Curt McKeever: Huskers hope to give Carroll a birthday bash
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Pete Carroll looks like he’s going on 40 and probably feels closer to 30 from tasting the energizing Fountain of Youth that is his mighty USC football program.
He turns 56 on Saturday, and for his birthday bash in Memorial Stadium has but one request: No balloons. More specifically, not the ones Husker fans like to release after the home team scores.
All right, so if that really were his wish, it would fall along the lines of a tech-savvy 15-year-old expecting to see penny-pinching parents make one of those newfangled Apple MacBooks magically appear on the big day. Though they’re quite capable, the odds are stacked against the top-ranked Trojans of pitching a shutout.
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USC coach Pete Carroll
USC coach Pete Carroll addresses the media at Memorial Stadium on Friday afternoon. (Michael McNamara / JournalStar.com)...
However, Carroll wouldn’t be considered greedy if he asked his defense to keep the sky clear long enough so that when those helium-filled inflatables float upwards he’ll just think they’re friendly gestures from well-wishing Nebraska fans.
Yes, indeed, that would truly provide Carroll with a happy birthday.
“We’re certainly preparing for a tremendously varied offensive attack,” he said with all the confidence of someone who actually wants the Huskers to try and open things up.
Most teams that do that against USC wish they hadn’t.
In five of the past six seasons, the Trojans have finished at least No. 5 nationally in turnover margin.
Dating to 2002, they’re 60-5, and their last four losses are by a combined total of just 12 points. Had they not fallen to UCLA 13-9 in the 2006 regular-season finale, they would have played in a third straight BCS national title game.
And so when Carroll is asked by a reporter from Nebraska whether he thinks his players will feel additional nerves Saturday night, he pauses, probably to catch himself from laughing.
“Additional nerves?” he said. “Well, these games are always challenging, and that’s what home-field advantage is all about. The crowd’s going to do everything they can to make it difficult, and their team, as well, and we have to play over and above all of those factors. It’s going to be a tremendous opposition, I’m sure.“
Next question. Not that there are many about these Trojans.
USC opened its season two weeks ago with a methodical 38-10 victory against Idaho, a game in which the Trojans’ interest was severely tested after they marched to touchdowns on their first three possessions.
Of course, Carroll expects a better opponent in Nebraska. But he also carries a calmness that would indicate he anticipates his team will handle the upgrade. After all, each of USC’s last five recruiting classes has received a No. 1 ranking.
That’s why when he says, “you know, I don’t really have any concerns,” about the Trojans, he’s to be believed.
“I’ll see what happens this week,” Carroll offered.
My guess is his answer won’t be much, if any, different.
Carroll makes no secret that USC’s top goal is to keep running back Marlon Lucky under wraps and make the Huskers one-dimensional. A year ago, Lucky got all of 27 yards on 10 carries, and the Nebraska running game managed 68 on 36 attempts while coming out on the short end of a 28-10 result in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Carroll compliments the current Huskers for being “well equipped” and having “all of the elements” to “do everything they want to do,” but I’d say those comments apply to situations not involving USC’s defense.
Not only do the Trojans have 10 returning starters, they might be the finest collection of players ever to line up on that side of the ball — though Carroll won’t let that out of the bag just yet.
“It’s how you perform that can separate you. These guys have to put it together at game time, and play on the road and play in all of these difficult situations,” he said. “There’s a whole lot that goes into this, and we’re just getting warmed up. We don’t know where we are right now and this is a tremendous challenge for us to go to Nebraska with a bunch of young guys and see if we can get them to perform at their level.“
But with that curiosity comes a cool assurance from knowing he’s got the best program going.
“We look forward to it,” Carroll said of the contest against Nebraska.
I bet he does. It might be an easier task than blowing out the candles on his cake.
Reach Curt McKeever at 473-7441 or cmckeever@journalstar.com.
