USC Stuck in LSU's Craw
On a balmy 4th of July at the beach this week, LAist spotted USC football coach Pete Carroll playing catch in his front yard with his family. He looked relaxed and seemed to be having a good time. If it weren't so sandy, it could have been right out of a Norman Rockwell painting.
We're not sure if Les Miles is bitter that his front yard is next to a swamp, but something big is clearly rattling this Cajun -- and that something is USC. Instead of enjoying his summer, Louisiana State University's coach is busy stumping in the media. It seems like he's taking a page from two different playbooks: one from Mack Brown (who arguably talked Texas into the 2005 Rose Bowl over Cal) and the other from the 2008 Presidential campaigns (who unarguably have started earlier than any other race in history).
The Trojans are widely considered the favorite in the hunt for next season's national championship, while the Tigers are on most lists at #2. USC quarterback John David Booty, a Louisiana native, recently acknowledged the possible matchup in the Southern California media.
While John David Booty played it down, Miles played it up. With a keen eye for the power of the press, he clearly understood that changing the minds of a few voters early on could have a profound impact on the final polls in December. To that end, he stopped just short of calling USC's schedule "soft" and sarcastically referred to several Pac 10 programs as "juggernauts." No matter what part of the country you live in, we're pretty sure that "something must be done about USC" counts as fightin' words.
So-called national experts are skeptical of strength-of-schedule attacks against the Trojans, who traditionally take on the nation's toughest out-of-conference opponents and frequently play on the road. Last year they went to Arkansas and pasted the SEC West champ (coincidentally, LSU is from the SEC West), then bolo'ed perennial powerhouses Nebraska and Notre Dame. They scheduled rematches against the latter two in 2007 -- on the road. National columnists are always going to have something to say, but it's funny that few people in LA seem to care. Typically active internet forums are abuzz, but most Angelinos are blissfully unaware of the bitter resentment that is spewing forth from the bayou.
LSU is understandably upset that USC stole two of their top recruits in recent years. John David Booty was the #1 prospect in the nation while in high school in Louisiana. He skipped his senior year to start early at USC, where he promptly rode the bench behind a nobody named Matt Leinart. Now that Leinart has a Heisman trophy and John David Booty is the favorite in next year's trophy race, the Trojan backfield has been bolstered yet again by the nation's #1 high school recruit. Running back Joe McKnight hails from no other place than -- Louisiana. People were so upset by USC's poaching that McKnight's high school coach has received death threats for not delivering the prized recruit to the Purple and Gold.
Of course, this all really stems back to the 2003/2004 National Championship. You would think that these two teams played a death match, but in truth they haven't bumped pads in decades (in their only two meetings, LSU won in 1984 and USC won in 1979). Rather, LSU fans were bitter (and still are) that USC earned a split of the title. In the BCS title game, LSU struggled past an Oklahoma squad that couldn't even win their own conference. By rule, they were awarded a "unanimous" championship from the coaches, though a number of voters filed dissenting ballots. Why the controversy? USC was ranked #1 in both polls, then ripped the guts out of #4 Michigan. The Associated Press awarded their National Championship to the Trojans, and the BCS's own website even acknowledged the Trojan's rightful claim. Eventually, the AP pulled out of the much-maligned system and the current redesign of the BCS website makes no reference to the controversy.
[A note for those who don't follow college football: The only NCAA sport without a playoff is football, so the NCAA does not officially recognize a national football champion. Instead, a "mythical national championship" (MNC) is awarded by any number of outlets. In recent years, the AP media poll and the USA Today coach's poll have been the most respected, and both took part in a post-season system called the Bowl Championship Series. The BCS is still the main measuring stick for the national title, but is frequently the cause of much controversy.]
Not that 'SC smack talk is anything new, but Louisiana State and Les Miles have taken it to a whole new level. Depending on how things play out next season, you might want to think twice about wearing Cardinal and Gold at Mardi Gras.
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