LOS ANGELES — In recent years, Pete Carroll has likened his job to Groundhog Day, though not necessarily in a negative way.

The same old, same old that Carroll has achieved at USC is the envy of the Football Bowl Subdivision. The Trojans’ talent cupboard remains stocked, their expectations remain sky-high and their results are consistently excellent: seven consecutive seasons with 11 or more victories and berths in BCS bowls, including four Rose Bowls in a row.
This year? It’s as if Carroll, like Bill Murray’s character in the movie “Groundhog Day,” decided to start doing wacky things without fear of consequences.
At least that’s the prevalent fan and media reaction to Carroll’s decision to start freshman quarterback Matt Barkley — the coaching call that has the college football world abuzz before USC’s season opener against San Jose State on Saturday.
Why has that one decision caused so much second-guessing of a coach who has the best winning percentage among all his peers?
“I think because it’s happening,” said former Trojan Petros Papadakis, the Pac-10 football analyst for Fox Sports Net. “With the quarterback situation at USC — quarterback being the most important position, of course — Pete Carroll has always opted to play an incumbent. The (Matt) Leinart decision (in 2003), he was a younger guy, but (Matt) Cassel wasn’t one of Carroll’s recruits; Leinart was. This is a situation where it’s almost like people are just used to talking about the big-time freshman quarterback and wondering how good that guy can be. Now they’re actually going to see it.
“That brings a sense of urgency to some fans. Matt Barkley could win the Heisman, or he could be replaced after the third game. It’s a roll of the dice. It’s the biggest roll of the dice — the biggest personnel roll of the dice — since Pete Carroll took over at USC.
“To think USC needs a freshman to save it after Carroll’s gone 88-15 would be ridiculous. But to question Pete Carroll with that record is also ridiculous.”
The really ridiculous thing, at least in Carroll’s mind, is that so many people think he has gone outside the coach’s box.
In his view, the decision — when he made it, whom he chose and how confident he feels about it — isn’t much different than past passer pronouncements under his watch.
First off, he reached a deadline last week. Carroll wanted to have his starter in place before Saturday’s scrimmage at the Coliseum, and Aaron Corp hadn’t proved he was sufficiently healed from a cracked fibula.
Many wondered why Carroll didn’t wait until after Saturday, when Corp appeared healthier. But the coach never has played it that way with his quarterbacks.
“I’ve not followed any pattern other than trying to be cognizant of getting the guy in position, with time to get comfortable with it,” Carroll said. “These guys see themselves as starters; that’s all they know. And they’re almost outside of their skin if they’re not. So the sooner that you can get them in position, the sooner you can see their true self come through.”
Carroll did it with Corp last spring and Mark Sanchez the spring before that. But even though they were in the system for multiple seasons — as opposed to Barkley, who has been on campus less than a year — Carroll didn’t feel any more certain then than he does now.
“I didn’t know how John David (Booty) was going to play, or Leinart, or any of these guys,” Carroll said. “I saw what Leinart had done before he started. I wasn’t real (sure) it was going to be great until he started playing, until he started taking over the games. And it wasn’t the first game. It took him five or six weeks.”
As Carroll noted, the Trojans suffered a loss along the way: 34-31, in overtime, at Cal on Sept. 27, 2003. The prospect of an early defeat this season — USC visits Ohio State in Week 2 — while Barkley endures growing pains is another reason many fans are freaking out.
Also worth noting: USC won 34 games in a row after the Cal loss, and Leinart won the 2004 Heisman Trophy.
All coaches make educated guesses based on their experience, observations and expertise. Carroll is no different, even if, as he might put it, he has a higher batting average than most.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” he said. “If I did, it’d be easy.”
But Carroll isn’t afraid to make choices others would consider gambles, whether it’s going for it on fourth down, hiring youthful assistant coaches — or starting a freshman quarterback.
“It’s a high-risk, high-reward decision,” Papadakis said. “It’s a true freshman starting at quarterback for the top program in college football when they don’t have to be starting a true freshman. That’s controversial.
“Pete doesn’t have a problem taking blame or being out there, calling attention to himself or the program or what they’re doing. I respect that. It makes him a whole lot more fun to cover.”