USC Trojans And Oregon Ducks 2015: You Can’t Relive The Past
By Dom Pruett
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Earlier on Sports Center today, ESPN’s Rece Davis provided an interesting outlook on the recent firing of Steve Sarkisian at USC. I don’t have the full segment from Davis, but he essentially talked about the USC Trojans desperate attempt to relive the dominant years of the Pete Carroll era. That bringing in prominent figures from that staff as head coaches — such as Lane Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian — has only prolonged the rebuilding process that should have taken place once Carroll departed for Seattle. In other words, you can’t imitate the glory produced by past teams. In the ever-changing landscape of college football, you must adapt every season.
Sound familiar, Oregon fans?
Is Oregon also at fault for trying to mimic past success? With Chip Kelly gone, should the Duck’s signature spread offense be abandoned? And what about the longstanding 3-4 defense? More importantly, do the Ducks have the personnel to execute what once worked so efficiently?
Maybe a pro-style offense should be implemented. Maybe an emphasis on recruiting bigger, physical players should be a top priority. Maybe “bend but don’t break” should be abandoned, in favor of a more aggressive 4-3 defense.
Oregon fans, it’s important to realize that the sky isn’t falling (yet, at least). The Ducks are in the midst of a disappointing 3-3 season after a dream 2014 season. EVERY program experiences its fair share of ups and downs.
Comparing the current state of the Oregon program to the days of Chip Kelly and Marcus Mariota is preposterous.
F. Scott Fitzgerald said it best:
"So we beat on,boats against the current,borne back ceaselesslyinto the past."
You can’t relive the past.