Bad weekend for SoCal's 'elite' football teams

You could see the USC Trojans’ loss coming from a mile away over the weekend.

For the San Diego Chargers, you could see it from more like seven yards away (thanks Ray Lewis.)

The difference between the Chargers losing in the NFL and USC losing in the NCAA is huge: The Chargers could probably lose seven more games and still have a chance at winning the Super Bowl. USC is out of losses for a chance at the national championship.

Why is it that Pete Carroll can always win the big games at USC, yet the little one seems to escape him each year?

It happened with Stanford in 2007, Oregon State in 2008 and last weekend at the University of Washington.

Each year, that one stumble has kept/will keep the Trojans out of the title hunt.

It’s really too bad that the Trojans play on the West Coast because one loss and you’re out. Play in the more publicized Southeastern Conference or Big Ten and one loss keeps you in the hunt.

As for the Chargers, they’re in such a bad division that an 8-8 record likely gets them to the playoffs.

Still, that’s not excuse for the horrible play calling in the end with a fourth-and-2 at the Baltimore Ravens 15.

The Chargers had been averaging 2.5 yards per rush and were getting blown off the line of scrimmage with an injury-depleted offensive line. Yet coach Norv Turner still went with the run on the decisive play when everyone at Qualcomm Stadium (especially Ray Lewis) could see that it was going to be a run by Darren Sproles.

San Diego has still yet to block Lewis on that play.

It was a bad weekend for the Chargers; a horrible one for USC. See you next year, Trojans!

What would Grier's departure mean to USD basketball?

If University of San Diego basketball coach Bill Grier does indeed take the Oregon State job, what does it mean for the Toreros?

First and foremost, it means USD is darned if it does – and darned if it doesn’t – when it comes to winning.

If/when Grier leaves, he will be living proof that the Toreros probably aren’t going to keep a coach who is highly successful (baseball coach Rich Hill being an exception.)

All Grier did in his first year at USD is enable the Toreros to become the first San Diego team ever to win an NCAA Tournament game, that coming in a stunning upset of Connecticut.

Just a year ago, highly-successful USD football coach Jim Harbaugh left to become the head coach at Stanford.

Based on these two cases, it appears USD is becoming a testing ground for coaches to make their way into the Pac-10.

So what happens when a coach doesn’t reach the top with the Toreros?

Just ask Brad Holland, who was fired after posting a 187-181 career record at USD.

What’s next for the Toreros without Grier?

Look for the job to go to top assistant coach Bill Carr, the former head coach at UC San Diego.

The Toreros will look for another Grier to lead their basketball program … with the hopes an impact coach will stick around for awhile.