Pete Carroll's Ass Shall Not Be Crowned

Tonight, a clam and I are of equal happiness. However I am slightly drunker. It would be a mistake to try to conjure up some sort of coherent thoughts about the day in sports, but I will at least try to jot down a few notes before passing out...

• I don't know who inserted an emotion chip into the Karl Dorrell robot, but thank you, and it's about time. I fully expected Dorrell to stare blankly throughout the day while watching the game slip away from him. But instead, he actually showed fire and a desire to win. I hope he noticed the results and puts the lessons learned to use in the 2007 season that he'll now be allowed to coach because of this victory.



• For the most part, Pete Carroll said all of the right things in his interviews after the defeat, but what was with the slap to Dorrell's face during the postgame handshake? I doubt he would have tried that stunt with Charlie Weis if the Trojans had lost to Notre Dame last week. Of course, it's probably a bad idea to put anything too close to Charlie's mouth that you're not willing to lose.



• After the game, I was considering naming my next born son "DeWayne" after UCLA defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker. But since I'm white, it might make more sense for me to go with "Eric" in honor of linebacker "Eric McNeal."



• This was probably Patrick Cowan's second to last start of his college career, but he's already got a great story to tell his kids. Although, I'll be telling my kids that I played in that game too. What difference is to them if I distort reality a bit? If the kids can have Santa, then I can be a nickel back on the UCLA D.



• Could Lisa Salters please join my co-ed softball league? Did she really ask Karl Dorrell, "Who else believed you could win this game?"



• On the bright side for USC fans, at least not every USC supporter was upset about the Bruins scoring points. I wonder if that's the same cheerleader from the Texas game? (thanks to Bruins Nation for the find.)
  
  



• If Michigan does get into the championship game, then the Rose Bowl will likely be a matchup between USC and LSU in what could be dubbed the OnePeat Bowl. LSU fans are still upset that their 2003 championship has been largely dismissed by the media (ESPN/ABC) who believed that conjuring up a "threepeat" for USC last year was a better storyline. While there won't be many of the same players from the 2003 teams, there will still be plenty of animosity coming from LSU. It should be a pretty compelling matchup.



• Oh..I also saw some previews for the new Rocky movie today. I don't want to spoil anything for you, but I think Rocky gets beat up pretty badly at the beginning of the fight, but then rallies towards the end.



• There were other games played Saturday, including a triple overtime game between Rutgers and West Virginia, which the Mountaineers won by defending a Rutgers two-point conversion. Normally, this game would be considered a thriller, but in this instance the three overtimes were mostly an inconvenience, as it meant that the athletic directors at Miami and Alabama had to wait longer before they could call the head coaches to lure them over to their schools.



• Speaking of coaches, Bob Stoops has done one of the best coaching jobs in the country this season. He lost his starting quarterback and Heisman level running back and is only a pac-10 officiating crew away from being a one loss team. Granted the Big 12 is down a bit this year, but it's still a very impressive accomplishment. It will look great on his resume when he applies for the 2008 Cowboys coaching job.



• Arkansas could be a great team if they didn't have to ask Darren McFadden to be Bugs Bunny for their team. Running back, Darren McFadden. Quarterback, Darren McFadden. Wide Receiver, Darren McFadden....Get the man some help!



• For those who say the BCS system doesn't work (i.e. everyone except university presidents), here would be the matchups of a 4 team playoff:
  
  (1) Ohio State vs (4) Louisville
  (2/3) Florida vs (2/3) Michigan
  
  Hmmm...that doesn't look bad at all...