Why USC Lost
Vince Young was unbelievable. And when it came down to it, Texas made the plays that won what turned out to be a marvelous football game. But the Trojans only have themselves to blame for giving the 'Horns a chance.
For starters, SC was arrogant. Hubris caused the Trojans to go for it on 4th and 2 with 2:09 left to play and a 5 point lead. Why not punt the ball and make Vince Young take his team the length of the field? Why not give the worn-out Trojan defense as much help as possible? Because Pete Carroll and USC thought they were unbeatable. They took an unnecessary gamble and it cost them big-time.
But that's only the beginning. Reggie Bush only had 13 carries. That's right--Mr. All World, the Heisman trophy winner, the man drawing comparisons to Barry Sanders, Walter Payton, and just about any other great back who's ever worn cleats and shoulder pads, had 13 rushes. That's silly. I don't care how well LenDale White was playing. It doesn't matter. You've got to get the ball in the hands of your stud, especially at the end of the game. The Trojans failed to do that. (In fairness, Bush did have 6 receptions and 5 kickoff returns for a total of 24 touches. But that's not enough touches for a guy who averaged 8.9 yards per carry, especially in a game of this magnitude.)
Lastly, why on earth did USC burn its last timeout when Texas lined up to go for two with 19 seconds to play? I'll tell you why. The arrogant Trojans were shell-shocked. They weren't expecting VY and Co. to overcome a 12 point deficit with a little more than 6 minutes left to play. It wasn't even a possibility. They thought they were invincible.
And so it goes. Vince Young often looked like a man among boys on Wednesday night. But crucial mistakes by the Trojans gave him the chance to lead the Longhorns to the national championship.
For starters, SC was arrogant. Hubris caused the Trojans to go for it on 4th and 2 with 2:09 left to play and a 5 point lead. Why not punt the ball and make Vince Young take his team the length of the field? Why not give the worn-out Trojan defense as much help as possible? Because Pete Carroll and USC thought they were unbeatable. They took an unnecessary gamble and it cost them big-time.
But that's only the beginning. Reggie Bush only had 13 carries. That's right--Mr. All World, the Heisman trophy winner, the man drawing comparisons to Barry Sanders, Walter Payton, and just about any other great back who's ever worn cleats and shoulder pads, had 13 rushes. That's silly. I don't care how well LenDale White was playing. It doesn't matter. You've got to get the ball in the hands of your stud, especially at the end of the game. The Trojans failed to do that. (In fairness, Bush did have 6 receptions and 5 kickoff returns for a total of 24 touches. But that's not enough touches for a guy who averaged 8.9 yards per carry, especially in a game of this magnitude.)
Lastly, why on earth did USC burn its last timeout when Texas lined up to go for two with 19 seconds to play? I'll tell you why. The arrogant Trojans were shell-shocked. They weren't expecting VY and Co. to overcome a 12 point deficit with a little more than 6 minutes left to play. It wasn't even a possibility. They thought they were invincible.
And so it goes. Vince Young often looked like a man among boys on Wednesday night. But crucial mistakes by the Trojans gave him the chance to lead the Longhorns to the national championship.
posted by Small Fish at 9:45 PM
2 Comments:
You probably know better than anyone how much the likelihood of a team scoring drops when a team has to drive 90 yards as opposed to 60. It's pure speculation to say those 30 yards would have been the difference; but why not give your defense the best chance? My contention is that their arrogance never caused them to stop and ask "what if we don't make it?"
But let's go one step further. What on earth were the Trojans doing passing on 2nd down (to a running back not named Bush, no less)? That was perhaps the biggest mistake of all, stopping the clock and giving VY more time. Again, it all points to "we can do whatever we want because we're USC" play calling that failed to take into account the situation.
To me, arrogance seems a more likely explanation than bone-headed play calling. You don't win 34 straight being a bonehead. Rather, pride comes before a fall...
While I don't disagree with the speculation that pride played some role in the 4th and 2 decision, bear this in mind: Texas coach Mac Brown said after the game that once they got the ball back, they were managing the time so that if USC got the ball back they would have little if any time to score. The unstated assumption in Brown's comment is that Texas knew they had momentum, hence (in their own hubris) they knew USC's defense could not stop Vince Young from leading his team down the field -- regardless if it was 60 or 80 yards long.
Perhaps USC recognized the same thing, and was attempting to keep the ball out of VY's hands.
Rather than guessing that USC's decision to go for it on 4th and 2 was based upon the pride of "we can do whatever we want because we're USC," there is perhpas better reason to deduce that they were thinking "Texas's offense can do whatever it wants on our D because they have Vince Young at QB."
I will admit, however, that I, too, am only speculating.
Post a Comment
<< Home