COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Just minutes after USC had secured an improbable triumph against the stunned Buckeyes, the Trojans stuffed into their tiny locker room at Ohio Stadium, filling it with excitement, joy and achievement.
A win of utmost satisfaction was theirs.
"Let's cherish the moment," a jubilant Coach Carroll bellowed in the locker room after the dramatic 18-15 comeback victory at Ohio State on Saturday night. "We came through -- just like Trojans do."
A game for the ages, one that will most likely be remembered forever, could be summed up with two rhetorical questions from Coach Carroll.
"Doesn't it feel great?" Carroll, grinning ear to ear, said to his players in the locker room. "Now wasn't that cool?"
He was referring to the team's three-point victory as well as the stunning final drive, which saw Matt Barkley lead the Trojans from their own 5-yard line all the way to the game-winning touchdown with 1:05 remaining. The USC sideline became electric during the drive, with players dancing, chanting and singing "Seven Nation Army" by the White Stripes as the Trojan offense charged downfield toward the victory.
The song later provided the background for a freestyle rap-like rundown of the game by Carroll, who rattled off one lesson after another while his players raucously hummed the catchy tune in the locker room.
"It doesn't matter what happens out there early in the game," Carroll said, his players grooving along around him. "As long as you keep battling, keep believing, it will come true.
"It just shows us how important it is to finish."
So as the raspy-voiced Trojans hugged, yelped and smiled their way off the field and out of Ohio Stadium on Saturday night, Carroll had a few more words for his buoyant team.
"Two-and-oh doesn't mean anything unless you go 3-0," Carroll said. "This game's over, we can't do anything about this game now. Let's celebrate tonight, but we've got to come back to work on Monday."
The wild celebration continued on, but the Trojans knew the future was just around the corner.
After all, many more memories and wins are waiting to be captured in 2009.
A win of utmost satisfaction was theirs.
"Let's cherish the moment," a jubilant Coach Carroll bellowed in the locker room after the dramatic 18-15 comeback victory at Ohio State on Saturday night. "We came through -- just like Trojans do."A game for the ages, one that will most likely be remembered forever, could be summed up with two rhetorical questions from Coach Carroll.
"Doesn't it feel great?" Carroll, grinning ear to ear, said to his players in the locker room. "Now wasn't that cool?"
He was referring to the team's three-point victory as well as the stunning final drive, which saw Matt Barkley lead the Trojans from their own 5-yard line all the way to the game-winning touchdown with 1:05 remaining. The USC sideline became electric during the drive, with players dancing, chanting and singing "Seven Nation Army" by the White Stripes as the Trojan offense charged downfield toward the victory.
The song later provided the background for a freestyle rap-like rundown of the game by Carroll, who rattled off one lesson after another while his players raucously hummed the catchy tune in the locker room.
"It doesn't matter what happens out there early in the game," Carroll said, his players grooving along around him. "As long as you keep battling, keep believing, it will come true.
"It just shows us how important it is to finish."
So as the raspy-voiced Trojans hugged, yelped and smiled their way off the field and out of Ohio Stadium on Saturday night, Carroll had a few more words for his buoyant team."Two-and-oh doesn't mean anything unless you go 3-0," Carroll said. "This game's over, we can't do anything about this game now. Let's celebrate tonight, but we've got to come back to work on Monday."
The wild celebration continued on, but the Trojans knew the future was just around the corner.
After all, many more memories and wins are waiting to be captured in 2009.
That is awesome. I wish I could hear the guys hummin galong to white stripes and Carrol's "rap-like" rundown...priceless moment!
ANOTHER TROJAN MIRACLE.....THANKS FOR THE JOY RIDE!!
Good read! You need to get some social bookmarking buttons on your posts so that we can share stuff like this with the click of a button.