Hypocrite or competitor?

The rivalry between USC and UCLA has always been one of the best in college football. From Gary Beban and O.J. Simpson, to John Robinson and Terry Donahue, the rivalry has had big names and big games. After USC's 28-7 win Saturday night, you can be sure that Trojans coach Pete Carroll is no longer on the Christmas card list of UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel. Here's the setup: With USC lead 21-7 and less than a minute to play, the Trojans take a knee on first down. UCLA calls its first timeout. When plays resumes ...



You might recall that it was only two weeks earlier that Carroll complained - some might say whined - that Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh had his team go for a two-point conversion with a 27-point lead over USC with 6:47 remaining. Is this move by Carroll equally as bush league as Harbaugh's? The Carroll-backers will say UCLA got what it deserved by calling a timeout when it could have let USC take two knees and end the game.

After the game, Carroll said it was "just the heart of a competitor, just battling,"

Neuheisel too the high road, saying on that "they have every right to throw the ball deep. It's our job to cover it."

So what do you think? Classless act? Hypocritical? Just part of the game?