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It’s been 4 years since we’ve seen USC football like that.
Passion. Grit. Will.
And yet, I’ve never seen any game like it.
Weird calls, fluke plays, an ejected player.
It was crazy.
It was the way USC football should be played.
I remember the championship runs in 2003 and 2004 under Pete Carroll (with Steve Sarkisian serving as the quarterbacks coach). To win the toughest of games in the harshest of environments, they needed to will themselves some self-made luck.
In 2005, the infamous “Bush push” comes to mind. In the final play of the game, Matt Leinart attempted a quarterback sneak, was met at the line of scrimmage by the defense, and before going down, Bush shoves him through the end zone for a touchdown.
USC vs. Stanford on Saturday had every bit the same feel, with two programs looking to sculpt their destinies, unusually, so early on in this season. A Cardinal victory would have sent them on a clear path to a third straight Pac-12 championship and another Rose Bowl appearance, or perhaps finally breaking through into the National Championship picture.
Instead, they take a step backwards, reeling from so many penalties and missed opportunities, and now have to regroup and find their identity again.
A Trojan loss was expected by most. After such a tumultuous season last year, and still with far fewer scholarship players on the field than their opponent, a good showing and competing may have been enough to at least earn some respect en route to the middle ranks of the Pac-12.
But USC showed us something a lot different. They believe they are better than mediocre. This group believes it should play in the Rose Bowl. In fact, these players may very well be convinced they should be talked about as having realistic National Championship aspirations.
For all the talk of SC’s high-tempo offense, showcased during the first game against Fresno State, on Saturday, the victory was awarded to the defense.
After this impressive victory, teams around the Pac-12 need to take notice. If you can figure a way to slow down Sarkisian’s speed offense, you better deliver when the ball is in your hands. SC has shown they can win both with firepower and by withstanding an opponent’s offensive barrage. They can win when they throw 50+points on the board, and they can find a way to win when they put up only 13.
More than anything, there was a spirit of positivity surrounding these players. You could sense there was no intimidation. Rather, there was joy in the moment. These are players that are clearly rallying behind their belief in their new coach. They are putting themselves on the line for him, and he is returning the favor.
When Sarkisian started chewing out the referees and cost his team 15 yards for an unsportsmanlike penalty, I was thrilled. That’s the passion and energy we want out of our coach. That’s a coach who is aware of the moment, in tune with exactly what is happening on the field. Dare I bring back bitter memories, but my only recollection of the Visor was his head buried in a playbook during critical moments, not getting in the grill of the refs and high fiving his players.
And then there was Athletic Coordinator, Pat Hayden. After apparently receiving a text message with a request by Sarkisian for him to join him on the field, Hayden transformed from Clark Kent to Superman and practically flew down there on wires to get in the face of the refs. I have never seen anything like this, but it was magical. It was that extra bit of self-made luck, that “Bush push” moment, which made all the difference. Hayden wasn’t being malicious nor inappropriate. If he had done anything wrong, the refs would have thrown him out of the game and issued another penalty against the team as they had just done with Sark. His being there did not influence the play on the field.
His affect may have been spiritual, more than anything, by bolstering the resolve of the players and motivating them to get to that next level.
Was there any doubt that Andre Heidari wouldn’t make the 53-yard game-winning field goal? For the second year in a row, his last second kicking heroics allowed the Trojans to defeat the Cardinal.
For the team, these players, this coach, their athletic director, this was the icing on the cake of what may prove to be a magical season.