Your Opinion Please

[SoCalDukeFan]

The UCLA/USC rivalry football game had an interesting ending that seems to have fans more divided than ever.

With 54 seconds USC took over on downs near mid field. Score was USC 21-7 favor of USC. USC went to the Victory Formation and QB took a knee. UCLA then used their first of three TOs remaining.

On the next play USC ran play action and completed a bomb for a TD. UCLA coaches went ballistic screaming at the USC coaches. After the extra point UCLA players stormed the field.

Your opinion:
1. Was UCLA correct in calling the TO? They had one touchdown in 59 minutes. It USC ran two more 2 second plays and one 30 second play then they would get the ball with 20 seconds or less on the clock and down by two touchdowns. So they were going to lose the game. However, you coach the players to play hard every play and try to win every game which the coaches do by calling the TO.

2. Was USC okay in running the play action TO pass? Why run up the score? However UCLA wanted to keep the game going, so lets play football.

3. Was USC correct in going to the Victory Formation when there was almost a minute to go and UCLA had 3 TOs left? Lets just end it. Howver, UCLA is gonna take the TOs and prolong the game so go for a first down and wrap it up.

Amazing ending to a rather dull game that will have LA talking for a while.

SoCal

[Acymetric]

I'm actually surprised Carroll went to the victory formation so early, just by the nature of Pete Carroll. I think doing it was a classy move, and UCLA should have just let the time run off. But they didn't.

If they want to prolong the game, and keep competing until the final whistle why shouldn't USC do the same? UCLA asked for it, and USC gave it to them. End of story.

[Wander]

That's the worst controversy ever. Good job USC going for the touchdown there, that's exactly what I'd want my team to do.

[Jim3k]

If there was confusion on UCLA's part when USC went to the victory formation early, because say, the captain didn't know what to do next and called time-out, I can see UCLA's point. If, during the TO, UCLA's coaches told them to call off the dogs on what turned out to be the play action pass, then the purpose of their timeout was misread by USC. As a result, they are doubly embarrassed -- by the loss and by the extra TD caused by inadvertence.

[DukeUsul]

UCLA calling timeouts tells me they didn't want the game to be over. Then they should have no problem with USC deciding to continue to play.

[YourLandlord]

Last week vs. the Jets the Patriots aired it out to Moss at the end of the game under similar circumstances, and the Jets coach went ballistic.

Everyone agreed the Jets coach was in the wrong.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

UCLA hadn't given up, so why should USC? It's just sour grapes on UCLA's part. If UCLA had played decent defense, they wouldn't have given up the last touchdown.

[SoCalDukeFan]

Commenting on my own post.

In my opinion USC did the right thing by taking the knee. If they ran a football play three things could have happened:

1. Some kind of gain or loss. Most likely, would have run off some clock.
2. Turnover - USC Fans would have been all over Carroll, and rightly so.
3. Play works - Touchdown. UCLA fans would have said that USC should taken a knee.

Once UCLA called timeout then USC was correct in playing football and going for the bomb.

USC did not try to run up the score. If UCLA had not called timeout final would have been 21-7.

SoCal

[Olympic Fan]

Everything old is new again.

Almost the exact sale thing happened in the 1973 NC State at South Carolina game -- Lou Holtz coaching against Paul Dietzel.

NC State is leading 49-28 when South Carolina scores with about a minute left to make it 49-35. The Gamecocks go for an onside kick. State recovers and on first down, the State QB takes a knee. South Carolina calls timeout.

State comes out of the timeout and throws a 55-yard TD pass to make it 56-35. After the game, Holtz defended his call saying, "He was calling timeout so he must have thought he could still win."

I stayed up to almost 1:30 a.m. here in Durham to watch the end of the USC-UCLA game. My reaction at the time:

(1) I have no problem with UCLA calling timeout to extend the game. It might have been a one and a million chance, but why not take it? Actually, with three time outs, they could have forced USC to punt with about 48 seconds left.

(2) I have no problem with USC throwing the ball deep. Like Holtz said, "UCLA was still playing to win the game." Their defense was stacked to stop the run or the short, safe pass. The best strategy was to throw a deep ball.

BTW, the rule of thumb is that when you can take a knee and run out the clock, that's what you should do. But if taking a knee DOESN'T run enough time to end the game (as it wouldn't have in this case), then I think most coaches would try to get the first down, if not go for the TD.

(3) My only negative reaction was towards the UCLA coaches and players after the TD pass. The entire team stormed across the field and was standing there 10 feet from the USC sideline, screaming and gesturing and trying to provoke a fight. What a bunch of crybabies -- USC wasn't trying to run up the score, they were responding to a (laudable) effort by UCLA to play to the final gun. Well, if you're going to do that, how can you get mad when your opponent does the same thing?

I guess that's what you can expect from a team coached by the biggest sleezeball in college football. Before I went to sleep last night, I said a little prayer of thanks that Duke refused to go after that cheating scumbag when his agent contacted Joe Alleva after the 2007 season and tried to put his name in the Duke hat.

[JasonEvans]

Can anyone defend UCLA's anger here? I think the TO makes a big difference. If USC had taken a knee and UCLA let the clock run and then USC had tricked them by throwing a bomb, that would have been poor sportsmanship. But, the moment UCLA called timeout, the burden was on them to defend USC.

By the way, if you thought UCLA football was bad, have any of you noticed the stench coming from the basketball program so far this season!??! Whew!!

--Jason "hmmm, I think we need an on-topic thread about the demise of the UCLA basketball program" Evans

[dukestheheat]

^^^^

What Acymetric said.

dth.

[SoCalDukeFan]

No one here blasts USC.

Here is what Seth Davis wrote on his Twitter:
"It's official: Pete Carroll is a no-class lowlife. Does he have any notion he is supposed to be an educator?"

Chris Dufresne wrote in the LA Times:
"What an extraordinary display of petulance by men locked in a lopsided but highly contentious football turf war. And this is only going to get better -- or worse."
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-dufresne30-2009nov30,0,1599239.column

I am not sure Davis was watching.

SoCal

[DevilHorns]

Wilbon on PTI sided with USC on this one. If you want the game to not end, be ready to play. Simple. As. That.

[DevilAlumna]

I guess that's what you can expect from a team coached by the biggest sleezeball in college football. Before I went to sleep last night, I said a little prayer of thanks that Duke refused to go after that cheating scumbag when his agent contacted Joe Alleva after the 2007 season and tried to put his name in the Duke hat.

Amen, OF. Slick Rick should have been run out of the coaching ranks after the stuff he pulled at Colorado.

I do think that Carroll could have clearly taken the high road, even after the TO, and just run the ball. Pick up the first down and the game is still over. But that would have taken one superhuman show of willpower to not shove it into Neuheisel's face - I would have called for the long ball too.

[SoCalDukeFan]

Amen, OF. Slick Rick should have been run out of the coaching ranks after the stuff he pulled at Colorado.

I do think that Carroll could have clearly taken the high road, even after the TO, and just run the ball. Pick up the first down and the game is still over. But that would have taken one superhuman show of willpower to not shove it into Neuheisel's face - I would have called for the long ball too.

I remember the Miracle at the Meadowlands when the Giants lost a MNF game on a fumbled hand off.

BTW, there were USC fans that wanted an on side kick. That would have been a problem.

SoCal

[elvis14]

UCLA was wrong for calling the timeout. USC was much more wrong for running the play action pass. It was classless at best and I'm embarassed for USC fans.

BTW, the Pats were wrong and the Jets were right last week.

I went ballistic in the same situation not too long ago. We were losing to a team by 2 or 3 touchdowns with 10 seconds left. They called timeout so that they could run another play an attempt to score. If I didn't have laryngitis it would have gotten ugly! I did make sure they heard the terms "bush league" and "classless", however.

[SoCalDukeFan]

UCLA was wrong for calling the timeout. USC was much more wrong for running the play action pass. It was classless at best and I'm embarassed for USC fans.

BTW, the Pats were wrong and the Jets were right last week.

I went ballistic in the same situation not too long ago. We were losing to a team by 2 or 3 touchdowns with 10 seconds left. They called timeout so that they could run another play an attempt to score. If I didn't have laryngitis it would have gotten ugly! I did make sure they heard the terms "bush league" and "classless", however.

This is not the same situation at all. USC had the lead and tried to run out the clock by taking a knee. UCLA called time out, apparently because they wanted to continue to play football. And USC played football.

I would agree that when the team with the lead calls time out to run another play, that is bush.

SoCal

[Mike Corey]

UCLA coaches went ballistic screaming at the USC coaches. After the extra point UCLA players stormed the field.

Not sure this part is accurate.

USC's coaches and players celebrated--at the moment the touchdown was scored--as if they'd won the conference title, and started mocking/taunting the UCLA players, pointing to the scoreboard, making facial expressions, yelling, etc. No doubt UCLA's players were voicing their displeasure, so they weren't innocent bystanders either.

Neuheisel and Co. looked shellshocked and angered, no doubt, but in all the videos that are out there, I haven't seen any UCLA coaches screaming, let alone ballistically. Perhaps there's another video out there that shows otherwise?

With USC's taunts continuing, UCLA's players moved, not stormed, across the field and the referees and USC and UCLA coaches had to restrain their players from anything further.

I'll be the odd person out here and say that despite the foolishness of Neuheisel's timeout, Carroll could choose between throwing into the end zone and taking a knee once more--or even running the ball, if he wanted to get a first down. He didn't, and at the end of it, reacted disproportionately.

That's bad leadership by both Neuheisel and Carroll, in my opinion.

[kmspeaks]

Amen, OF. Slick Rick should have been run out of the coaching ranks after the stuff he pulled at Colorado.

I do think that Carroll could have clearly taken the high road, even after the TO, and just run the ball. Pick up the first down and the game is still over. But that would have taken one superhuman show of willpower to not shove it into Neuheisel's face - I would have called for the long ball too.

Could SC have taken the high road? Sure, but while I am not a fan of USC at all I'm a little slower to criticize Pete Carroll after watching Sportscenter this morning. They had a middle school kid who was about to lose his eye to cancer (he already lost one when he was very young so this would leave him totally blind) come out and hang with the team and give them a little pep talk and everything. I know he's not the only coach to do something like this but still it's pretty awesome to see them do something like this especially in the middle of the season.

If you didn't catch it you can watch it here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyHEifZ4IEQ

[budwom]

Because UCLA just poached one of highest rated football recruits (LB Olinyan) I can only conclude they are the ones to blame in this incident.

[Duvall]

Because UCLA just poached one of highest rated football recruits (LB Olinyan) I can only conclude they are the ones to blame in this incident.

To be fair, UCLA didn't exactly poach him. AO seemed pretty interested in matriculating at a school that was not Duke.

[budwom]

To be fair, UCLA didn't exactly poach him. AO seemed pretty interested in matriculating at a school that was not Duke.

Well, he was at one point "committed" to us, whatever that may mean these days. I'm not about to let facts get in the way of a good rant, Duvall.

[bjornolf]

UCLA called the timeout, not USC. They were extending the game after USC offered the olive branch by kneeling. Then they stacked 10 guys in the box to stop a run or short pass. What's USC supposed to do? They run the ball, they have almost NO chance of getting the first down and ending it, ESPECIALLY since they'd wasted first down on a kneel down. Running, they'd have two plays to make 11 yards with the box TOTALLY stacked. The best play to run there is the play action if USC wants to "end the game". They ran it. It wasn't their fault that the Bruins didn't bother to cover the guy who went long. A QB sees a guy that open, he's gonna pull the trigger. He's not a winner if he doesn't. I have much more of a problem with the USC coaches' reactions after the play (PC dancing like an idiot). That lacked class and as a USC fan who grew up in a family where EVERYBODY was a USC alum (I'm one of like 3 people that DIDN'T go to USC out of about 40 people) I was embarrassed by it. I was NOT embarrassed by the play. I was, however, confused by UCLA's reaction. If you're gonna extend the game after somebody wasted a down offering the olive branch, you have to be ready to play defense. As I've heard many say, if you don't want to be embarrassed, don't let them score. Period.

[G man]

Old sayings are old sayings for a reason. Two wrongs do not make a right. They both are idiots. In USC's defense the current state of college football with stupid BCS encourages teams to run up the score to boost rankings. Not sure if that applies to this situation, but it something that schools get used to doing to help themselves out. Lastly I hate USC everything and I think everything they do is shady and dumb. It appears there as if a bunch of there athletes are getting money or other benefits. So any reason to say something negative about USC I like. In regards to UCLA what a bunch of babies. If you don't want them in your end zone do something about it!