The hardest thing in the world is to recognize the end of something before it happens. In retrospect it is easy to look back and say ‘yep, The Cosby Show really went downhill when they brought on Raven Symone’. But did we know it at the time? Did we assume instead, she would step into Rudy’s shoes and things would continue on as if nothing changed?
Or that Steve Guttenberg leaving the franchise after completing Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol, would represent the beginning of the end. Both of that movie franchise and Guttenberg’s career?
In sports it is even more difficult. Look at the Patriots. They were 2 minutes from NFL immortality and then a career back-up made a miracle catch and a perennially underperforming number one draft pick quarterback threw a touchdown pass to a wide receiver who would later shoot himself in the leg. Eight minutes into their next game, Tom Brady’s ACL took out the eye of some kid sitting in the third row. With that the Patriots dynasty ended.
In college football, changes seem to come even more frequently and without warning.
With the rumors and news circulating today, I have the feeling we are again at the crossroads and a team many see as invincible is beginning the slippery slide into mediocrity. After a short decade on top of the college football world, we could be looking at the end of USC’s reign.
News this week of potential sanctions against USC including reduced scholarships and possible banishment from bowl games would seem to imperil USC’s ability to annually recruit one of the best classes in the country. Combined with Pete Carroll’s leaving for the money and autonomy of the head coaching job with the Seahawks (which looks more and more convenient by the day) and being replaced by Lane Kiffin who has accomplished nothing but tick off every fan base he has worked for and it is very easy to see the Trojan program going the way of Desperate Housewives: still technically around but not of importance to anyone not receiving a check to help produce it.
It is easy to forget now that USC is not pre-ordained to always be great at college football. For pretty much the entire decade of the nineties they were average at best, going 68-49-4 from 1990 to 1999 and piling up records of 6-6, 6-5, and 6-6 in 1996, 1997 and 1999.
But USC’s impending spiral into also-ran status is certainly not unique in college football. They aren’t even the only once-dominant program taken down in part by rampant NCAA infractions.
Miami’s domination of college football came to end in the early 1990’s with two national championship game losses in 3 years followed by their own NCAA sanctions (including scholarship reductions and banishment from playing in a bowl game). Miami disappeared off the national scene for nearly a decade and after a brief dominant stretch in the early 2000’s is again mired in mediocrity.
Oklahoma dominated college football through the 70′s and 80′s but after massive misconduct was found including a shooting, a rape and selling cocaine all out of the football dorm (which makes Reggie Bush’s taking money to pay for his parent’s home almost seem honorable). The Sooners were hit with (wait for it) scholarship reductions and banishment from TV and bowl games. The Sooners would not return to the national stage until 2000 and would so harm a young impressionable fan named Turner that he would choose to attend SMU when he finished high school.
Not all dominant stretches end thanks to rampant cheating though. Others end due to coaching changes. Interesting that this also has hit USC: they are the failing program perfect storm with Kiffin playing the Mark Wahlberg role staring up at the tidal wave about to send him to the bottom of the sea.
Alabama’s Bear Bryant retired in 1982. A decade later, the Tide finally made it back to and won a national championship.
Lou Holtz left Notre Dame in 1996. Not-so-coincidentally, the Fighting Irish have been irrelevant ever since. Despite the best efforts of the media.
Tom Osborne retired in 1997 after winning three national titles in 4 years. He was succeeded by Frank Solich who so infuriated the Husker faithful by having the audacity to go 9-3 in 2003 he was fired. Also in 2003 the final Matrix films were released. And since 2003, both the Huskers and Keanu Reeves have accomplished about the same amount. Which is to say not much.
Other eras just end with little warning and the compounding effect of several seemingly small events.
The Seminoles of Florida State, in 2000, fresh off 3 consecutive national title game appearances (and 5 in nine years), lost Mark Richt as their offensive coordinator and kicked presumptive starting quarterback Jared Jones off the team. They started the next season ranked in the top five. Needless to say, they didn’t stay there and have barely sniffed it since.
Did we Nole fans know at the time that the 13-2 loss to the Sooners in the 2001 Orange Bowl would be the end of our ownership of college football? Of course not. We had endured national championship losses before and naturally assumed we would bounce right back the following season.
That was a decade ago and we are still waiting.
Are you paying attention Trojans?
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My team has never dominated for any stretch of time. I think that allows me to enjoy the highs when the come more, even though they come much more sporadically than with other programs. We haven’t been to the Rose Bowl in 20 years….but when we get back, it will be sweet.