Pete Carroll: 'UCLA Was Asking For It'

Okay, so he didn’t really say that, but it would have been perfectly appropriate. With under a minute to play, UCLA called a timeout after Carroll’s USC offense had taken a knee. No matter your perspective on what came next, that’s a pretty weak move on UCLA and Coach Rick Neuheisel’s part. So what came next?

USC, leading 21-7, went deep on a play action pass. And Matt Barkley connected with Damian Williams for a 50-yard touchdown. And then, a full-on riot nearly ensued between both teams, as USC taunted the disgraced Bruins team. And here I thought this stuff only happened in video games.

Afterward, Carroll mumbled something like, “we felt like we could take a shot, they were cheating up at the line, blah blah blah.” What he should have said? We were trying to kneel and end the game; UCLA clearly wanted to keep playing.

So? We kept playing. That’s what they wanted.