Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Defeat From Victory

Like several things in life, the actions of today may not come back to bite you in the ass until several years later. It is true when it is said that the displacement of wind by a butterfly in Indonesia will lead to a hurricane in the North American atlantic. That moment struck last Saturday, as the number 2 ranked USC Trojans surprisingly lost the unranked UCLA Bruins. Now knowing me, yeah I root for the fellas, however that doesn't stop me from being objective. I stated as early as April that this Trojan team was losing a lot and that all the controversy surrounding the program would lead to a tough season. Regardless, what transpired Saturday on the grounds of the Rose Bowl did more to damage the Bruins in the long run.

"What the hell are you talking about Gaffer? We won the freakin game, score board, in your face, suck on that!" Sure, on the surface that is the gut reaction reaction to the above statement. But consider this for a moment Bruin fan. All indications pointed to the fact that the Bruins were looking to get rid of the very mediocre and often over matched Karl Dorrell in favor of bringing in a class coaching name like Steve Mariucci. Yes, that Steve Mariucci, the guy who made a very average Jeff Garcia and the San Francisco 49ers into perrenial playoff contenders. The same Mooch that came to mentor Brett Favre and made him into one of the better quarterbacks in the league before he started to turn into the interception machine he is now. Yes, that Steve Mariucci, who dispite having a losing record at the Detroit Lions, still got the team to some level of respectability had Matt Millen actually known what he was doing. Yes, that very same, good looking NFL coach, was being rumored to be interested in the UCLA job had Dan Guerrero come knocking. With the win on Saturday all that changes.

It all changes because now Karl Dorrell has that "signature victory," the kind that most coaches get when they are able to finally cross over into the somewhat respectable class. Carroll had his in 2003, when his two loss Trojan team trounced the Iowa Hawkeyes at the Orange Bowl to mark the beginning of the latest SC dynasty. For some coaches the wait takes several years in developing. Mack Brown didn't have his until last year, when his Texas team was finally able to overcome Oklahoma while winning a critical game at the Horseshoe in Columbus. And for others, the wait continues. Take Charlie Weis for instance, he is still searching for his "signature victory" as Lloyd Carr, Jim Tressel, and Pete Carroll still have his number. Dorrell, for all intents and purposes, had his, as much as a gift that it was from Lane Kiffen and Steve Sarkisian, two offensive coordinators that could not figure the complex zone packages that DeWayne Walker was able to use. Yes, Dorrell's "signature win" is in every bit owed to the hard work of Walker.

So, this leaves Dan Guerrero at a crossroads. With Mooch days away from being named the new Bruin head coach after another UCLA loss to the Trojans, the unthinkable happened. Blame Eric McNeal. Had that interception in the 4th hit the ground, or at least been ruled to have hit the ground, as it did, then the Bruins would have fired Dorrell the very next day and no one would have been the wiser. They would have even gotten away with it without much uproar by the media and the NAACP because all they had to do was say he didn't take the program to a big time bowl, and never beat his cross town rivals. Instead, the interception was made, and with it Dorrell's career as a head coach. He is untouchable.

So again, what good does the win bring with it? Well the Bruins are still going to a no name pre-New Year Bowl game to play a very mediocre Florida State team. They go into another season with no real passing game and no big time runners in the back field. They also lose a major portion of the defensive unit that helped stop the vaunted Trojan offense. They also get to keep their lack luster coach, who will get another shot at a sub par season due to his "signature win." Mooch gets to look at other options, most likely Arizona State, where the future is in place in the form of All CIF quarterback Rudy Carpenter who grew on the job at A-State after Sam Keller left for Nebraska. Pete Carroll is Pete Carroll. All he will do is reload and look forward to next year's game at the Coli with what seems to be a Heisman candidate in JD Booty.

So again, what does the win bring? It's like the Dodgers sweeping a weekend set in the Bay only to get swept in the first round of the playoff or the Lakers putting in a great season only to make an early exit from the show. It is all for not. Not because the win doesn't mean anything, sure revel in the fact that you beat a number 2 team in the country, however your coach, your cancer, stays in place with very little that can be done to correct the situation. Just sit back and hope that Dorrell doesn't turn in another 6 or 7 win season and leads the team to another pre-New Year, no name bowl game.

Of course when pressed, Guerrero backed off the rumors that the calls were made to Mooch, what else is he going to say? It was really interesting that Guerrero was quick to attack the line of questioning posed by beat writers, yet he never actually denied the reports on their merit. All this, I'm sure will be talked about as the Bruins embark for their Emerald Bowl appearance that is given to the PAC 10 number 4 or 5 team.

So sure, soak up the victory, fly your flag high and wear your colors proudly Bruin fan, your mediocre season is a success with this latest victory. However think about the fact that in this era of big time football, your program is still without an appearance in a New Year Bowl game since 1999, and have not won a New Year Bowl since 1986. That's a pretty long time, but hey, 2005 Sun Bowl Champions is a major achievement.