounds into Jimmy boy….(??) …lol
Ok Doug, thanks for your comments
Go USC
hey maxtrojan…”Coach Carroll would have never done that.” maybe you should go back and look at game film from the last 5-7 years. He deserved it. Apparently he can’t take a dose of his own medicine. Also, why are you talking like you’re about to lead your knights into battle at medieval times? “please build us a team back of rage and revenge that will crush our enemies. Get us Linebackers that destroy lives .” really?!?
My point was that you shouldn’t be wishing injury to your opponents…ever. It’s a game, and if you want your team to run up the score on Stanford next year, go for it. However, if you want your team to injure and maim young men over a 2-point conversion, then you have serious issues.
no apologies to you Doug. Call me immature all you want. We need to start playing bone crushing football that scares teams and be real mean about it. You don’t let a coach come in YOUR house, smack talk YOUR coach, disrespect him to his face and let him just walk off. Thats plain cowardly.
In MANY stadiums in the SEC and Harbaugh would have done that,…. he would have been attacked by a mob of fans.You think LSU fans would put up with that?? LOL..HOT CHICKS in Baton Rouge drunk on Bourbon would have given him a black eye!!….. Why do you think Saban has 10 troopers holding hands in a circle around him on road games?? …. . You get to win by as much as you earn and he did earn that win. We must take our beating with a smile because thats the way it goes in CFB but the mouth and comments to my coach acted upon by a two point jab attempt?…… no sir. I’ll take that as personal like my coach does.
and Doug, …just because I take my beatings as fair like I do does not mean that I don’t get to hold that aganist my opponents in the future and hate them for it wanting revenge. Thats CFB too. I want to see us play Stanford in the future with such clean fury, their players are carried off the field. Don’t be afraid to be a man for your team.
Unlike here for many (not all), CFB is a religion with NO equal in sight in half this country. They are raised this way. How do you even hope to compete with programs with a mentality like that if you do not atleast know that. They are not a SHALLOW form of entertainment for band wagoners who bail when it doesn’t feel good anymore. and right now, this team and this coach needs more than that. I will continue to wish the worst for those aganist my team.
You might want to think about that.
GO USC
Wow….Maxtrojan’s a real mature one isn’t he? Hospital beds? It’s a game you psycho. Go take your meds.
Oh this is rich! USC fans talking about class! They’ve run up the score countless times in the past, and the lack of discipline they show on the sidelines when they’re way ahead is unacceptable. When you’re up 40 you should be dancing and talking to the cameras. That’s showing up your opponent, and I can’t understand how a team that has done this since Pete Carroll took over can question the class of another team.
Quit whining, Trojans. Read all the articles of the sports announcers. They all agree that PC has a track record of running up scores and showing no respect for his opponents. These are people who watch the games and know. So quit your whining…what goes around comes around!!!
GO STANFORD. And next year I hope they do the same.
Mike.. nothing at Stanford will ever be associated with thug type behavior. The same cannot be said for USC. For all the talk of USC rising in academic standing, it has a LONG way to go before it reaches the level of schools like Stanford. Also, the Stanford admissions office really does have say on the admission of athletes. The same cannot be said of USC.
I think that we were all counting on having Sanchez.
His leaving threw a wrench into the whole year.
If we’d had him, we’d be facing a bcs comp. The frosh would have had a chance to be ready for NEXT year.
I think Pete rocks and has taken the loss graciously.
I’ve never seen him run up the score in the past. He does not throw, he uses the second /third string etc
In fairness, I thought the Stanford QB played very well.
On to next year, we will win 13-0
Brenda
HI Greg,
I don’t agree that PC is vindictive and disrespectable like Jim Harbaugh is. They are two totally different kind of people and carry themselves and talk to other people completely different…….. and I for one am not whining. I just want revenge. REVENGE with blood……. I want his players in hospital beds and him too….pretty simple.
Sooner or later, we WILL have it.
I am a Chicago USC fan and I can tell you when Harbaugh left the Bears he scored a touchdown in a pre-season game I belive it was with the Colts. Little Jimmy made it a point to run by the Bears bench and put his arms out like he was an airplane or jet or bird, who knows. Standford’s victory was tainted by their classlesss asshat punk coach. Fight On Forever.
Little Jimmy, come on what is with the insults. Harbaugh has bitch-slapped Petey and his gangsta thugs twice now in their own house. You should address him King Jimmy ruler of Troy.
maxtrojan. I can also tell you that pete carroll himself has disrespected other coaches and other football teams that played in the Coliseum in teh past and during the most recent season. Talk about that Arkansas game where he ran the score up to 70 pts. Then like Johnny said, he decided to do a nasty onside kick to Washington State who were underdogs, and also down by 20 pts in the FIRST quarter. pete carroll also decided to pull this sh-t on Hawaii back in Sept 2003 when SC was up by 35 pts.
Before you guys whine and gripe about Harbaugh “disrespecting” your trojan team, please, take a look in the mirror and see what kind of crap you people have done to other football programs.
noone should care about this. once the score got out of control in the 4th qtr…who cares. We have issued to fix on defense, and we shouldnt be worried about little jim running up the score.
Next year, Make these people pay Coach Carroll and make it cost them EVERYTHING….. EVERYTHING !!
MAKE THEM REMEMBER.
GO USC !!!!
I tell you this. That is the 2nd time Harbaugh has disrespected Coach Carroll in two years. Coach Carroll would have never done that. I hope this is a wake up call for our beloved Coach Carroll. This guy hates you coach and wants to humilate you over and over again and has. Do you still want to be the super nice guy you truly are?
I hear they have bill boards up in the Bay area with Harbaugh pointing his finger saying ” Whats your deal?” .lol…… If so, PC should put one just like it in his office staring at him in the face.
We will never forgot and I hope Coach Carroll will lead this Trojan team on a RAMPAGE OF REVENGE that respects no one in the next year or two it takes to build this team back up.
Coach Carroll, YOU build it and we will come. You have led and designed a CFB record setting 7 year reign. The most successful active coach in CFB. You have made the Trojans feared
Now sir, please build us a team back of rage and revenge that will crush our enemies. Get us Linebackers that destroy lives ! We will be right behind you
Look, big deal. Cry me a river. In the past, Pete Carroll was unrelenting on other smaller/weakers teams that came to the coliseum to play USC. Like I’ve posted in another DT article, why doesn’t pete carroll ask himself about the cheap onside kick against Washington State earlier this year? Yeah, USC up by what? 20 points at that time in the 1st qtr and the trojans want to recover their own ball? This was also no big nasty Wazzu team. They were 25-pt. underdogs in that game at the Coliseum. I have observed PC over the whole course of his career at SC and he has been really really arrogant. I also recall PC doing another cheap onside kick against Hawaii back in Sept 2003 at the Coliseum. I believe USC was up by 40 points against a meager Hawaii team, and PC decided to do a cheap onside kick against the Bows. I recall this game as I saw an infuriated June Jones (now at SMU) yelling at the refs and giving PC stink eyes. From what I recall, PC also gave JJ the runarounds when it came to sending out video tapes to the Hawaii team for them to preview. Other people at other message board talk about the 70-16 trumping of Arkansas that PC did. How much class is that?
Overall, I’m happy that Jim Harbaugh did that 2-pt conversion attempt to HUMBLE pete carroll. He has been very arrogant and cocky to other Pac-10 football coaches. Not to mention how he threw several F-bombs at former Oregon headcoach Mike Belotti at one of the games.
Now that the table is turned, pete carroll now understands how it feels like to have rocks and stones thrown at you.
Jim Harbaugh just took one of the most respected schools in the nation and reduced it’s football program to a thug school. By going for two points he proved that he doesn’t belong at the school.
Will the AD sit him down and explain to him what that school is about? Probably not.
Johnny,
The difference in each case has to do with context.
I admittedly do not remember the Hawaii game, but it sounds as if your recollection is vague also.
With regard to Arkansas it’s important to remember that the late scores were executed by 2nd and yes, third team scrubs. Michael McDonald threw the last TD at Arkansas when the game was well in hand. If I remember correctly, he may have checked out of it into an audible.
There’s simply a major, major difference between having your starting team do something like this and your 2nd or 3rd string. in your examples, this wasn’t Bush and leinart or for that matter John David Booty. it was Michael McDonalds’ only TD of the year I believe.
You simply cannot compare these two examples.
In almost all the cases I can remember, it was not a starting unit that scored
and if you know anything about Sports and especially football, you don’t ask these guys to give everything in practice and then ask them NOT to score.
It is widely and generally accepted in football that you insert 2nd or 3rd string late in games when it is almost done. You also generally never throw the ball. It’s extremely common and widely accepted that you run the ball. You cannot ask your players to not play hard or to lie down.
If you don’t understand this you don’t know anything about football.
now- If you can show me a specific example of Pete running up the score at the end of a game I’d like to see it. And btw, kicking an onside kick in the middle of the game is not construed as running it up.