USC Wanted It More Than Michigan
| 14
|
by user Leslie Monteiro
There was outrage from sports announcers, sportswriters, and Michigan Wolverines backers about how the Wolverines got screwed by the BCS for not being in the championship game. Everyone viewed the Rose Bowl as a consolation game for the Big Ten runner-up. If Michigan looked bad in a consolation game, why would they look any better against the best team in the country, the Ohio State Buckeyes.
The Wolverines were outcoached, outplayed, outworked, and outclassed by the Trojans in the Rose Bowl. It was a humiliating defeat for the Wolverines.
This loss now raises questions about how Michigan fans feel about their head coach, Lloyd Carr. They have not been happy with his coaching performance in recent years. The team got off to a great start this season and they gave the Buckeyes a fourth quarter scare in the final game of the season. So Carr did not receive criticism this season. However, things are going to change after this horrible performance. Sports fans think about the bottom line. The bottom line for Michigan fans is that Carr has not won bowl games in recent years. His teams lose to Ohio State, too. It is not just the losing that rankles the fans. It is the fact that this team is always poorly coached in these type of games. The fans were never used to that under the late Bo Schembechler, Gary Moeller, and the first few years of Carr's stewardship, and they are not going to tolerate it now.
Is it fair that Carr has to endure this? No, but it is the way it is under a major league program like Michigan. If Glen Mason can get fired by the University of Minnesota, any head coach can be fired. Carr will and should hold on to his job, but there is going to be pressure for him to win big games in the next few years. They want him to win these types of games and they want their team to be prepared. If an unheralded Boise State team can beat Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl, their fans should expect Michigan with that much talent to do the same against great teams.
The Trojans deserved this win. They stepped up in the second half offensively. The defense played all out for 60 minutes. Their players and their coaching staff did a good job of preparing for this game and the results speak for itself.
USC quarterback John David Booty got it going with his best receiver, Dwayne Jarrett, in the second half and they never looked back. Jarrett had two touchdowns in that game and Booty threw four touchdowns in that half to will their team to a 32-18 victory.
The Pac-10 champs got a good show from the Jersey guys. Jarrett and Brian Cushing, who hail from New Jersey, made their home state proud on national television. Jarrett was spectacular out there. Cushing has had his ups and downs at USC. He struggled under Carroll's defensive schemes and he had a hard time adapting life in Southern California. This was his finest hour by far. He had his way with Chad Henne, who is the Michigan quarterback. He had three sacks against him.
Everything was going right for USC. Michigan could not say the same.
Michigan's offense was just nonexistent all day. Michigan's offensive line was manhandled in the entire game. This is why Henne was ineffective. He was running for his life most of the game. The Trojans were licking their chops when they saw an opportunity to sack him. They did just that.
It was not going to get better for Henne at the start of the third quarter. He was intercepted by USC's defensive end Lawrence Jackson. That interception was the beginning of the end for him and his team.
USC got a touchdown after that play. Booty found Chris McFoy and McFoy went to the end zone. Trojans got the six points and then the extra point by their kicker, Mario Danelo. It was 10-3, Trojans.
It was game over for them when Booty found a wide open Jarrett. Jarrett ran for the touchdown to make it 16-3. The extra point was missed by Danelo.
USC had to settle for a field goal by Danelo because Jarrett could not have caught the ball from his quarterback. It was 19-3.
Michigan tried to make it a game by scoring a touchdown in the third quarter. Henne threw to Adrian Arrington for the touchdown to cut the lead to 19-9.
Carr went for two instead of the extra point, which was the right decision to make. Michigan executed when Mike Hart ran to the end zone. It was now 19-11.
Unfortunately for the Wolverines, their momentum was derailed when Booty threw deep to Jarrett. This touchdown pass was a dagger because it was now 25-11, Trojans.
Everyone was ready to play the song "Taps" for Michigan when Booty threw to Steve Smith for another touchdown. After missing two extra points in a row, Danelo made it to give a supreme 32-11 lead.
Michigan fans were stunned and USC fans rocked the house that belongs to the UCLA Bruins.
It was so bad that USC backup quarterback Mark Sanchez finished the game. That was the ultimate insult to the Wolverines.
Michigan scored the final touchdown of the game when Steve Breaston caught a 41-yard pass by Henne. The extra point and the touchdown made it 32-18.
There were only two bright spots for the Maize and Blue.
Michigan's defense turned up the heat in the second quarter. They forced Booty for a fumble, which was recovered by Michigan linebacker Shawn Crable. Michigan scored their first points of the game in the second quarter. Michigan kicker Garrett Rivas kicked a 46-yard field goal to tie the game at 3.
The game may look high scoring, but this was not your father's Rose Bowl. Normally, those games at Pasadena are high-scoring and exciting from the start. This was different. Both teams looked skittish offensively in the first half. They did not do a good job of moving the chains. There were not many passes to the end zone. The marching bands of both schools put on a better show than the football teams. Fortunately for the game, USC stepped up in the second half.
What a season USC had. They were thought to be in the middle of the pack this year in the Pac-10 and in college football. They did very well in their rebuilding year. They almost went to the championship game with a very young team. That is impressive. It is a tribute to their head coach, Pete Carroll for getting the right guys on the team and getting the most out of them. They will definitely contend for the national championship next year.
In many ways, USC was better off going to the Rose Bowl than the national championship game. They may have given the Buckeyes a run for their money, but in the end, the Buckeyes were much better and experienced than the young Trojans team. The Rose Bowl win is a feather to their great season.
One has to wonder what is next for the Trojans. Every year, there is speculation where Carroll will end up. There are always NFL jobs available and there is a thought that he may want to coach in the NFL. He wants to prove he can be successful in that level after getting couple of tastes from the Patriots and the Jets. Everyone is linking him to Arizona because of his relationship with his former star quarterback, Matt Leinart. Arizona's vacancy was open on Monday when Dennis Green was fired. The hope is that he stays at USC. He has it great over there. Why leave a great situation?
As for the Wolverines, this was a bitter pill to swallow. Losing to Ohio State and getting embarrassed by the Trojans was not something that their fans had in mind.
All of this good work by them will be forgotten based on the first day of 2007 in Southern California.
