D-Bag of the Week for 29/11/09

You gotta love college football.  Or not–what the hell do I care?

But say you watch it, let me ask you a question–if you happened to see the UCLA/USC game this past Saturday, what did you think of the ending?

Or more precisely, who was the bigger douchebag–Rick Neuheisel or Pete Carroll?

Quick recap for those that don’t know–USC, up 21-7, had just got the ball back with 54 seconds or so left to play.  QB Matt Barkley took a knee, in order to run out the clock.  At least that was the plan.

UCLA coach Neuheisel had a different plan–he called a timeout.

Seriously.

This set Pete Carroll off.  Coming out of the timeout, USC ran a play-action pass, and Barkley hit Damien Williams for a 48-yard score with 44 seconds left.  Flagrant taunting followed, causing many of the Bruins players to edge their way across the field.  A massive brawl was narrowly averted.

So which coach was the bigger douchebag in this situation?

Here’s Neuheisel’s explanation for the inexplicable timeout…

“I was trying to make them punt, and maybe if they run, we cause a fumble,” Neuheisel said. “They have their take on it, but I was trying to get the ball back. People can make their own conclusions. … I don’t blame them for doing it.”

Alrighty then.  Now for Carroll’s retort, ie. the deep ball playcall…

“It is just the heart of a competitor, just battling,” Carroll said. “We just wanted to win the game and have fun. When the moment was there, it wasn’t thinking about what [others] might be thinking. You are either competing, or you’re not.”

Well bully for you.

As for me, I can’t decide.  So they’re both being named Douchebag of the Week.

Suck on that one, boys.